Maranello, 18 December 2009

There is a lot of talk about Michael Schumacher possibly making a Formula 1 comeback and this was one of the most discussed topics during the traditional seasonal meeting between Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo and the Italian and international media, which took place yesterday in Maranello.
“The real Schumacher, the one I know, will remain forever part of the Ferrari family. “I said it in Monza and I repeated it in Abu Dhabi,” said Montezemolo, before proceeding with some irony, “but, it seems he has a twin brother, identical in every way, who seems to have it in his head to go and race in Formula 1 with Mercedes. I don’t know him personally, but it seems we have nothing to offer him: we have two young drivers in Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, on whom we are counting to deliver a lot next year. Joking apart, Michael’s current role revolves around the development of our road cars, including the important phase which saw us launch the 458 Italia, which is the essence of technology and owes a lot to research carried out on track with the Formula 1 car. I think that, this summer, when I asked him to stand in for Felipe, after the terrible accident in Budapest, he suddenly rediscovered the desire to race and the fact he was unable to follow through with that, left him a void that we are unable to fill. I remember how despondent he sounded on the evening of 9 August, when he called me to say that the problem with his neck meant he could not race in Valencia. It’s lucky that, despite the unsporting stance of some, we were able to run him in the 2007 car at Mugello, otherwise Michael would not have been fully aware of his situation. We have tried to move forward with the idea of running a third car, but for the moment, that is not possible. I don’t know what he will decide for the future, but I extend to him and indeed his twin brother, my very best wishes.”