Montezemolo's An Asshat, But Now He's Not Totally Wrong...

"Roberto G." (roberto-g) 06/13/2014 at 16:38 • Filed to: FERRARILOPNIK

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Ferrari could leave the F1, because " !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! "

PS9 > Roberto G. 06/13/2014 at 16:43

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Yeah! Efficient F1 cars...What's next? Sticking batteries and hybrid tech in your range topping superca-

Oh.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Roberto G. 06/13/2014 at 16:46

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Sounds like sour grapes from him because he's doing such a bad job and projecting his failings onto his subordinates

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Roberto G. 06/13/2014 at 16:46

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So, they could leave F1 because efficiency but join the WEC because that's also about efficiency.

Yep, Montebomb...

Roberto G. > PS9 06/13/2014 at 16:46

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That's just marketing: Ferrari has to support many families, moms need to put pasta on the table every day and kids need to study... that's the harsh reality of life. But it seems that now someone is starting to have enough of all this bullshit... hopefully. There's always some hope.

Roberto G. > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 06/13/2014 at 16:48

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Sadly, seconded.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > Roberto G. 06/13/2014 at 16:53

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Precisely. He's being a baby, but he's not really wrong.

PS9 > Roberto G. 06/13/2014 at 16:56

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It's quite a bit more than marketing. Without that tech, you have no hope of building a car that can keep up with the this, the 918 and the P1. Forget it. Stuff all the horsepowers into your 8 turbo V24 you want, without that instant access zero-torque power, you will still be left behind.

Audi-os, Amigos! > PS9 06/13/2014 at 16:58

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Serious question: does more trickle-down automotive technology come out of F1 or LM? Because that, and the Enzo, and the McLaren P1 all look far more like LM prototypes to me.

Obviously that's partially because F1 cars are open-wheel, but, still.

The Tunnel > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 06/13/2014 at 17:02

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Yeah if ferrari was on top they wouldnt be saying that would he?

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Roberto G. 06/13/2014 at 17:06

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Last time I checked Ferrari was still an exclusive boutique automaker, not a mainstream employer of tens of thousands of workers.

Roberto G. > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 06/13/2014 at 17:07

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Thanks.

Roberto G. > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 06/13/2014 at 17:11

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Last time you checked it wrong: Ferrari employs more than 3,000 people: 60% are workmen, the rest are employees and managers. Average age is 38 years, therfore the majority of them have a family to support. Next time, please check better your sources.

BeaterGT > Roberto G. 06/13/2014 at 17:16

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Can't bother to listen to anything this guy says.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Roberto G. 06/13/2014 at 17:18

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Still a small number compared to let's say Ford or Toyota. But, a lot given the employee per car ratio.

Still, this isn't about employees, it isn't even about efficiency, it is about progress. Street and race car technology is progressing and keeping up with the times, no matter if Luca likes it or not.

Roberto G. > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 06/13/2014 at 17:20

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Comparing Ferrari with Ford or Toyota... oh, gosh!

StoneColdSteveUrkel > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 06/13/2014 at 17:32

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You must have last checked sometime in 198o : )

Maybe not tens of thousands at the factory.

But consider this…

Ferrari has many retail stores all over the world selling their merchandise….

Ferrari has an amusement park with another on the way….

Ferrari has dealerships all over the world…and the companies that supply to them….

Ferrari is very highly merchandised which means manufactures of all types (from Shell Oil to Puma sportswear) depend on the strength of their name. You don't become the world's most powerful brand by being 'boutique'.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/motorin…

http://www.brandfinance.com/news/press_rel…

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > StoneColdSteveUrkel 06/13/2014 at 17:40

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Hmm, aren't dealerships and merch. stores independently owned?

StoneColdSteveUrkel > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 06/13/2014 at 17:50

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But the Ferrari logo on the front isn't free for anyone to use. And the Ferrari logo on the front is why people want to own/operate the establishment in the first place.

Like I said…Ferrari is the most powerful brand on the planet.

The WHOLE planet!

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Roberto G. 06/13/2014 at 17:54

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Well, they are car manufacturers too. And can also build fast, special cars.

McLarry > PS9 06/13/2014 at 18:13

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Yeah! Because racing isn't really about racing at all, it's about putting new doodads and widgets in million-dollar supercars for the common man!

PS9 > McLarry 06/13/2014 at 18:16

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It's actually about going faster , which is what these widgets are there to do, and they do it well.

McLarry > PS9 06/13/2014 at 19:12

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No, the purpose of racing is competition and spectacle... That's why people buy tickets, and that in turn is why sponsors pay big bucks to keep the cars on the track. Compromise your competition and spectacle for widgets and people might not like your racing so much anymore.

PS9 > McLarry 06/13/2014 at 19:37

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Compromise your competition and spectacle for widgets and people might not like your racing so much anymore.

Wanna explain how faster and technologically better cars compromise 'Competition and spectacle'?

f86sabre > Roberto G. 06/13/2014 at 20:30

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Group C, one of the greatest sports car formulas ever, one that was so good it threatened F-1 in popularity was an efficiency formula. Don't knock it util you try it.

McLarry > PS9 06/13/2014 at 20:46

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To quote Montezemolo (words I never thought I'd say :P)

"No one wants to watch a driver save gas or tires. They want to see them push from here to there. It's sport, yes, but also a show."

PS9 > McLarry 06/13/2014 at 21:08

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That doesn't answer the question. We've been using advanced technology to enhance our vehicles ever since we left the backs of horses, and doubly so for competition and motorsports. Technology does not compromise competition and spectacle; it enhances it. You need advanced technology to build F1 cars at all, and you will need better technology than we have today if you want to continue to have a sport to argue about however many decades from now it will be when scarce supply and skyrocketing demand lead to restrictions in the use of fuel everywhere, especially where it's gobbled up the most - like competition and motorsports.

The quote turns the pursuit of better performance from still-completely-legitimate hardcore racing machines into a giant red herring. No one watches F1 for better fuel economy in the same way no one watches is for advanced tire compound technology, or better material science, or better electrical performance, or better, faster, more advanced computer systems. No shit, it's a sport, not a science class. But also, no shit, EVERYTHING that I just mention - computers, batteries and electrics specifically - greatly contributed to the ever-increasing performance of the cars that make this sport what it is.

"Not true." You say? Ok, you want to explain why Ferrari's ultimate example of performance, stupidly dubbed THE Ferrari has batteries and electrics in it? The one thing all those lesser Ferraris don't have? Don't say 'marketing', because the incredible performance of it's two other competitors is not merely 'marketing'. It's also not possible in a car that must have a roof and crumple zones in it without batteries, electrics, and advanced computers.

Roberto G. > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 06/14/2014 at 09:48

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Well, George Clooney and me are men too...

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Roberto G. 06/15/2014 at 13:33

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Yes but you never appeared in movies, or made women scream. The cars above did some racing and made enthusiasts scream, just like a Ferrari.

Roberto G. > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 06/15/2014 at 15:13

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Ferrari cannot be compared to any other car maker, let alone to car makers of cheap, mass produced cars. Ferrari's history, fascination and sex appeal make it something unique, that cannot be compared to anything else. And it's not the dumb old me to say this but it's the whole fuckin' world. Therefore, you be happy with your Ford and Toyota: I'll keep my Ferrari. Period.

McLarry > PS9 06/16/2014 at 08:25

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So because Ferrari's top-end model has 'batteries and electrics in it', that's what it's all about? Obviously I agree that technological innovation is integral to racing success...to suggest that because I don't like all the V6 turbo + ERS + fuel regulations I must not like technology is as big a straw man as you can make, so don't preach to me as if I don't understand the role of technology in racing. There is a great 'trickle-down' technology system where F1 tech eventually makes its way into supercars and supercar tech eventually makes its way into regular cars. Carbon fiber...gearboxes...etc... The best part is that it happens organically - the teams make these kinds of innovations because they are universally better. That isn't the case here... What you see is a sort of 'forced innovation' that isn't really innovation at all, so much as a show put on to make the sport 'more environmentally friendly', and being a more 'tech-heavy' solution does not make it a 'better' solution, as these two don't always align. The priority has been shifted from trying to make the cars better to trying to meet the regulations, and that's a bad thing in my eyes.