"It's 60% car, 40% driver": Why Enzo Ferrari's famous quote about F1 still rings true

F1 pundit Peter Windsor believes that Enzo Ferrari's famous ratio between a car and its driver still holds true in F1 to this day. Enzo Ferrari once said that if someone wins a race, 60% of the work has been done by the car and 40% by the driver. Though many would not agree with that, Windsor feels it is somewhat true in this day and age.

When Windsor was live on his YouTube channel, he was asked about the meritocracy in the sport and how teams have unequal machinery, giving some drivers a massive lead over others. To this, the F1 pundit mentioned Enzo Ferrari's famous 60-40 ratio quote and how it still holds true today.

He said:

"It's always been that way. I mean, I think you could you could rephrase the question, 'So what do you think about Enzo Ferrari's immortal words that when a car crosses the line to win a Grand Prix, it's 60% car, 40% driver.' And that's effectively what you're saying here, and I think most people would say, well, that's the beauty of Formula One."

Windsor further explained how great drivers take a bad car and gradually develop it with the team to make it a race-winning and championship-winning machine.

He said:

"It is about technology, it is about the great teams, it's also about drivers. It's about drivers taking a car from the back of the grid, making it a good car, and then winning with that car and giving himself that advantage which great drivers can do, and it's that mystery of how they do that."

It is safe to say that this still very much applies in the 2023 F1 season. For example, drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have the right minerals to consistently win races, but they are simply unable to do so due to a bad car. Apart from this, there are several examples on the grid that prove the 60-40 concept correct.

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Former Ferrari president shattered to see the team falling behind in the 2023 F1 season

Former Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo recently expressed how sad he is to see the scarlet team fail to deliver in the 2023 F1 season. He claimed that the team, along with his family, is one of the most important things for him. Hence, he cannot bear to see the Maranello-based outfit suffer.

Di Montezemolo was quoted as saying by FormulaPassion.it:

“It’s a knife in my wound. Ferrari together with my family is the most important thing in my life. I have been around for 25 years in two periods. It’s painful for me, I’m sorry to see them like this. I don’t think it’s a short-term crisis; it’s a question of rebuilding, and we need to bring together the best technicians.”

The Italian team currently sits fourth in the constructor's championship, below the likes of Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Red Bull.