Ferrari’s 2017 approach ’risky’ - Montezemolo

Ferrari is taking a "risky" approach to the modern era in formula one.

That is the claim of former president Luca di Montezemolo, who fell out spectacularly when he was ousted a few years ago by Sergio Marchionne.

Now, amid a bizarre media blackout, Ferrari is nonetheless impressing so far with its 2017 car but Montezemolo still wonders if the team’s approach is right.

"Ferrari made a risky choice," he told Italian radio Rai. "They want to have a car constructed exclusively by Italian engineers, but in formula one you need the best people in the industry.

"It would be nice to win with Italians alone, but excellence is not always in a single country," Montezemolo added.

The 69-year-old warns that Ferrari’s strategy could soon cost it the patience of number 1 driver Sebastian Vettel.

"Vettel has one (Ferrari) victory," he said. "He will assess the competitiveness of this car after two or three grands prix. As his contract expires, he will then decide his future.

"Raikkonen? He is not the future of Ferrari," Montezemolo added.

As for the promise shown by Ferrari’s 2017 car in early testing, Montezemolo commented: "Good times are positive, but times that are worth something will only be in Melbourne."