Massimo Rivola has left Ferrari’s Formula One team to head up the Ferrari driver academy according to various reports.
Rivola will replace Luca Baldisserri, who left Ferrari’s driver academy in December so he could focus on managing the career of Formula 3 star Lance Stroll, who himself left Ferrari in order to join the Williams development team.
Riovola was at Ferrari from 2009 after he was approached to join the team following an impressive spell with Toro Rosso, formally the Minardi team that he was sporting director and team manager of from 2005. Riovola is highly thought of at Ferrari, and he comes with a reputation for finding and nurturing young talent during his time at Toro Ross and Minardi as he did with Sebastian Vettel.
This appointment shows a new mindset at Ferrari, they are a team famed for luring experienced winners to the team but they have always struggled to get any young drivers from their academy to the start line of a formula One race, something seemingly at the forefront of their minds now. Looking at how well Red Bull has done bringing through drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo to name a few, Ferrari’s academy may never have the pool of talent that Red Bull’s has, but they are heading in the right direction.
