Former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo believes that in hindsight, the introduction of the 1.6 litre hybrid V6 turbo power unit era was a mistake.
The Scuderia's level of performance has suffered since the advent of hybrid engines in Formula 1, with Ferrari collecting just three wins, all achieved in 2015, in the past three seasons.
Montezemolo admitted he hasn't been surprised by Mercedes' utter domination of Formula 1, given the fact that the German manufacturer started working on the hybrid concept ten years ago!
"Niki Lauda recently confessed to me that Mercedes was working on it since 2007," Montezemolo told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
"That is why they were so adamant during the (rules) negotiations," he claimed.
With regard to the decision to steer Formula 1 into a hybrid era, the former Ferrari boss admits that supporting the change was a big mistake for the Scuderia.
"I made a mistake, yes. But I felt that I could not put Ferrari in a position antithetical to progress. A fearful Ferrari could not be my Ferrari," he concluded.
GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…
It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…
Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…
Lewis Hamilton was particularly happy with his opening day of running at the Las Vegas…
Red Bull fears that its prospects for this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix - which…
Ferrari and Mercedes have both modified their car’s floor element in Las Vegas to comply…