Formula 1 News: Verstappen best, Ferrari needs fixing – Montezemolo

(GMM) Luca di Montezemolo says he could quickly identify what is needed to relaunch Ferrari – and named Max Verstappen as Formula 1’s standout driver.

The 78-year-old former Ferrari and Fiat chief was speaking at the London premiere of ‘Luca, Seeing Red‘ – a new documentary about his life.

The gala drew a star-studded guest list including Bernie Ecclestone, Stefano Domenicali, Mattia Binotto, Andrea Stella, Adrian Newey and Lawrence Stroll, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“If I were to return to work for Ferrari tomorrow morning, within a week I would have a clear idea of which people to put in different positions to be successful,” Montezemolo said.

He also praised quadruple world champion Max Verstappen’s form – as the Red Bull driver won on his GT3 racing debut at the terrifying Nordschleife, at the wheel of a Ferrari 296.

“Max Verstappen is clearly the best driver in my opinion, and he demonstrated it even in the last race in Baku under difficult conditions. He was always fast and never made mistakes,” he said.

Montezemolo added that even the best driver cannot succeed alone.

“If Enzo Ferrari always said that 50 percent is done by the car and the rest by the driver, now the car does 80 percent – and we need to grow as a team,” he said.

The former Ferrari president also said: “Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were a very good driver pairing. But there’s no question that, in my opinion, Verstappen is by far the best.”