Is there unrest in the House of Elkann? Prodigal son Lapo Elkann fired a shot of dissent with a Tweet that went viral urging Ferrari to wake up, drop the politics and games within the Formula 1 team his older brother John Elkann presides over.
Ferrari’s laughable start to the 2023 F1 season seems to have no end in sight, as Maranello reshuffles under new team boss Fred Vasseur, amid reports of strife and tensions remaining within the corridors, which no doubt triggered Lapo’s cry on Twitter: “Ferrari needs Seriousness and Winning Team in the Pits and Outside it’s time to WAKE UP enough with politics and games like this WE WILL NEVER WIN‼️‼‼‼‼”
La Ferrari 🏎️ ha Bisogno di ❤️Serietà e Squadra Vincente nei Box e Fuori è ora di darci una SVEGLIATA basta con politica e giochini così non si VINCERÀ MAI ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/rKu8sdNR5d
— Lapo Elkann (@lapoelkann_) April 15, 2023
The tweet got a second life – as things do on the platform – this weekend as Tifosi take stock of their team’s chances ahead of Baku this weekend, and the outlook is only bleak for the sport’s most successful team, but it’s unlikely (barring force majeure) that their drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will be challenging for victories this weekend (Sprint and Race) or in the near future, it seems.
Make no mistake, Lapo is no angel, his cupboard is packed with skeletons, thanks largely to his playboy lifestyle, where cocaine and sex have played a prominent and highly public role. In other words, the 45-year-old dandy dresser with a passion for fashion is the lovable family outcast. The younger son of Margherita Agnelli and Alain Elkann was by far the cooler of their two lads, but also the most prone to shenanigans as the sordid headlines show, thus the 47-year-old nerd John runs the show instead.
That Tweet by Little Bro, no matter how you look at it, is a shot fired at his older brother, the Ferrari president who ultimately controls the sport’s most famous racing team. The outburst by Lapo of course caused headlines in Italy, despite the country’s potent media going deafeningly quiet after a collective early season tantrum pointing to “chaos” at Maranello.
As mentioned, the chaos is apparently ongoing, as it would be with the new regime, as the old move on and the new are headhunted, while the team slips down the F1 pecking order.
Indeed, Lapo has far too much luggage [as recent as 2020 he was bust with three or so grams of coke in his possession] he does present what might have been had he not been such a party animal, as he is ultra-passionate about Ferrari and F1, and Juventus for that matter, and has the charisma for the role as F1 team boss in a dramatic Luca di Monetezemolo style.
The difference between Lapo and John could not be clearer, one bleeds Red the other does not
Leo Turrini – who tried to decipher the meaning of Lapo’s unexpected “outburst” on Twitter – wrote: “I’m not surprised by the noises made by Lapo Elkann about the Ferrari team presided over by his brother John. I’ve known Lapo since he was a little boy. I’m fond of him, but I can’t ignore the news reports [scandals] that have been part of his life.
“But precisely because I know him, I know that his passion for racing is sincere. For him, the disappointment of the Reds on track is a bleeding wound. The difference in character compared to his brother, the [Ferrari] president could not be clearer. And from an emotional point of view, the younger one would not be out of place in a role of responsibility in Maranello. But obviously, I don’t think the conditions are there.
“In general, he will repeat a concept already expressed. He is not a company president who makes the cars of a Scuderia win. At least, not alone. But having a leader who empathises with the collective feeling helps. Show us you care, John,” concluded Turrini’s column on the matter.
Lapo’s tweet, which attracted a great deal of support on the social media platform, is perhaps sounding the cry of many Tifosi, tired of the below-par performances and excuses but only able to watch powerless, as the Ferrari ‘ship’ appears even more rudderless and disoriented (shellshocked?) than when Mattia Binotto was captain, his departure has not done his French successor any favours.
Heading to Round 4 of the 2023 F1 World Championship, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, in Baku, the numbers do not look good for their drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, even less so for the team as Red Bull’s dominance has made a mockery of the standings and the season has just started:
