His words come quietly, and with an echo of the burden that must be borne in this most storied role. "All Italians are the Ferrari team principal," says Maurizio Arrivabene, "just as they are all the national football coach. And they give you the feeling of the exact responsibility that you have - always."
A grudging smile, a knowing nod to the ever-fevered expectations of the tifosi - Ferrari's very own barmy army, of which he was once a passionate member.
"On the one side there is a national emotion; on the other side is passionate respect," he says. "And the two are good, but they are extreme. Sometimes it's fantastic: you walk on the cloud when you are winning races. But you find yourself in hell when things are not going well."