Aldo Costa insists he is “sorry” to see his old team Ferrari struggle in formula one.<\/p>\n
Amid an earlier dip in the fabled Maranello team’s form, the 53-year-old was ousted by Ferrari in 2011 and he joined Mercedes, who are now utterly dominating the sport.<\/p>\n
“Comeback?\u00a0 Actually I am fine where I am,” said Costa, who although based at Brackley is currently holidaying in his native Italy.<\/p>\n
“Ferrari — do we have to talk about it?” he told Ferrari insider Leo Turrini in his Quotidiano blog.<\/p>\n
“Write, then, that I am sorry.\u00a0 Honestly.<\/p>\n
“I’m an emiliano (from the Emilia-Romagna region) and I worked for a company that is a myth.\u00a0 It cannot please me to see the level they are working now in formula one, even though they sent me off in a way that I wouldn’t describe as exactly elegant.<\/p>\n
“That said, I don’t think Mercedes’ problems in 2015 will come from the Rossa (reds).\u00a0 We’re worried about Red Bull, who have proved and are proving to have an extraordinarily fast reaction.”<\/p>\n
Asked what he thinks Ferrari’s main problems are, Costa replied: “It is not absolute — it is my opinion.\u00a0 But very serious mistakes were made in the strategic vision.<\/p>\n
“An example: in 2008, we in the racing team thought it essential to have a new wind tunnel to remain competitive.\u00a0 We were told there was no need.<\/p>\n
“In Ferrari, all the strategic decisions were always made by (Luca di) Montezemolo.\u00a0 He took them when Ferrari triumphed and when Ferrari ceased to triumph.\u00a0 Just to be clear.”<\/p>\n
When Costa was ousted, however, it was rumoured that it had come at the behest of Ferrari’s number 1 driver, the influential Fernando Alonso.<\/p>\n
“I do not believe Alonso was out to get me,” he insisted.\u00a0 “In the car, I consider him to be a great.\u00a0 Out of the car, I was never able to understand him — to me he is an inscrutable, enigmatic character.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think we will see him at Mercedes.\u00a0 I don’t see why Hamilton would leave a team like ours,” added Costa.<\/p>\n
Clearly, the manner of Costa’s Ferrari departure still rankles.\u00a0 When asked about Nikolas Tombazis, Costa recalls rumours that his own presence was stifling the Greek designer’s creativity.<\/p>\n
“After I left his (Tombazis’) imagination must have been freed,” Costa said, “with results that are before everyone’s eyes, no?<\/p>\n
“(Stefano) Domenicali?\u00a0 There is no resentment, sometimes we write a text message.\u00a0 Ferrari belongs to his past and to mine, and (Luca) Marmorini’s and many others.”<\/p>\n
Actually, Costa has no need for resentment, as his career at Mercedes has culminated in a period of success rarely obtained in the highly-competitive world of formula one.<\/p>\n
“Professionally it is a happy time,” he agreed, “and I’d be a liar to deny to you that I feel a deep satisfaction.<\/p>\n
“In Mercedes there are twelve Italians; twelve engineers in the team.\u00a0 I recruited them myself — some from Ferrari, others straight from university.\u00a0 We are a small ‘tricolore’ colony within a multinational.<\/p>\n
“Now I’m already working on the 2015 project in a normal way, as are all those who do my job.<\/p>\n
“I will not come to any more races this season — at most maybe in Belgium or Monza, then my priorities are elsewhere,” said Costa.<\/p>\n
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