Sky Sports F1 consultant Nico Rosberg believes Ferrari is contemplating a bold and dramatic strategic shift that could alter the team's long-standing operational traditions.
While the 2016 F1 World Champion stopped short of confirming the potentially game-changing plan, his comments hint at a move that would bring the iconic Italian team closer to the heartland of modern F1 operations.
Ferrari entered 2025 with high hopes after pushing McLaren to the wire in the 2024 Constructors’ Championship. Bolstered by the signing of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes, the team aimed to end a title drought stretching back to 2008.
However, 10 races into the season, Ferrari trail McLaren by 191 points in the Constructors’ standings, while Charles Leclerc, their top driver, sits 94 points behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship.
Hamilton’s sole victory – a Sprint win in China – marks Ferrari’s only race triumph, with Leclerc securing the team’s three podiums.
Amid this challenging campaign, Italian media speculation about team principal Fred Vasseur’s future intensified before the Canadian Grand Prix, though Vasseur dismissed the reports. Now, Rosberg has revealed whispers of a different kind of change at Ferrari, one that could reshape the team’s entire operational model.
Rosberg’s UK Base Revelation
Speaking on Sky Sports’ The F1 Show, Rosberg suggested Ferrari may be exploring the establishment of a UK base, a move that would align them with most F1 teams, except Sauber (set to become Audi in 2026).
Comparing Ferrari’s operations to his former team Mercedes, which splits its chassis and engine divisions between Brackley and Brixworth, Rosberg highlighted what he perceives as a gap in Ferrari’s efficiency.
©Ferrari
“So I’ve seen a little bit of inner workings there at Ferrari, and you can see that the level of excellence that they’re at is not comparable to the British teams, and especially to someone like Mercedes, in many areas, whether it goes from marketing, to other areas,” Rosberg said.
“So you can just see there, the whole culture, the fact that they’re in Italy, it makes it a lot more difficult to them.”
Rosberg pointed to decision-making clarity as a key issue, suggesting Hamilton may struggle to navigate Ferrari’s complex hierarchy compared to the streamlined structure at Mercedes under Toto Wolff.
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“For example, at Mercedes, whenever Lewis had a thing, he would just go to Toto, and Toto would be able to make the decision, call the shot immediately, done,” he explained.
“Whereas at Ferrari, there’s so many different decision-makers, and even Lewis doesn’t really know, ‘Okay, if I ask him, and he says yes and he does it, and the other guy still complains afterwards.’ It’s all a bit difficult there.”
The potential UK base, Rosberg noted, could tap into the F1 ecosystem clustered in Britain.
“There’s a couple of ideas that I heard going round,” he added. “I think Ferrari has been exploring to perhaps open a kind of subsidiary in the UK, because that’s where the F1 ecosystem is. So I’ve heard rumours that they’re also thinking about opening a subsidiary there.”
Challenges of a Dual-Operation Model
Yet, Rosberg cautioned that a UK subsidiary could introduce new hurdles, particularly in coordinating with Maranello.
“The problem then is just getting the communication right,” he continued.
“If you do have a Ferrari entity in the UK, that’s one thing, but it still needs to communicate awesomely with the headquarters, and then maybe that’s not possible to get the communication that good, that that actually makes sense.”
©Ferrari
Other teams, like Haas, which operates from Banbury while maintaining a technical office in Maranello, and Racing Bulls, with bases in Faenza and the UK, have navigated similar setups. However, for Ferrari – a team deeply rooted in Italian tradition – such a shift would mark a significant departure.
As Ferrari’s wait for a Grand Prix win continues this season, Rosberg’s comments raise questions about whether a UK base could reinvigorate the team’s competitiveness.
While the move remains speculative, it underscores the pressure on Ferrari to adapt in a fiercely competitive F1 landscape.
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