“And yet they still can’t pay a decent strategist” – F1 fans react as Ferrari’s revenue grows 19% YoY to $1.24 billion in 2022
Follow Us
Ferrari
Enzo Ferrari once said, “Ask a child to draw a car, and certainly he will draw it red.” This still holds true as Scuderia Ferrari is the icon for sportscars and motorsports in general. A red Ferrari is what the majority of people visualize when they hear the term ‘racing car.’ As such what started as a Formula 1 team, became a way bigger enterprise over the span of decades as it grew immensely in popularity.
Enzo started selling Ferrari road cars simply as a way of financing the F1 team which was struggling for funds to keep racing. This however was the start of the brand Ferrari and they have never looked back since. From road cars and track cars to watches. jackets and even an amusement park, the Prancing Horse has become much more than a team or a car manufacturer, and its bank statements prove the same.
On the F1 side, the Scuderia has always been the team with the highest sponsorship deals, including the most controversial sponsorship deal in 21st-century formula 1, Marlboro, where the team ran the tobacco giants colors or even barcodes as a form of surrogate advertising. The team’s millions of fans or ‘Tifosi’ are also major revenue providers for the team as they are the ones purchasing the team’s merchandise.
Fans care about results and not the balance sheet of Scuderia Ferrari
Formula 1 has grown in popularity in recent years as new owners, Liberty Media have been successful in bringing new fans to the sport with their content-driven strategy. This has attracted millions of new viewers to the sport, and a majority of these are rooting for the Italian team. According to reports, Ferrari’s sponsorship revenue has increased by 30% to $345.2 Million compared to 2021. In the same metric, the Revenue of the Italian giant so far in 2022 stands at $1.24 billion, an increase of 19% from the previous year.
Fans on Twitter had their own opinions regarding Ferrari’s surge in funds, most of them being fed up with the team’s inability of winning the championship despite such riches reaching Maranello. One user replied, “And yet they still can’t pay a decent strategist” while another fan tweeted, “use that money on hiring 1 competent person for team strategy,” referring to the team’s awful track record of race strategies this year. One fan also pointed out, “they are like winning is totally secondary, as long they get the money,” mentioning how the team has gone for money rather than aiming to win again.
It is clear that Maranello has enough money rolling in, which can provide the team with the best personnel and technology. Yet time and time again, Scuderia Ferrari has failed to win a championship or even win races consistently. The team has fundamental problems such as strategic calls, in-season development, reliability, etc. which need to be dealt with, or else the team cannot go back to winning ways. The money might please the shareholders but not the fans.
Stay Updated!
FS Desk
(8023 Articles Published)