Just look at this photo, taken in 1997 at the Nurburgring. It features Luca di Montezemolo, Jean Todt, Bernie Ecclestone and Michael Schumacher celebrating the German’s centenary of GPs. Fast forward 17 years.
Luca di Montezemolo had been looking more and more outdated with his retro look. He still thinks that a crisis can be solved just by the weight of his words, so whenever he decides to speak he expects an instant reaction from his employees, just as the mysterious Enzo used to rule. Yesterday, di Montezemolo stepped down from his almost life-long position, citing the American influence on Ferrari. Frankly, it’s just like a couple living together for a long time, the influence goes both ways: you can’t expect to earn tons of money from the USA, Ferrari’s greatest market, with no mindset change in return. Marco Matiacci has been succesful in the States and he came to the F1 team with a different background than the pure-breed Italians. Finally, since Ferrari is owned by FIAT, who in turn merged with Chrysler, there’s more of an American presence in the high-level decision making board, so you might just see a picture of Luca next to Niki Lauda in the seventies and wonder if it still fits with the current corporate environment.
Jean Todt jumper off the Ferrari ship just when it started to look shaky. The golden era was over, with Stefano Domenicali becoming a scapegoat of many unsuccessful campaigns. Todt went on to claim the FIA presidency, but his conservative approach disappointed everyone who expected Napoleon to replicate the Ferrari resurrection from ’93 onwards. Two months ago, Jean Todt gave a comprehensive interview in Motorsport Magazine about the current state of affairs and you can’t help but wonder why there’s such a difference between identifying the issues and actually doing something about it. There’s more fighting spirit in his ex-driver Berger, who leads the FIA single seaters commission, but serious problems affect rallying (Todt should even have a sweet spot for that), world touring cars etc. You just have to accept he’s acting like an old man now.
Bernie Ecclestone is a different kind of elder statesman: far from being calm and inactive, he tends to be the exact opposite, embracing various fantasies with a vicious idealism, sometimes even contradicting his main plus – making money. He keeps on dreaming about F1 cars in New York, while some of his actions are in the spotlight of the justice courts. During the investigations he had to act as a fugitive, avoiding to visit some countries. He went through divorce and got married again, but I just can’t picture him anymore in such happy moods with the current drivers. He often criticized the lack of charisma in the peloton, proving valid points just as di Montezemolo sometimes did. But there’s no way even Mr. E can live forever, so everyone tries to guess who will take over from him.
Finally, Michael Schumacher is a lot younger than the other three, but his judgement has been affected even more than age would erode, as his skiing accident left him in a lengthy coma. He left F1, went to race motorcycles, came back to F1 with Mercedes and retired again at the end of 2012. Just as Bernie can’t spend a day without making a lucrative financial deal, Schumi couldn’t calm his adrenaline rush, as he dedicated his whole existence to being a fully fit athlete. Ironically, he survived dozens of nasty crashes at high speed, hitting trouble on a ski slope. For Luca and Jean, there are just phases and jobs that end. Bernie’s life approaches the inevitable end even faster. For Michael, there is so much more to lose, as he’s just 45.
The four musketeers had lost their fighting spirit, Seventeen Years After.