Luca di Montezemolo throws down gauntlet: “Ferrari has no leader — results first, announcements later”
The banners and smoke flares were back in force. The Tifosi flooded Milan’s “Drive to Monza” and then the Autodromo itself, singing for a team that once made winning feel inevitable. What they got was a fourth for Charles Leclerc, a sixth for Lewis Hamilton, and the unmistakable sound of a Ferrari season drifting off-key.
Luca di Montezemolo, who presided over the most ruthless stretch of Ferrari dominance in modern Formula 1, didn’t dance around it. He called it what he thinks it is — an absence of leadership.
“I saw the beautiful images of the fans and then a team that, despite so many announcements on the eve of the race, has not won a single race to date,” he told Sky Italia. “Even if it had won a race, Ferrari after so many years must win the World Championship. Ferrari has not even reached the last race for many years with a driver who can win.”
Then came the line that will sting in Maranello: “The thing I regret today is seeing a Ferrari that has no leader, there is no leadership and above all I see that it lacks a strong, determined soul. Announcements are made that often create excessive expectations. First, we do the results and then we make the announcements.”
Ferrari arrived in 2025 with a spring in its step. The team had finished runner-up last year and signed the most bankable name in the sport, a seven-time World Champion with his eye firmly on number eight. The logic was simple: keep the momentum, add Lewis Hamilton, and take the final step.
Instead, the season’s rhythm has belonged to McLaren — out front in the Constructors’ fight and letting its own drivers scrap for the Drivers’ crown, per the 2025 standings. Red Bull and Mercedes have found their days in the sun too. Ferrari? Still chasing that first win of the year, the closest near-miss arriving back in Bahrain when Leclerc took second.
None of this dents the devotion. The Tifosi don’t do half-measures. Thousands turned up in the city and at the circuit anyway, determined to will something into existence. They got a combative Leclerc for P4 and Hamilton hustling to P6, but no podium, no red fireworks, no catharsis.
Di Montezemolo’s words cut because of the history behind them. He was the figurehead when Michael Schumacher rattled off five straight titles from 2000 to 2004. He knows what it looks like when Ferrari is more than fast — when it’s relentless. He’s also lived the flip side, where pressure multiplies and patience evaporates.
To be clear, this isn’t a vacuum in Maranello. John Elkann is chairman, Benedetto Vigna is CEO, and Fred Vasseur — hired for his steady hand and no-drama approach — is team principal. Vasseur has spent the past seasons rebuilding operating structures and sharpening processes. But there’s no hiding from a winless column and the optics of a campaign that promised a title run and stalled in the slipstream.
What Montezemolo seems to be asking for isn’t a new slogan or another winter “we’ve found it” briefing. It’s steel. Less talking, more walking. If that sounds old-school, that’s the point. Ferrari’s most convincing eras weren’t loud; they were efficient, intimidating, surgical.
There’s still time on the 2025 calendar, but not much margin. Leclerc has been Ferrari’s lead act again, a relentless qualifier whose Sundays too often turn into damage limitation rather than domination. Hamilton’s first months in red have been a grind — flashes of pace, plenty of setup graft, and near-misses instead of headlines. They’re a formidable pairing on paper. The car needs to meet them halfway.
The Tifosi will keep showing up. They always do. It’s what makes Ferrari unique — and what makes stretches like this feel heavier than the points table alone can capture. That’s what Di Montezemolo was tapping into when he spoke at the premiere of “Luca: Seeing Red,” the new documentary about his life shown at the Visioni dal Mondo festival. His message wasn’t nostalgia for its own sake; it was a reminder of standards.
Ferrari doesn’t have to be perfect to turn this around. It needs clarity and a ruthless streak in execution: fewer compromises on strategy, a cleaner upgrade path, and a car that’s predictable on Sundays. If the leadership critique feels harsh, it’s also a challenge — pick a lane, own it, and deliver.
Because for all the smoke and songs, the Tifosi came for one thing. And the most Ferrari thing of all would be to stop promising it and start doing it.
