Ferrari logo

Passion

All For One

CEO Benedetto Vigna says Ferrari’s success stems from all team members working as one, like a body’s key parts – and that those least visible play some of the most vital roles of all
Words: Daniele Bresciani / Photography: Alessandro Cosmelli
Seventy years ago, 31 July 1954, to be exact, Italy achieved one of the greatest ever sporting successes. The mountaineering expedition led by Ardito Desio conquered K2, at 28,251 feet the second-highest mountain on Earth, and regarded by the experts as the most difficult and dangerous of all. The two men who reached the summit, Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, went down in history. But behind them at base camp were thirty others, made up of climbers, researchers, and sherpas, without counting the 600 or so porters lower down the mountain, whose names no-one remembers. Just as no-one recalls most of the one thousand individuals who, one year earlier, in May 1953, contributed to the first scaling of the very highest summit in the world, Mount Everest, conquered by the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Nepalese sherpa Tenzing Norgay.
For those who, like Ferrari, belong to the world of racing, it’s almost taken as read that the victory of an individual driver is regarded as the success of the whole team. More widely, this also goes for any one of our products and for every single event. And it’s precisely that unheralded work of the many whose contribution is less visible but more than ever fundamental, that we aim to celebrate in this article through portraits of some of those who worked toward the success of some of the most important moments of 2024.

Teams work hard behind the scenes for the One Ferrari event in Miami last May

“Some time ago”, says Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna, “I had this question put to me: ‘which departments are the most important ones in Ferrari?’ I replied by posing my own question: ‘which parts of our body are the most important parts?’ Because to stay healthy everything has to function well, including, and perhaps above all, that which is less visible. That’s true for our bodies, and it’s just as true for our company too.”

What are the risks of not doing so?
“You run the risk of taking for granted something that is in fact certainly not a given. One example that says it all: quality. Ferrari claims – rightly – that in everything it does it places the greatest importance upon quality. It is a fundamental element in the luxury sector. But sometimes we overlook the fact that lots of people, at various stages, have contributed to reaching those standards through their commitment and passion. Often they’ve done so out of sight. Because quality comes, above all, from an act of humility.”

Maranello departments (from left): Powertrain Test Facility, Composite Technology, Pilot Plant, Scuderia Vehicle Assembly, Prototype Construction, Lead Team prepare for Family Day

What do you mean?
“An example: when you design a car you always set out at the beginning all the known problems that are possible. Even so, once production is underway, it might be that some cars reveal anomalies and it’s here that Quality Control comes into play, to look for solutions, by involving all the necessary departments. Being aware that you don’t know everything is an opportunity for continuous learning. At Ferrari, everyone feels the responsibility of realising excellence in every aspect of our products and services, just as how in racing we know all too well that a single detail can decide the outcome of a race. If we want to focus on roles, it’s no coincidence that very capable people pass from the departments of Planning, and of Experimentation, to the Quality Control role.

Is there something that must always be kept in mind when considering teamwork?
“I believe that the fundamental principle is: be prepared to listen to others. And in order to understand what you are doing you shouldn’t be afraid of asking questions, of yourself and of those who work with you, and making an effort to know them better so that you can work out how they can help us. Often we carry out a task for the simple reason that someone above us asked us to do it, even though we may not be very convinced that it’s the right thing to do. Instead, expressing one’s doubts helps from every point of view, personal and collective, because we develop and it contributes to the final result. Similarly, there’s the importance of the ability to adapt, that readiness to confront situations that can change from one minute to the next, without losing energy or enthusiasm.”

Exceptional teamwork meets Miami glamour for the One Ferrari event

The year 2024 was rich in very ‘visible’ results …
“It was the year of the first real ‘One Ferrari’ event, that of Miami, where all the different souls of the company – Racing, Sports Cars, Lifestyle – were involved. And it was the year in which we laid down the foundations for our future production with the inauguration of the e-building; it was the year of the Family Day and of great sporting successes, from Monte Carlo to Monza in Formula One, to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 6 Hours of Austin in the WEC; and it was the year of the F80, our new Supercar which, following in the wake of models like the GTO, F40, F50, Enzo, and the LaFerrari, maps out the road for the next decade. And let’s not forget our focus on welfare issues, with the medical check-ups extended to all our employees and their families. And, precisely, none of this would have been possible without the contribution of lots of people. And I don’t only mean employees.”

Meaning?
“When we talk about the team we must bear in mind all the various components: our partners, the sponsors, the suppliers. Without overlooking the clients, the shareholders, or the research centres such as E-Cells Lab, the laboratory that Ferrari set up with the University of Bologna for the study of materials and the physical and chemical properties of their cells to find innovative solutions for batteries. Today, more than ever, each of these areas has to be considered a full member of the team. Creating solid and continuing relationships with them is not only a strategy, but is fundamental for the final result.”

If we were to express it in a slogan
“We have to always choose the ‘eco-system’, not the ‘ego-system’. That’s the only way that you can achieve results that are important and sustainable in the long term.”