One Flag

“Drivers don’t have to be best friends, but they must be able to work well together,” says Fred Vasseur, Scuderia Team Principal. “Then there are some qualities that are hard to spot until they are put to the test. It’s hard to say how a driver will react to a difficult situation. However, if I have to single out one common characteristic of Formula One drivers, I’d say it’s the ability to put everyone under pressure, including themselves, with their obsessive attention to detail.”

Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti, has also had to pay close attention to the details. This was especially true last year, when Ferrari returned to the prototype class in WEC, and he had to choose not just two drivers, but two full crews for the pair of 499P hypercars. “That involved taking several elements into account: each driver’s style of driving, their physical compatibility, their character, and their approach to racing. And then, once the two crews were put together, it was essential they got on well with each other. Because, whilst healthy rivalry managed from the pits is a good thing, it must never be forgotten that we all rally behind the one Ferrari flag.”

Of course it’s not just team principals who manage drivers, the engineers also play a vital role. “Endurance presents a challenge that is in some ways multi-faceted,” says Giuliano Salvi, Endurance Race Cars Track Operation Manager. “Whilst motor racing is by its very nature an individual sport, endurance demands they work together as a team. And, whilst Formula One drivers can be likened to sprinters in athletics, then endurance racers are like marathon runners. They also have to be able to adapt to continually changing conditions. In a race that can last from six to 24 hours, tyres degrade, track conditions change and the driver has to contend with everything from bright sunshine to pitch darkness with no artificial light at night. It’s really like having many races rolled into one and the driver has to adapt in order to be at their best in all these conditions, which can mean not driving flat out for every lap.”