Professional Sport Middlemen Organisers Regulators

Professional sport: middlemen, organisers and regulators

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Statements of John Elkann, Ferrari Chairman From la Gazzetta dello Sport, interview by Pier Bergonzi Professional sport: middlemen, organisers and regulators all motivated by money and power, whereas the focus should be

Professional Sport Middlemen Organisers Regulators

Statements of John Elkann, Ferrari Chairman
From la Gazzetta dello Sport, interview by Pier Bergonzi

Professional sport: middlemen, organisers and regulators all motivated by money and power, whereas the focus should be on the fans, the athletes and the teams.
I’m worried about what’s going on around football and professional sports in general. At the heart of the system should be the fans, the athletes and the teams. But there is a dangerous drift which works in favour of the middlemen, the organisers and regulators who are putting the world of sport in a difficult position because the only thing that motivates them is money and power. I have faith in the work my cousin Andrea Agnelli is doing, committed and passionate about football having a future.

Monza, a celebration for Italy and for motorsport.
This weekend in Monza is above all a moment to celebrate, for Italy and for motorsport. In fact, even the President of the Republic will be with us tomorrow. We are proud of the pre-eminence of our amazing Italian brands that have racked up 19 victories in the Italian GP at Monza, 19 with Ferrari, eight with Alfa Romeo, 2 with Fiat and 2 with Maserati.

With teamwork, we are competitive: 4 wins and making progress with our pit stops.
This year, we are competitive, as I had predicted two years ago and we have turned this competitiveness into wins. We have at last made it back onto the highest step of the podium four times so far. Behind these successes is a lot of work from the team. In professional sport, it’s the small details that make the difference. In 2020, 48% of our pit stops were completed in under 3 seconds, with an average time of 2.75. In the first 15 Grands Prix this year, 70% of stops were under 3” and the average was 2.6.

Trust and recognition for what Binotto and the team have done, but more progress is needed as there are still too many mistakes being made.
We have great faith in Mattia Binotto and appreciate everything he and all our engineers have done. But there is no doubt that the work in Maranello, in the garage, on the pit wall and at the wheel needs to improve. We must continue to make progress and that goes for the mechanics, the engineers, the drivers and obviously, the entire management team, including the Team Principal. We have seen that there are still too many mistakes when it comes to reliability, driving and strategy. Putting our trust in Binotto and his team was the right decision and it has paid off. Thanks to them we are competitive and winning again. But I am not satisfied because I think we can always do better

Confident Ferrari can win the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championship by 2026 with the strongest driver pairing on the grid.
Our first goal was to be competitive. If you are not, then you have nowhere to go, whereas you can always work on reliability. That’s why I believe that before 2026 Ferrari will once again win the Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles, with Charles Leclerc in pole position. We are lucky to have two great drivers, probably the strongest pairing in Formula 1.

Juventus: convinced they can win the championship again.
I am more than confident, I am convinced (that Juventus can win again): Juve is going through a new cycle as has happened many times in the century old history that links my family to the white and black shirt. The team has changed so much, and as a trainer, Allegri knows the club well and its characteristic spirit of tenacity and strength. It’s a shame we have yet to see Juve firing on all cylinders and showing its true potential, because of players being injured.

Stellantis: Marchionne would be proud, in 2004 we were fighting for our lives and now we are in the Champions League.
Sergio would be very proud to see what Stellantis is doing. I think back to when this adventure began. In 2004, Fiat was struggling to avoid relegation. Then we managed, along with Chrysler and FCA to compete in the middle of the table and maybe play in the Europa League. With Stellantis, which is just over a year old, we are in the fight to win the championship and we are in the Champions zone. Within the Stellantis team, Italian brands feature really well. The electric 500 has won more awards than any other Fiat: Maserati is doing very well and will return to motorsport in races for electric powered cars; Alfa Romeo is profitable again thanks to new models and Lancia is about to launch a series of elegantly Italian products.

First electric Ferrari in 2025, with Vigna there was scepticism at first, but now there’s enthusiasm.
Benedetto Vigna is a very talented man. He is so in touch with technology that he manages to humanise it. He is building an electrifying future for Ferrari. I am pleased, even proud to see how, within the company, the mood has gone from initial scepticism to enthusiasm for the electric Ferrari that will come to life in 2025.

Motorsport, In 2023 Ferrari will race in Hypercars for the first time in 50 years and we will be competing in 20 motorsport categories.
This will be a very important return for us. Le Mans will celebrate its 100 years and we will be back in the Hypercar category after a 50 year absence. Ferrari is not just about Formula 1. It is present in 20 different categories and last year we established a new record for our number of wins in motorsport.

Admiration for Soldini’s records in 10 years of Maserati and for Italian sport.
Italian sport, headed up by Giovanni Malago, has delivered some great results, for example in athletics, swimming and tennis. I have watched and admired Tita and Banti’s Olympic wins in sailing, as well as in the European and World Championships. And I am always happy for Soldini who, with “Maserati” first the monohull and now with a trimaran, took ten records in a decade including those for the Gold Route from New York to San Francisco and on the Tea Route from Hong Kong to London.


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