Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo is disgusted with his team’s disappointing performance in the Hungarian Grand Prix and says the Scuderia must pull itself together before Monza.
Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo is disgusted with his team’s disappointing performance in the Hungarian Grand Prix and says the Scuderia must pull itself together before Monza.
Ferrari’s home race, the Italian Grand Prix on September 14, could be crucial to the outcome of the 2003 F1 world championship and the scarlet red team cannot afford to repeat its performance at the Hungaroring.
Last weekend, Michael Schumacher could only qualify and finish eighth, allowing rivals Juan-Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen to close dramatically in the points standings. Meanwhile, Rubens Barrichello crashed out of fourth place in the race when his F2003-GA suffered a major rear suspension failure.
“Our competitors, denied victory for several years, are very strong,” said Di Montezemolo. “But a performance and incidents like those we witnessed at Hungary must never be repeated and we are all agreed on this.”
“I know I can count on a team which has always reacted without panic in difficult times, working flat out to win,” he said. “I know we have the best driver in the world in Michael, who still leads the championship, and a team-mate like Rubens who even yesterday, whilst still in the race, showed his true worth.
“We ask our technical partners to put in an extraordinary effort to respond to the strong competition in order to be as competitive as possible. It is a crucial moment for Ferrari on the eve of the last three races of the season. In Monza I want to see a return to winning form for the Ferrari-Bridgestone tandem, which has won seven world titles and 45 Grands Prix since 1999.”