"The media is almost part of the team" - Former Ferrari employees on 'distractions' that plague Italian team

Former Ferrari employees Rob Smedley and Pedro de la Roda admit that the Italian media is almost a part of the team and is a distraction at times.

On the F1 Nation podcast, the two talked about how it can be tough to tackle things at Ferrari. Lapo Elkann had appealed for things to change at Ferrari. Now, De la Rosa and Smedley have touched on how the Italian media is an intrinsic part of everyday conversations at Ferrari.

Terming the Italian media 'almost as a part of the team', Smedley said that it can feel like a distraction during everyday work:

"The media is almost part of the team, and lots of team principals have had a go at either embracing that or trying to stop that. But in the end, it’s kind of a fact of life, that the strength of the Italian media, or the power of the Italian media is inveigled in the team psyche.

“So when you have a good race, they will write brilliant things about you, and when things aren’t going as well, then, you know, it just needs somebody with the gravitas of Lapo Elkann to say something like ‘Ferrari need to wake up’, and that becomes a real thing within the team."

He added:

“Now, depending on, how much Fred (Vasseur, current team principal) can protect everybody from that is dependent on how much people get distracted, but it can be a distraction. And I know from personal experience that it can be a distraction, especially when it’s about you personally.

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Ferrari's troubles more internal than external

By the looks of it, it's safe to say that most of the trouble faced by the Italian team is their own doing. The team have far too many distractions and red tapes that hamper progress.

It's not a surprise that Ferrari haven't won the Championship in 15 years, as most of the time, they have been fighting internal battles and are not ready to take on the real challenges.