The'former Ferrari driver analyzes the team’s problems and names a name for the 2025 drivers’ title
Former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger, at the premiere screening of the docufilm “Benetton,” which commemorates 30 years since the rainbow successes of Flavio Briatore’s stable, analyzes the current moment of the Maranello house and predicts the winner of the 2025 world championship. Here are the words of the 66-year-old Austrian reported by Adnkronos.
“Ferrari’s problems today? Expectations are always a little bit higher. I mean, they’re not doing a bad job, but it’s just not what’s expected. So if they finish fourth, yes, it is below expectations, but they are close, they can also finish second. John Elkann said drivers should drive more and talk less? Everyone worries when success doesn’t come. It is so difficult for the mechanics, for the engineers, for the top management, but also for the drivers. So sometimes you see outstanding performances from the two drivers, especially from Leclerc, who is doing a great job, but also from Hamilton, who I’m sure did everything to win his next world championship, because that’s what he wanted. But right now he is not doing so well”.
“What is still missing for Ferrari to win a world championship? It’s very difficult to judge from the outside. You have to be inside to understand the problems better. But I think it is very important to keep calm and consistent. Because I remember when Jean Todd came in and Ross Brown came in, it took a while’before he won the championship. Now I don’t know how many and how deep their problems are. But consistency is usually a very important thing.”
“Who will win this world championship? It would be interesting to say Verstappen, but I think he lost a little bit’ too much this weekend, although never say never, but it will be very difficult. He needs a little bit of luck, or a little bit of bad luck for others. Under normal circumstances, I would say Norris will most likely be the winner. Piastri, at the moment, is going through a bit of a difficult time, but he will be back. He is normal. He is young. He is starting to feel pressure with the possibility of being champion. And I think it is very important for him now to keep calm. And if he doesn’t win this year, I am sure he will win another year because he is a very good driver”.
“Do I like this new Formula 1? I mean, looking at the new rules next year, maybe we don’t know. My rules would be less heavy and a little bit’ different. But it doesn’t matter. Formula 1 is as successful as it has ever been. We saw incredible success with Bernie Ecclestone back then. But now we also see incredible success with Liberty Media and Stefano Domenicali, who is really doing an outstanding job. So Formula 1 is really on the rise. It will be interesting to see how far it can go”.
“Benetton’s approach to Formula 1 in the management, in the design, in the whole approach was not the typical Formula 1 approach and it was hard to expect this success, but it worked very well and did an incredible job. And then Ferrari called. Ferrari called me, yes, it was a difficult decision, I can say it, probably the most difficult decision of my life as a driver, but, it was Ferrari, it was also something very special and I followed his call”.
“Is Red Bull today similar to Benetton? Yes, I always thought there were two companies that changed Formula 1 in a certain way, namely Benetton and Red Bull. Benetton was starting this way and, honestly, starting with textiles, it was a different marketing approach, and nobody could copy that, but Red Bull had a similar approach. Energy drinks and extreme sports are also very different. We all know Benetton from T-shirts, from clothes, so at the beginning it was very strange. And then when Red Bull came in, I thought that was also different, because we were used to Lotus, Mercedes, Bmw, Williams and so on, and Ferrari, of course. So, these two companies had a big impact on Formula 1″.
