Key Ferrari figure urges team to ‘wake up’ and end the ‘politics and games’

Thomas Maher
Charles Leclerc tests Ferrari SF-23. Bahrain Grand Prix testing, February 2023.

Charles Leclerc drives the Ferrari SF-23 under the lights during testing. Bahrain, February 2023.

A former key member of Ferrari’s board of directors has lashed out at the team’s current state, urging an end to the ‘politics and games’.

Taking to Twitter over the weekend, Lapo Elkann shared his thoughts on Ferrari’s current state of competitiveness with the 2022 runners-up having failed to score a podium in the opening three races of the 2023 season.

Following the departure of prior team boss Mattia Binotto, who himself was a ‘recent’ promotion to replace Maurizio Arrivabene at the end of 2018, Fred Vasseur has assumed the role of team boss at the Scuderia.

With Ferrari not having a strong start to the season, either in terms of performance or reliability, Elkann made his feelings known as he lashed out at what he sees going on with the Maranello-based squad.

“Ferrari needs Seriousness and Winning Team in the Pits and Outside,” he wrote.

“It’s time to WAKE UP enough with politics and games like this WE WILL NEVER WIN ‼ ‼ ‼ ‼”

In a now-deleted tweet reply, Elkann also wrote “Santander for me terrible bank”, seemingly taking aim at the Ferrari sponsor.

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Who is Lapo Elkann?

45-year-old Lapo Elkann is the great-grandson of Giovanni Agnelli, the founder of Fiat S.p.A. He is also the grandson of Gianni Agnelli, the former CEO and controlling shareholder of Fiat.

He was a member of the board of directors of Ferrari as a non-executive director, and is the brother of John Elkann – the current chairman of Exor, Ferrari, and the Stellantis Group – the corporation which owns brands such as Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Citroen, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, and Peugeot. Exor, the Agnelli family’s investment company, is the major shareholder of Ferrari N.V. (22.9%).

Elkann worked with Fiat in the early 2000s, co-ordinating corporate promotion and communication for the Fiat Punto, Grande Punto, and the returning 500.

In a follow-up exchange to his tweet, a Charles Leclerc fanpage wrote to Elkann saying: “The only person in Ferrari who will always be there in difficult times for Charles. Thank you Lapo Elkann, you deserve to be the president of Ferrari instead of your brother.”

Elkann’s response to this was “I don’t even want to be president.”

One fan, replying to Elkann’s initial tweet, wrote: “Lapo the truth is that in the eyes of us fans, the presidency is ABSENT.

“I have never read a press release, a letter, or something from the president or other delegates. FERRARI needs passionate people like you and many other people like you.”

Elkann’s succinct response was: “I know, unfortunately.”

Ferrari

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