The difference between Ferrari and Mercedes | FerrariChat

The difference between Ferrari and Mercedes

Discussion in 'F1' started by william, Dec 11, 2019.

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  1. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Jun 3, 2006
    25,446
    Difference between Ferrari and Mercedes? "Even the barista puts pressure on you"

    http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/704796/Difference_between_Ferrari_and_Mercedes_Even_the_barista_puts_pressure_on_you/


    Not many people have worked and succeeded at both Ferrari and Mercedes, but Aldo Costa is one of them, and he has revealed the key differences between the work environment at the two titans.

    Costa joined Ferrari in the late 90's in the design department before joining the technical department. He was at the Scuderia during their golden age at the start of this century, when Michael Schumacher won five championships on the spin.

    He joined Mercedes at the brink of their dominant era as well, being at the German works team for their six consecutive double titles.

    Speaking to AutoMoto, Costa reflected on how it was working at both constructors.

    "For me, the transition from Ferrari to Mercedes was painless," the Italian said.

    "I grabbed the opportunity with both hands and I noticed the way of working in England is completely different. There are no politics.

    "Problems were solved technically, without drama and within normal working hours. Despite the fact it was impractical to constantly travel to England, it was a fantastic workplace."

    Compare this to Ferrari, where you have the entire nation of Italy on your back, and it makes for a different environment.

    "At Ferrari, you're constantly under the loop. The media, the fans, the shareholders. Even the barista who serves your coffee adds pressure. At Mercedes, they create an atmosphere where everyone can do their best without being afraid to slip up."

     
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  2. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,252
    Thus the saying

    "What is wrong with Ferrari is that it is run by Italians."
     
  3. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

    Again its not tires or FIA. It is effort and organization with a culture that feeds a formula to win, and allows the staff to engage and grow to address challenges without fear. The results of this system outlined above are not at all subject to question. Also they have pilot or pilots who make fewer mistakes and take advantage of the created car to gain the best results. If the car is a winning capable car you need a driver to employ it to do so and Mercedes have this as well.
     
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  4. LVP488

    LVP488 F1 Rookie

    Jan 21, 2017
    4,839
    France
    Today the difference is very simple: Mercedes wins, Ferrari fails.
     
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  5. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

    Binotto is not convincing in driver “management at all lol - https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/147703/first-ferrari-driver-meetings-full-of-embarrassments

    Ferrari Formula 1 boss Mattia Binotto has admitted meetings with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc were "full of embarrassments" when he first tried to manage them early in the season.

    At the start of 2019 Binotto named four-time world champion Vettel as the team's expected route to the title this year, given his experience compared to sophomore F1 driver Leclerc, who was preparing for his first season at Ferrari.

    That meant Vettel would be given priority in 50/50 scenarios as Ferrari embraced the idea of using team orders for the greater good.

    "And believe me, that that type of meeting at the very start of the season was full of embarrassments and difficult to manage," Binotto said in a media lunch attended by Autosport.

    "But we are now getting used to it.

    "By the end of the season, it became comfortable more and more, which means that we are getting used to it as a team.

    "In the race we can still make eventually mistakes but I'm pretty sure that mistakes are part of this process."

    Binotto has faced questions all season about his attitude towards handling Ferrari's drivers from his logic behind trying to manage them to how it is executed on-track.

    Early examples include asking Leclerc to stay behind Vettel in Australia and Bahrain, and waiting too long to swap their positions in China and Spain.

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    More high-stakes incidents occurred in Singapore, where Vettel was allowed to win after jumping Leclerc on strategy, and Russia (pictured above), where Leclerc gave Vettel a tow at the start to help his team-mate pass Lewis Hamilton before Vettel refused a team order to let Leclerc back ahead.

    "Certainly it was not an easy exercise and everybody can do better," said Binotto.

    "But I think the attempt of managing them since the very first time in Australia, is something different.

    "It is often said we should have let them race in the very first race. We are still very convinced that trying to manage them is the best way in order to score team points when you get to the end of the season.

    "And we believe that if you are optimising the team points at the end as well, you also optimise what may be the outcome for the drivers.

    "So we were trying to manage them in the very first race."

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  6. Sig. Roma

    Sig. Roma Formula 3
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    Mar 11, 2007
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    Dom T.
    I had the good fortune to meet Costa last June in Bologna and he said the same thing.

    When politics is changed into problem solving, miracles can be produced by average people. Mercedes has demonstrated that.

    20+ years ago I worked for a multinational who supplied many major auto manufacturers, including Ferrari, and it was managed by Italians. I was a political appointee that my management didn’t agree with my appointment and they were difficult to work for. Most important for this kind of management, if asked to jump 30cm, don’t jump 30.01 cm or 29.99 cm, despite producing superior results.

    Until Ferrari can eliminate its politics management, I think our results will suffer. Biggest mistake made in the last 20 years was the decision to turn a winning team back to Italian management.


    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     
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  7. NeuroBeaker

    NeuroBeaker Advising Moderator
    Moderator

    Oct 1, 2008
    38,742
    Huntsville, AL., USA
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    Andrew
    The car hasn't really been there for several seasons. If Binotto can get the car close then the team will start to believe that they can win the championship, which could give an extra edge. Being in a tight title fight is going to bring the best out of everyone.

    If you're nowhere close and can't close the gap on relative performance, it seems reasonable to assume that the determination to maximize absolute performance is not quite what it could be.

    All the best,
    Andrew.
     
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  8. Sig. Roma

    Sig. Roma Formula 3
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    Mar 11, 2007
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    Dom T.
    I think it’s a management problem more than car being wrong. Give the team freedom to make mistakes, and have them fix them quickly, the team will be transformed.


    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     
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