My Pole Position at Monza
Francesco Ferri is still amazed by how many people share a keen interest in the technicalities of car racing. Last January he was put in charge of the Monza National Autodrome, as the famous racing circuit is officially nown. He was born in Parma. He is 39 and a graduate in Economics from Bocconi. His curriculum bespeaks of an entrepreneurial and managerial career that made him Vice President of the young entrepreneurs' division of Confindustria. ACI Milan decided to entrust him with the management of the circuit, therefore placing high hopes in him for the business revival of the racing track.
Q. You are new to the world of car racing. You are a successful entrepreneur, specializing in the restructuring of companies on the brink of bankruptcy. What kind of prospects does your appointment as director of Monza give the circuit?
I confirm that I am not a technical expert. I've always watched Formula One on TV, but I never expected that one day I would manage the Monza autodrome. But the challenge that I was offered was too big and beautiful not to take it. Because the challenge is this: to treat the racing track as a company, managing emotions while applying the tools of rationality typical of the business manager. My mission is to break with the recent history of the racing circuit, especially from what happened in 2012, with the opening of the investigation and the pending trials, when Monza was imploding, increasingly disorganized and distant from its key stakeholders: municipality and region, customers, suppliers, banks, institutions...
Q. What type of company is a racetrack?
It has an incredible heritage; it is a real mine of values, history, memories, affections. And it focuses on emotions. On the other hand, this emotional component must be treated with the tools of a company, working on all fronts: organization, finance, marketing, sales, communication, interaction with the territory, internal processes, broadening of the offer...
Because racing is what makes us one of the most famous circuits in the world, but the racetrack as a business survives only if its offer goes beyond the boundaries of racing and embraces those of edutainment. In this direction, there are some new features, including the Museum of Speed just opened, the offer of driving courses, research facilities for automotive start-ups. The ultimate goal is to have families waking up on a Sunday and say: "Today we are going to the racetrack." And not because there is a competition but because you can go around the causeway or picnic in the park, there is the swimming pool, the kart circuit...
Q. It seems your challenge is also loaded with symbolic meaning, being the racetrack one of those telling cases in which Italian red tape, bad politics and fraudulent business have combined to tarnish the image of a jewel made in Italy. How to find the way out of this?
The legacy left by the previous management is very heavy, and it was not due to existing complexities and difficulties, but to precise individual responsibilities which are being ascertained. Certainly, the governance of the circuit is intricate. It is property of the municipalities of Monza and Milan, and is managed by SIAS SpA, a company whose shareholders are ACI Milan for 70% and the latter's real estate company for 30%. So results can only be achieved through simplification. Beginning from the objectives that, for this year, are just one: a balanced budget. My answer to all those who talk of bureaucratic complication or technical procrastination is always this: we have to balance the budget. My co-workers and I work for 18 hours a day to reach this objective, and if others follow suit we will get there. Resilience, focus, persistence: these are our watchwords.
Q. For many Monza is, first of all, the Italian Grand Prix of Formula One. An event, however, that is warranted only until 2016. You have always talked about a plan B for the racetrack, but could really Monza do without the Grand Prix?
No. Monza cannot live without the Grand Prix. It is our number one priority and we are investing every resource possible for the race to remain. But even Formula One cannot do without Monza. A few weeks ago Lewis Hamilton was here to do a photo shoot for the
Mercedes Museum. We spoke for a few minutes, but the first thing he asked me was to be reassured about the permanence of Monza in the calendar of Formula 1. And what is true for the champion driver is also true for fans around the world, because Monza is one of the three the most-watched races of the year.
œ' In the program you presented a few months ago, several activities were listed that could transform the circuit. Can you update us on some of the most important?
We are advancing on many ideas. The causeway is certainly a factor to be valorized and will also be open for tours by private car, as it happened during the Mille Miglia in the spring. We are setting up the grandstand at the parabolic curve as an information center and children's area, while rearranging the camping and pool area. We have also become an attractive arena for concerts, like the one by Manu Chao on June 22. On the motoring side, we are working with Dorna to bring the Superbike back here, and already in 2016 we could get back the historic Mille Chilometri. In October we'll host the Smart Mobility Week dedicated to urban mobility, and for November the Monza Rally Show is confirmed, just like the Moto Circus in January 2016.