Turrini: Ferrari without joy, without leadership, without results

Turrini opened his most recent column writing with delight over Ferrari’s endurance success: “A red car with covered wheels, World Champion again after 53 years. I’m sorry, but I can’t think of it as the ‘Poor Man’s Championship’. I’m sorry, but I can’t believe it’s less important because it’s not a single-seater.”

He added: “When you see Giovinazzi - who was simply vilified in the F1 circus - finally win a World Championship, can you really claim there’s only one truth? That in life, you either win or lose, nothing else? Today, he’s a World Champion. Who dares say his title is worth little or nothing?”

The long-time Ferrari chronicler praised the endurance squad’s heroes: “Again today, Pier Guidi physically crossed the finish line for car no. 51, as World Champion, just like Calado. And when you told me ‘I don’t know anything about endurance racing,’ and I told you to believe in a Ferrari that, eleven months after putting its wheels on Fiorano with the 499, went on to win the Centenary Le Mans 24 Hours - it seemed impossible, but it happened.”

For Turrini, Ferrari’s WEC success is a return to the company’s true soul: “A sudden, powerful emotion. For many, a world without reference points, but to me it felt like the natural consequence of rediscovering Ferrari’s origins. Of people who cry because 6-, 8-, or 24-hour races are for those who live racing with a special spirit, gladiators of motorsport.”

Turning to Formula 1, Turrini highlighted two bright spots amid the gloom. “Nothing against Norris, of course. He won in Brazil, and the title now likely has its owner, since Piastri keeps self-destructing with what looks like a vaguely suicidal impulse.”

“Max Verstappen stands to Formula 1 what Pelé stood to football. I’m sorry if you think I’m exaggerating - I’m not. He might be unlikeable, fine, but once again he showed at Interlagos why, title or no title, he’s the strongest of them all.”

He was equally glowing about Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli: “Under the chequered flag in Brazil, Super Max was preceded by Kimi Antonelli - my, our, Harry Potter! I’ve long confessed my soft spot for the young man. He doesn’t drive the Mercedes of the golden age, yet he’s emitting pure laser beams of talent. Throughout the São Paulo weekend the Emilian was spectacular. All he’s missing is the win. It’ll come, it’ll come.”

For Turrini, the contrast between Ferrari’s endurance triumph and Formula 1 misery is glaring: “Now to the painful note. The Red Car. Which in Brazil came away with a humiliating double zero, sliding sadly to fourth in the constructors’ standings.”

“This time, though, it wasn’t the fault of the modest SF-25. It was accidents that ruined Ferrari’s Paulista Sunday, destroying the hopes of Leclerc and Hamilton from the start. As for Lewis, I won’t pile on, this time he was simply unlucky, and the season’s reality speaks for itself. Twenty-one Grands Prix without a single high point justify an impossible depression.”

“Every Ferrari fan can see the glaring contrast between the company’s two racing souls. The group dedicated to endurance - the WEC division - has dominated at Le Mans three years in a row and on Saturday in Bahrain won both world titles, for drivers and manufacturers. John Elkann has won his personal bet, a gamble according to many observers. I’ll gladly give him credit for that.”

“But at the same time, Ferrari, under the same president, is never in contention for the Formula 1 crown. We’ve already lost a couple of good generations since Kimi Räikkönen’s 2007 title. So here’s the question to those in charge in red: is it possible to imagine a healthy synergy between the two worlds, WEC and F1? Winning helps you win, even in different contexts. I’d think about that.”

Turrini saved his sharpest criticism for Ferrari president John Elkann, who this week said the drivers should “focus on driving and talk less.”

He wrote: “Would Montezemolo ever have spoken about Ferrari’s drivers the way John Elkann did today? Never a joy, really. No sooner had I thanked John Elkann for bringing Ferrari back to world championship glory after 53 years in the WEC - and I did, for what it’s worth - than he delivered a statement bound to leave everyone stunned.”

This is what Elkann said, verbatim: “Brazil was a big disappointment. If we look at the Formula 1 season, we can say that our mechanics are winning their own championship with their performance and pit stops. If we look at our engineers, there’s no doubt the car has improved.

"If we look at the rest, it’s not up to standard. And surely our drivers must focus on driving and talk less, because we still have important races ahead and second place is still possible. In Bahrain we won the WEC title, and when Ferrari is united, results come," concluded the Ferrari boss.

Turrini’s response was cutting: “Of course Ferrari’s mechanics are good. They always have been. But Maranello’s engineers and those leading them haven’t done their job if, after 21 races, Ferrari has zero wins and sits fourth in the standings. Fourth. Again. Hamilton has been a flop so far, yes, but what kind of car has he had? And Leclerc, damn it, has been waiting for a decent car since high school.”

He concluded with a warning: “If the grandson of Gianni Agnelli really thinks Ferrari’s problem is talkative drivers, then, at the very least, he needs to change his advisers, his consultants, his managers. Because believe me - if since Schumacher and Räikkönen Ferrari hasn’t touched glory, it’s not Alonso’s fault, not Vettel’s, not Leclerc’s, and not Hamilton’s. And if that isn’t understood, then truly, we’ll never win again.”

For Turrini, Ferrari’s paradox is clear. “Elkann and Vigna were here, not at Interlagos (should we ask ourselves why? It might help…),” he observed, noting how Ferrari’s top brass now celebrate WEC victories while their Formula 1 operation continues to struggle.

Ferrari are endurance World Champions again. But in Formula 1, Turrini bemoans, they remain “a team without joy, without leadership, and without results.”