Red Mist: Finding Ferrari’s fixer for this annus horribilis

annus horribilis in Formula 1. But we cannot blame the team, even if it needs a fixer to get our Scuderia back to winning ways.

The market is a brutally honest thing. Something politicians, kings and fools cannot influence. But boy, the market can and certainly does tell them a thing or two. Take Ferrari's market capitalisation, for instance. The share price dropped $15.67 billion this week on those fools’ confirmation of its first idiot EV, alongside promises that the same top tier was concerned about il Gestione Sportiva

It’s no rocket science. Besides the marketing nonsense, the car industry is reeling from its woke EV indulgence. So for Ferrari to be so stupid as to put so many eggs in a rotten basket, and so late in the game, only to lose a quarter of its value overnight, is just desserts.

It’s just proving that its self-promoting top management is as incompetent as it really is. The share price says so. But I digress.

Let’s get back to Formula 1. The last time Ferrari shares fluctuated so wildly was when they gained $7 billion on Lewis Hamilton’s announcement - a year before the fact became a matter. Of course, that came in tandem with news of good market results, but it surely shows how strong Lewis is for the brand.

Hamilton’s delivered too. China may have been a Sprint Race, but so far the seven-time F1 World Champion has been the only one to see the chequered flag first in a Ferrari on a GP weekend.

That market surge early last year is also a tribute to its real architect: Frédéric Vasseur. The man is apparently under pressure right now, his head allegedly on the block. But why? Has Fred not only done right by the Cavallino? Unlike those dark times when Binotto and Mekies were handed completely wrong roles for their skill sets?

Look, as a team, Ferrari has done little wrong over the past two years, especially versus the Binotto–Mekies era. If anything, McLaren has had a far more troublesome year with wrong calls, mistakes and now infighting.

Red Bull too. Sacking people, only one playable car, etcetera. If Ferrari had a car as strong as McLaren’s or even Red Bull’s, it would be far further ahead than McLaren is right now on this year’s red team showing.

Which makes the car the problem, no? This bucket of bolts is the problem. Not Fred. Or anyone in the team. They’re doing the best management job in years. But Ferrari does need something — or someone — else. Like Ross Brawn. But we have it from the horse’s mouth that he’s enjoying fishing too much.

So who else? Harry De Souza, perhaps? Pity he’s not real, though, but the character Tom Hardy plays in Mob Land would be the perfect fit. See, Ferrari needs a fixer. Briatore would have been perfect. People sniggered when Red Mist suggested that a few years back. Next year we will see why I said that. Just wait and watch Alpine.

Is there a real solution within F1? Horner, perhaps? Not sure he’s quite the fixer — more dismantler. Red Bull’s only gone in the right direction since he left and Mekies was handed the correct reins for his skill set. Same for old Binotto at Audi.

So maybe Ferrari should look outside of Formula 1 to find a real-life Harry De Souza or Timmy Norris (AKA Billy Bob Thornton in Landman). And all of which makes one wonder how Ferrari could have done with a car that was actually able to race this year. So just remember, it’s not the people who are failing Ferrari this year: It’s the car.