The Eng. Luigi Mazzola talks about the differences between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, how Formula 1 has changed over the years and the arrival of Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari
April 11, 2024
Hworked alongside Alain Prost at Ferrari in the 90sthen grew to the point where it became a reference to Michael Schumacher but not after experiencing the epic Alesi, Berger and so on in the era of Ferrari’s transformation. Today the engineer Luigi Mazzola he is a writer, with the book Avanti tutto from Ferrari engineer to performance coach to TV commentator. A big leap without a doubt and all to say that from the experience on the track you move on to understanding that it’s all about mental strength.
“This is what is needed, this is what makes the difference. In fact, I worked with pilots, with technicians, engineers, then I also worked with this approach in world of tennis, with Djokovic and with Jasmine Paolini. It is a work carried out with leaders, in the end what emerges is that competence is necessary, but what makes the difference is the expression of the characteristics of human beings. Emotions and spirituality and spirituality with mental strength, this is what makes the difference between being normal and being a champion”.
PAt the end we always go back to talking about Formula One and we go back to talking about the great champions of the pastSenna, Prost, Schumacherwith whom you worked.
“Oh yes, because in short, that is my background, but I also talk about Verstappen as well as Leclerc. Is there a difference between the two? No, so the difference between the two could already be seen from this perspective I was talking about before. So even now a champion emerges from the moment you see the solidity of behavior, fewer errors, the ability to go beyond the limit or go to the limit, so in the end we are always talking about human beings, with different machines, with situations different. But in the end who makes the difference? Always there ability to use the human being at the highest levels”.
TOSo since you’re one of the few who manages to get inside the mentality, let’s talk about Leclerc And Verstappenone in Red Bull is the enemy of the Ferrari fans, Leclerc, the idol of the Ferrari fans: from a mental point of view what is the difference? Let’s not talk about driving because I am now at such a level that there is very little difference behind the wheel…
“The determination that this boy called Verstappen has is also that of being able to get into the car and have total management of what happens around him. So the ability of a pilot to not make mistakes means that he is not only competent, but he is also a person who always manages in that moment, to live totally in the present, to live, to immerse himself in the whole. It was nice when he said, at the previous Grand Prix, I am one with my car. It means that at that moment he is so centered and solid in appearance, let’s say human in mentality, that it is clear that you give him the fast car, he uses it to the maximum. Leclerc is not yet, in my opinion, at those levels: he is talented, he is someone who goes very well in the car. Nothing to say, are we kidding? The leap that he should somehow make is precisely that of being able to concentrate totally, at every moment, in every situation. But to concentrate I always say, live totally in that moment, the moment you leave your conscious world and let your unconscious world manage your conscious world, you have won.”
Is he the one who will be able to bring Hamilton and Ferrari, even if he is over forty?
“I don’t know, I don’t know Hamilton, what I expect is ready and away from a Hamilton to Ferrari, the change of mentality. He is a driver who wins, he is a driver who has won, he has won a lot, in a winning team, therefore in a winning structure, even if now Mercedes is no longer winning anything, but I hope he brings this, that is for me Ferrari’s goal is to be able to take everything that a Hamilton, the experience can give to start building a new cycle. So Hamilton he could be a catalyst for this, just as Lauda was, just as Prost wasalthough unfortunately we did not win, as it was Schumacherso they are mentality catalysts that can make the whole team grow.”
Si always talk about Adrian Newey as a technician, while in reality we know that the work is teamwork. But you come from an era of Formula One where there was track testing, so a team dedicated to track testing. Today the driver who learned from the circuits now does so from the simulator and we often see that there is a difference. Does this also apply to technicians? Is there perhaps a lack of that school of technicians who come from the track and therefore this is why there is a lack of supporting names and it is a self-referential F.1 that talks to each other?
“Totally agree. F.1 is built on the track. F.1 is not simulated, it is tested, the car is assembled, it is not simulated. This has always been my way of seeing. TOAt the time with tests on the track instead of in the simulator, you trained the mechanics, technicians, engineers, you tested things, so you left creativity and then the driver could grow, young drivers, older drivers could grow. Now, if we go and get a technician he doesn’t have the experience. Trivial example, the wind changes, it rains, the weather conditions change, if someone has a wealth of experience in testing, he knows what he has to do, there you have to try to see what to do, but if it comes to you suddenly, you don’t know more what to do or at least you try to understand and simulate, ask someone to simulate sudden conditions, but once upon a time you had a wealth of practical knowledge so you could cope with any situation. So? In my opinion, current F.1 is producing drivers, technicians, mechanics and engineers at all levels, at a lower level than it once was.”.
