Piero Ferrari: F1 must protect European races

There was a special debut to mark the fifth and final day of the 22nd running of Wrooom, the event that gets the Scuderia Ferrari race season underway. Yesterday afternoon, Piero Ferrari arrived in the Dolomite tourist resort and today he met the media in the Chalet Fiat.

“I am very happy to be here: it’s the first time I have attended this event and first of all, I want to thank Maurizio Arrivabene for bringing together the team here on the slopes of Madonna di Campiglio,” said the Maranello company’s Vice President to the journalists. “Usually we seen one another at the race tracks or in some or other official press conference, but it’s a pleasure to be able to do it in this different environment.”

The chat was wide ranging but Formula 1 was obviously the top topic. Asked if it had now been too long since the Scuderia last won, Ferrari replied: “it’s not actually that long ago since we won: the last time we took the Drivers’ title goes back to 2007 and in 2008 and 2010 we came very close. We have gone through much longer periods of abstinence and much worse times, so I think that this question would be better addressed to someone who is in more of a hurry to see results come and with less patience than myself, who has seen so many in my life.

“It’s a pleasure for me to be here close to the team and its boss Stefano Domenicali and of course our President, Luca di Montezemolo: I don’t have any influence on the decisions they take, but there is just a great friendship between us because racing is my passion. The future of Formula 1? First of all, I hope that it maintains the right balance between the number of races outside Europe and those held in the Old Continent itself: on the one hand, we must not forget this is a global sport, but on the other we must protect its historic birthplace with certain Grands Prix such as the one in France or the races at Silverstone, Spa and Monza, where we always witness some fantastic racing.”

“I am pleased to see that our drivers get on so well and these opportunities to spend time together away from the workplace are very nice,” continued Ferrari. “I have been able to have dinner with them several times when I am in Maranello and I always come away from these moments with happy memories: we talk about pretty much anything in a very open way. I think that today there are many good drivers, two or three who can be described as exceptional and one of them, Fernando, is one of us. We also have Felipe who is a great guy, held in great affection at Ferrari, who has shown that, even alongside an extraordinary driver like Schumacher, with a good car, he too can also be very quick: it is up to us to create the right conditions and maybe we owe him something.”

The topic also came up of the “Museo Casa Natale di Enzo Ferrari,” a museum being created at the birthplace of the company founder. “Work is progressing and the opening will be held on 10 March,” he explained. “We will thus have two sites: in Modena, a museum relating to the birth and early life of my father as a driver and team manager, while Maranello has the Museo which tells the story of the company, which actually started there from nothing and which today is famous all around the world.” Switching from four wheels to two, Piero Ferrari talked about his great passion for motorcycle racing: “Ducati is always in my heart and the tie up with Valentino keeps me glued to the television right from the first free practice session to follow the track action. Furthermore, there is even a professional relationship through my engineering company which collaborates with the Borgo Panigale firm.”