Ferrari’s participation in Motor Valley Fest Digital 2020

Enrico Galliera, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer, speaker during the opening conference

Mattia Binotto, Managing Director and Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari (Mission Winnow) takes part in the round table discussion on racing 

Ferrari was one of the protagonists in today’s opening ceremony of the Motor Valley Fest Digital, the online event dedicated to the marques that have built Emilia-Romagna’s Motor Valley legend.

During the inaugural conference Ferrari’s Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer, Enrico Galliera, discussed the effects on the automotive world of the Covid-19 pandemic with regard to digitalisation of the customer experience and the company’s approach to the situation.

“It’s true that the crisis has accelerated the move towards digitalization, but I’m sure that for clients it will not exclude the ‘physical’ experience. For cars like Ferrari’s the experience of sitting inside, smelling the scent of the leather, hearing the engine’s sound and feeling the acceleration is irreplaceable. Ferraris are, and will remain, technological objets d’art and will always be able to arouse strong emotions.

“During this period we have adopted a different approach to communicating with our clients and with the public at large. We have concentrated less on our cars and more about our social responsibility and our duty to give something back to our local communities.”

This was a theme picked up by Mattia Binotto, Managing Director and Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow, during the racing round table where he commented on the company’s latest initiative as part of the countermeasures against COVID-19.

“Designing a low-cost ventilator was a challenging project which went from a plain sheet of paper to the first prototype in just five weeks. About ten people were staffed on the project. It’s open-source and can thus be produced by anyone. We’re very proud to have been involved in making this project available to the world.”

He also touched on several points of current debate, including the importance of attracting more youngsters to the sport.

“To ensure that more youngsters get a start in motor sports, we set up the Ferrari Driver Academy. It was an important investment for us and it has enabled us to train up important drivers, the most prominent of which has been Charles. I don’t exclude the idea that, in the future, we will set up an Academy specifically for young Esports drivers. After all the FDA Hublot Esports team won the Esports Championship last year in its first season.”

Commenting this morning’s announcement of the signing of Carlos Sainz , Binotto said “We have closed an era with Seb: he has been part of the team for six years, he’s someone I admire and who I hold in esteem, both as a person and professionally. Carlos is an excellent addition to the team; he’s someone I rate as very intelligent, young, but with already five years F1 experience behind him. He’s a solid driver, strong, reliable, brings home important championship points and he is an excellent driver to partner a pure racing talent like Charles which will help him grow and, eventually, win.”

Another area of interest to F1 fans in the recent past has been the question of spending limits, especially now that several races have been called off. “More than a hypothesis,” Binotto pointed out, “the F1 budget cap is a certainty. We are voting on the changes to the regulations right now. The limit for 2021 was already set at €175 million but given the current situation, it is our duty to reduce this further and recent discussions make a final figure of €145 million possible. There have always been regulations to follow in F1: they are limits within which the best team manages to make the best performing car. It’s another limitation, but I don’t think it will limit technology or innovation: it’s up to us to do our best in this new scenario.”

The Motor Valley Fest activities continue tomorrow, Friday May 15, with E-Talent Talks for students and start-ups, while Saturday will see the FDA Hublot Esports Team sim drivers in an activation on the Assetto Corsa platform and, later, there’ll be a live streaming from the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena. Lastly, on Sunday, there will be the virtual visit of the Ferrari Museum in Maranello.

For further information on the Motor Valley Fest Digital programme and live content, please go to: https://motorvalleyfest.it/it/events/