Formula One Features — November 1996

Why would Ferrari, the pride and passion of Italy, risk all the complications of splitting its design office from its manufacturing and racing teams in Maranello, Italy, and site it near Guildford in England? It must be more than the desire to place it in that 50 by 100 mile rectangle that accommodates eight out of the top ten Formula 1 design offices.

McLaren's performance in recent years has been mystifying when you compare the results in the last three years with those of the late 1980s when the Woking-based team won 13 World Championships in eight seasons. Winning seemed to be easy. Team boss Ron Dennis said it was all down to good planning and even revealed that everything at McLaren was planned five years ahead.