Maurizio Arrivabene says Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has been “working very hard” in order to identify and promote in-house talents at Maranello.
In the light of a challenging 2016 campaign, and after the departure of technical director James Allison, Ferrari has decided to reshuffle its technical organisation and adopt a more horizontal structure, with Mattia Binotto currently at the helm.
Shedding light on the overhaul, Arrivabene explains how it has been fuelled by Marchionne taking a more hands-on approach in a bid to bring Ferrari back to the front.
“We have been working all together to find inside the company the resources, especially the people that are talented but are working in the shadow,” the team principal said.
“Mr. Marchionne especially has worked very hard to interview a lot of people. We have worked together on that process of course and we have found young talented people. We are a big company with also the GT department and we have found people there who can bring their contribution.”
Despite reports about Ferrari trying to lure Ross Brawn back to F1 while also seeking to secure the services of Toro Rosso’s highly-rated technical director James Key, Arrivabene is confident the current restructuring is the right way to proceed.
“You have two choices: you can find the best [design] guru in the paddock and he can put a kind of magic into the car or you can challenge this way to work and put together a magic group and this is what we are going to do.
“Ferrari is a big company with a big name so we feel the responsibility. We have great people and the idea is to put them together, to set the goals and go together on the way that has already been opened because we have not had 18 unsuccessful months.”
Arrivabene was appointed as Ferrari’s team principal in late 2014. Under his stewardship, the team has bounced back from a winless campaign to secure three grand prix wins and another 13 podiums last season. The Scuderia currently has 10 top-three finishes in 2016 to its name but it has yet to taste victory.
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