Sergio Marchionne believes a collaboration between Scuderia Ferrari and Alfa Romeo in Formula 1 could help bring through Italian drivers in the future.
Not since 2011 when both Jarno Trulli and Vitantonio Liuzzi graced the Formula 1 grid has Italy been represented by a driver, but Ferrari President Marchionne believes Alfa Romeo could provide that opportunity for Italian racers, should a project involving the Italian car manufacturer come to fruition.
Marchionne believes Ferrari have signed the best Italian prospect in junior formulae at present after Antonio Giovinazzi was handed the reserve driver role in 2017, but he feels there needs to be a route available to Italian drivers to make it to the highest level of single seater racing.
“Alfa Romeo in F1 could become a fine breeding ground for young Italian drivers,” said Marchionne to the Italian media. “The best one, Giovinazzi, is already with us, but there are others besides him, and they are struggling to find room.
“Alfa Romeo, more than our customer teams, could offer them that space. The space for Alfa Romeo is there – it’s a project that in whatever form must find its place.
“We have spoken also with [Mattia] Binotto and [Maurizio] Arrivabene to understand in what way Alfa Romeo can collaborate with Ferrari. The problem is that, at the moment, because of the launch of road cars that will come out soon, there already numerous commitments from a financial point of view.
“With the launch of the Giulia and the Stelvio [road cars] we have to wait for a bit, but I hope to be able to bring it back.”
