Ferrari have become a "frightened group of people" afraid of taking risks and innovating according to former chief engineer Luca Baldisserri, who has since left the outfit.
Speaking to Italy's Corriere dello Sport, Baldisserri admitted he was concerned by Ferrari's leadership as neither Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne or team principal Maurizio Arrivabene have backgrounds in racing, and believes their leadership has continued to stifle success.
"Unfortunately, neither Marchionne nor Arrivabene have any experience of racing, a culture that today the Scuderia has lost. They are no longer a team, but a group of frightened people," he said. "There is a climate of fear, the boys don’t innovate or take risks for fear of being fired in disgrace.
"The chain of command in Formula 1 has to be more than vertical: it must be military. The number ones [leaders] are there to show the way, to motivate people – if mistakes are made people should not be fired. This has happened to [former technical director James] Allison, a great loss."
Allison was replaced by Mattia Binotto who Baldisserri believes would be better suited to the role of team principal as his background is on the engine side, which the sport is moving away from in 2017, with a focus on the chassis and aerodynamics.
"Mattia knows how to motivate people, he has great experience but he is not a technical director. He knows he can not design a car and does not have deep knowledge on the chassis, aerodynamic or mechanical side. I would see him fit very well as a team principal."
All is not lost however and Baldisserri believes things can recover if given enough time – something Marchionne seems unwilling to do with his recent demands of instant success.
"Well the money is there, also with the political authority, but you win with stability," he added. "Things should not be rushed.
"I understand that Marchionne wants to win right away, but in Formula 1 it does not work like that. It's difficult to make it happen in less than three years."
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