Ferrari are taking a "risky" approach to the modern era in Formula 1, former president Luca di Montezemolo has claimed.
Amid a bizarre media blackout, Ferrari are nonetheless impressing so far with their 2017 car but Montezemolo, who fell out spectacularly when he was ousted a few years ago by Sergio Marchionne, still wonders if the team's approach is right.
"Ferrari made a risky choice," he told Italian radio station Rai. "They want to have a car constructed exclusively by Italian engineers, but in formula one you need the best people in the industry.
"It would be nice to win with Italians alone, but excellence is not always in a single country."
The 69-year-old warns that Ferrari's strategy could soon cost them the patience of number one driver Sebastian Vettel.
"Vettel has one [Ferrari] victory," he said. "He will assess the competitiveness of this car after two or three grands prix. As his contract expires, he will then decide his future.
"[Kimi] Raikkonen? He is not the future of Ferrari," Montezemolo added.
As for the promise shown by Ferrari's 2017 car in early testing, Montezemolo commented: "Good times are positive, but times that are worth something will only be in Melbourne."
The Australian Grand Prix marks the beginning of the 2017 championship later this month.
