Luca di Montezemolo interview uncut

Shortly before Christmas, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo invited members of the international media over to the team's factory at Maranello for a festive lunch, and a bit of a chat - so AUTOSPORT sent Tony Dodgins to report back.

What transpired from the lunch was, as we know now, the beginning of the F1 media storm that engulfed the run up to Christmas - Michael Schumacher's comeback with Mercedes.

But while Montezemolo had plenty to say on the subject of perhaps his most famous former employee, he shared his illuminating thoughts on a great deal of other topics too...

Here for the first time is the full transcript from that lunch.

On Michael Schumacher

"The real Michael Schumacher is with us, a Ferrari consultant and many times we said that he will end his career with Ferrari. At Monza he said he had renewed his contract. But there is another one that looks like him, 40-41 years old, German, same name, and he has decided to do another career.

"Everyone can do what they prefer and I understand someone at 41 years of age wanting to try again. I like these people. But he's not Michael, he's another Michael that I personally don't know. The Michael I know has confirmed to me that he will finish his career with Ferrari so I think it's possible that the twin, or another one, who looks very similar, same capability, same determination and spirit, will drive for Mercedes next year. I'm really looking forward to meeting him personally soon.

"Talking now seriously, when I spoke to him at eight o'clock one evening in Germany after he had seen his doctor about his neck (in early August) he was so sad that he couldn't replace Felipe Massa. Thank God we did the test with the old car at Mugello because I think F1 is the only sport in the world where you can't train!

"The same applied with Felipe and you look at the guy who came in for Toro Rosso, [Jaime] Alguersuari - nice guy, but no testing... That's something we have to change soon. Cost is important, but if you want to race in F1 you have to spend and, if not, it's better that you race in Formula 3.

"Michael was more than sad that he couldn't replace Felipe, he was destroyed. I had called him into my office and said, 'I need you. I need you to replace Felipe.' For five minutes, and it was five minutes and not ten, he said no. Then, 'Yes!' He says that I convinced him well, but that's not true, he was ready to be convinced! Now, a lot of fans are upset and think that Michael is a traitor but I will explain to them that it's not Michael, it's the other one!"

On whether Montezemolo was upset about Schumacher going to Mercedes

"As a friend, it's difficult. If I'm talking as a friend and if I see someone like Michael so fit and with determination, it's good for F1. But as the chairman of Ferrari, I'm sad. He received a lot from Ferrari and has given a lot. The combination was very good and this is the reason I think we have to accept there's another Michael who wants to race. What is important is that the real Michael was at Ferrari."

On whether Schumacher risks damaging his reputation?

"I can't judge. I think it's unfortunate that he was not able to prove himself replacing Massa, which would have been perfect for him. It was in the middle of the year with a car that was not so competitive and pressure that was not so big."

On whether Ferrari offered Schumacher a drive for 2010?

"I think today the situation and motivations are different. Ferrari has two young, strong drivers. I was happy to give Michael the chance to replace Felipe after Hungary but the situation today is different. We tried to push for the third car with the FIA, and this is something I strongly believe in. Not a third Ferrari but a third Ferrari managed by another team.

"I think F1 needs competitive cars and drivers. We tried to do this and in this case I think the real Michael, not the new one, was ready to race with us. But it wasn't accepted (by the governing body). It was not to take points away from other teams it was so that a driver like Michael, like Sebastien Loeb or like Valentino Rossi, or even a young driver having his first step before he joins Real Madrid, could be there on the grid."

On whether Michael regrets stopping in 2006

"I was convinced at the time that the main reason - not the only one - he stopped was the constant pressure - from sponsors, testing, the press. He said that if he could come Saturday morning, qualify, race, then disappear, then yes.

"You know, I have cried about F1 twice in my life. The first time was at Monza in 1975 when Niki Lauda won the world championship and Clay Regazzoni won the race, just two years after I joined Ferrari. It was also a sad day for me too, for personal reasons.

"The other time was also at Monza, at the Ferrari day at the end of '06. Michael came into the pits for the last time and took off his helmet. He was very emotional and so was I.

"But I was right in my thoughts because soon Michael was racing with a motorcycle - it was still necessary for him to compete."

On why he's relaxed about losing such an asset to Mercedes

"First of all I don't know what the future relationship will be between Mercedes and this guy called Michael. Our Michael has done a very good job but was at the end of a term and for the moment there were not new initiatives for him because there is nothing to be developed immediately, so it was no big problem. I can count on Felipe, Fernando Alonso, Luca Badoer and Marc Gene, who know the technology well.

"If I had offered something to him and he had said no, I would have been very upset, but I was not in a position to offer him a drive and so I can't say anything. The decision to bring forward Alonso's arrival for a year was to have a driver closer to the team in terms of collaboration. Michael said he would not know more about his neck before the end of December or the beginning of January."

On the decision to use Badoer as a stand-in for Massa

"We gave him his chance because he had been with us for so long and he was disillusioned when we chose Mika Salo as a substitute when Michael broke his leg in 1999."

On Massa

"As soon as we understood that Felipe was in a condition to recover our first thought was to give him the chance to race with us. Last year Felipe lost the championship to Lewis Hamilton with fewer mistakes and he lost the championship because of our mistakes in Hungary and Singapore."

On Raikkonen

"Kimi is a fantastic natural talent. I like him because he is a man who doesn't speak too much. No, he doesn't speak at all! In 2007 he pushed and did a very good season and that was important for us because many expected Ferrari after Schumacher and Ross to go down, which was delicate.

"In 2008 he did a good first part of the season and then in 2009 won our only race, so I have to thank him for that. Having said that, for many reasons we looked to a driver with more involvement with the team in terms of dialogue and presence, even the technical relationship.

"In 2008, from Silverstone on, instead of Kimi in the car we had his twin - a nice guy, looks like him, but less quick. And we paid the price in the second half of the season because it was as if the real Kimi had gone fishing."

On Alonso

"When we talked about drivers after 2010 and Domenicali said Alonso, I said I 100% agree. Alonso is young, a good driver, good for the team dialogue and in the right career moment to want to win again.

"I'm sure we can control Fernando alongside Felipe. I must have spoken to Domenicali about it 1000 times. I told Fernando that if he came to Ferrari he was driving for a team and a group, not for himself. I told him that if he wanted to do his own team, like John Surtees, then fantastic, but at Ferrari we will put you in a position to win, we know that you can win championships, but you are a partner.

"Secondly, for years you haven't seen any polemics at Ferrari, and thirdly, he's an intelligent, focused guy who admits that, like most people, he has made mistakes in the past."

On whether Button's McLaren move is a mistake

"As a fan, no, I don't think so. First of all, he's English, so is McLaren and they're strong. Also, the challenge of Hamilton will be a great motivation."

Looking ahead to 2010

"We are hoping for clear rules with less grey areas. We have had Gilles Simon for 12 years on the engine side and next year Luca Marmorini will come back. Marmorini has been with us before he went to Toyota, knows how Ferrari works and will be good for the team. I support stability but it is always good to have fresh air too.

"For the moment I have to accept that the engine is more or less stable, something I don't like. I don't like to equalise low, I like to have competition but just for the time being, with the current economic situation, we accept this. But I stress, I prefer to have F1 and not F3...

"Formula 1 has always had innovative technology and not being able to develop engines is not F1. It's not the future. Post 2011 we want to emphasise innovation in terms of green engines and ecology. And maybe with KERS we need to think again so that it is not between each other but an important part of a new power train.

"In 2010 I see a very competitive season among a few teams because as you bring down the level of competition it is easier for many teams to be competitive."

On Ferrari's lack of competitiveness in 2009

"All our car architecture was based on a different interpretation of the rules - dimensions of gearbox, everything. As well as that we were pushing until the last corner of the last lap of the last race in 2008. But I can't complain because 2005 and 2009 are the only two years in the decade where Ferrari was not competitive and both followed fundamental changes to the rules."

"This year was the only one moment since I became Ferrari chairman in 1991 that I have been minded to stop F1. It was the unanimous decision of the board that it was losing too much credibility, there was too much polemics over the rules and not enough research. At that moment there came out all the small teams.

"Now I say thank God that everything is over although we paid a big price because not to have Toyota, BMW and to have Renault in a different situation is not good for F1. We said maybe it would be good to have some new entries having the possibility to run a third car - it would be a competitive car, spending less money and with better sponsors because at the end of the day to run a Ferrari or a McLaren generally means you are competitive, and particularly to have the possibility to have new drivers. Because now, with the small teams, you only have drivers who put money in and this is not good. There is a question mark over how competitive they will be."

On how to improve F1

"Together with Bernie Ecclestone I'm the oldest guy in the paddock and we share a genuine passion. Now the FIA opens a new era, thank God, even if I have to say that Max Mosley did a very good job basically for safety. But after what happened for the past two years, with the polemics, manufacturers leaving, unpredictable judging decisions, thank God there is fresh air.

"We have three or four priorities. First we have to decide where we want to position the product. I think it needs to encompass extreme technology, performance and research.

"Secondly, we need to save costs without losing the appealing elements. Carbon brakes, for instance, are impossible to use with road cars and we can accept a standard gearbox without losing F1 characteristics. Not being allowed to have Felipe test a car, for me, is against the very nature of the sport. For the moment, I understand, but it's not the future. Thirdly, to replace manufacturer teams with teams that I don't know if they will be ready or in what condition, I don't think is best.

"Years ago we could test every day, now not at all. You need a balance. It's like in Italy, one day the doctor is smoking while he's doing an operation but now, if you smoke in the street, you're killed. We need something in the middle.

"We need to look at the 'Show'. I'm not making strong points here, but is it right to run in Europe at 2 or 3 o'clock on a summer afternoon? I don't know. In soccer they play at 4 or 5pm, or at 8 or 9pm. Is it right that we have two hour races? Maybe they are too long. These are things we need to discuss. Should we have such expensive tickets? Today a young boy with his girlfriend can fly around the world for less than attending the Monza GP in the best seats. Is that right? I don't want to be arrogant or presumptious, but just want to have professional instruments to look into it.

"I can accept if some manufacturers have left the sport but I think F1 at the beginning of the 2000s has been the best in terms of the public and spectators, with new venues and promotion and investment from the car manufacturers. It's important to recreate the conditions to have new converts because with respect to the small teams we used to have F1 and not F3, and if you have same engines, same gearboxes, same tyres, no testing, it's like a fantastic bottle of champagne without the possibility of popping the cork.

"There are a lot of answers needed. We need good people at the FIA. Todt is a good person and knows F1 and I'm sure his priority is to recreate a different dialogue and atmosphere.

"Bernie is coming to the end of his career, but I am sure he will look ahead. And FOTA has been very useful. There needs to be a strong triangle between the three parties.

"I want F1 to improve between now and 2012, when we sign a new Concorde Agreement, and if not we will have motivation somewhere else. I have been to Le Mans and I was impressed. We cannot accept huge gaps between drivers and the press and public. In the past the pits was full of good looking girls, now it's like a concentration camp. And we need to overtake!"

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- The Autosport.com Team

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