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As much as I would like Ferrari to clinch the '07 Championships ( Sorry, I'm a big Red fan), I think they will have a challenging time with the departure of Schu, Ross and Martinelli, and the introduction of another driver in Kimi.
What thinks you?
We've seen it in the past, a complete changeover unseats a Team for a short while. Let's hope they are up to speed in as little time as possible.
The Ferrari team have confirmed that Ross Brawn will leave the Italian squad following the end of the season, as exclusively revealed by Autosport magazine.
Brawn's position as technical director will be taken by Mario Almondo at the start of November, while Stefano Domenicali becomes the team's sporting director.
Engine guru Paolo Martinelli will also leave Ferrari, moving to parent company Fiat.
Frenchman Jean Todt, who was confirmed yesterday as Ferrari's new CEO, will also take on, as an interim, the role of managing director of the Ferrari's Gestione Sportiva.
The technical department will be made up of chassis department, headed up by Aldo Costa, while Gilles Simon will be responsible for engine department, with both men reporting to Almondo.
"Ferrari offers its most heartfelt thanks to Ross Brawn and Paolo Martinelli for their immense contribution in the drafting of an extraordinary chapter in the history of the Scuderia and motor sport," said Ferrari in a statement, "which has produced a tally of eleven world titles and of around ninety wins in Formula One Grands Prix.
"After years of hard and demanding work, Ross Brawn has decided to turn his attention to his personal life, while Paolo Martinelli will take on an important role within the Fiat Group: to them go best wishes for a satisfying future."
Yeah. A lot of change. I guess now the two main guys are Almondo (replacing Ross) and Domenicali (replacing Todt) but with Todt overseeing and guiding things. Both are Italian which gives the team a fully Italian flavour at the top.
Almodo was COO of the Motorsport division of Ferrari until 2005 when he became head of HR. He has a degree in Industrial Managerial Engineering.
Domenicali (from grandprix.com):- Worked in Italian industry and commerce before joining Ferrari in 1991, initially working in the company administration, including internal liaison with Fiat. He then moved to the administration of the racing team and at the same time was put in charge of the development of the Mugello test track. Once that task finished in 1995 Domenicali was appointed head of the personnel department of Ferrari's sporting department and in 1996 took on the additional role of sponsorship liaison as well. In December 1996 he was appointed team manager when Claudio Berro was moved across to be in charge of the team's media activities. He remained in that role until January 2001 when he was moved to a new role as logistics manager but in 2002 he was back in a major role as the team's sporting director, looking after all the liaison between the team and the racing authorities.
Have to wait and see I suppose. Hopefuly Todt will guide them well until Ross returns.
There won't be a need for anyone to be brought up to speed. All of the changes are happening internally, as people are simply being promoted from within to take the spots of those who are leaving. So the new technical director already knows everyone in and everything about the Scuderia. The same can be said for the new head of the engine department, which after homologation has become pretty much pointless. It's a very smart way to deal with staff turnover.
Incidentally, Ferrari aren't really losing anyone, per se. It's just that people are leaving for other jobs within the company, save for Ross Brawn, who should return next year if the rumors are true.
There is of course the possibility that these changes will negatively affect the team. But that chance is much, much smaller than would be the case if the team was bringing in replacements from other teams.
The changes didn't happen overnight, I'm sure they have been thinking about them for years. Still I expect some small teething problems, but at least they have stability in the all-important area, car development.
"Aerodynamics are for people who can't build good engines" Enzo Ferrari
This was always a risk - way back whenever. It was fairly obvious that once Michael retired people would follow him out. That may well include Todt (to all intents and purposes) in the not too distant future.
Does that mean Ferrari will go back to the old ways (pre Todt era)? I would doubt it.........I think he has fundamentally changed the culture and organisation, it can live without him.
Will they still be a force in future years? I suppose 2007, they should have good momentum. Beyond that, it's probably impossible to call.
What you can say for sure is that the the "special mix" that made them so strong for years has been diluted - that (in my opinion) takes them to a point where there is no more reason they should be successful than any other top team. Winning in F1 seems to be about that tiny magic ingredient that separates the brilliant from the merely excellent.
You could argue that they might even tumble down the grid; but I suspect that the simple measure of having two very good drivers on board (certainly one brilliant one and another who is looking very good now) will keep them at the sharp end.
I'm not saying that the driver can overcome a tardy car; more that with the current structures in place; the drivers are good enough to keep results and motivation coming through for future years.
If you look at it that way all the main teams are screwed, Ferrari, Renault, Mclaren have all lost their main driver and will have a lot of changes to overcome.
I suppose BMW and Honda have the best chance because, to my knowledgem they're keeping both their drivers. Although BMW is slightly questionable, I can't see them loosing Kubiza after his half season, or Heidfeild, the German link.
Murphy's 9th Law of Technology:
Tell a man there are 300 million stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch to be sure.
i think some of you are forgetting that one of the main reasons that schumi was so successful at ferrari was because he worked so closely with the team, engineers, directors, mechanics, etc.
we know that kimi will not be as integrated, it just doesn't seem to be in his personality...who knows if he even likes italian food! sure, kimi is fast, but is he good at setup? is he good at communicating, developing, and pushing the team? i don't know for sure, but he has always seemed a bit of a loner, 'just let me drive' type....so, either he's going to have to learn how to setup the car, or he's just not going to be as competitive as schumi, possibly even massa...
...i know personally from racing, that the feedback loop is integral to positive development, fortunately i operate as both the driver, mechanic and engineer, so it's easy to know what direction to go...it's all about good communication...which isn't kimi's specialty.
Murphy's 9th Law of Technology:
Tell a man there are 300 million stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch to be sure.
I agree with Zenvision, I can guarantee one of Todt's priorities during Ferrari's dominance was for it to be sustanable after the super team (Paolo Martinelli, Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, Rory Byrne) are no longer together at Ferrari. I think the infrastructure they've built around them (i.e the team for engine department, aero etc.) can still cope. Remember there's still 90% of the team that can and have won championships left.
Anyway that's my guess, we'll have to find out next year!
Tp wrote:I agree with Zenvision, I can guarantee one of Todt's priorities during Ferrari's dominance was for it to be sustanable after the super team (Paolo Martinelli, Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, Rory Byrne) are no longer together at Ferrari. I think the infrastructure they've built around them (i.e the team for engine department, aero etc.) can still cope. Remember there's still 90% of the team that can and have won championships left.
Exactly, there is a whole management hierachy structure thingo in place
Most fanboys aren't aware of this.
Sorry, I'm a big Red fan), I think they will have a challenging time with the departure of Schu, Ross and Martinelli, and the introduction of another driver in Kimi.
