Ferrari has had enough problems on the track in F1, but it now seems as if their worries have been compounded after being held to ransom by a computer hacker.
The Scuderia witnessed a cyber attack on its customer data that forced the hierarchy to inform customers that their data had been stolen.
However, the Prancing Horse was also quick to clarify that their day-to-day operations would continue in a regular manner.
Charles Leclerc had already written to team bosses about holding an ’emergency meeting’ to address the team’s problems on the track.
Meanwhile, team principal Fred Vasseur has enough on his plate in dealing with speculation over a number of key figures at the team.
Aerodynamics chief David Sanchez is reportedly on the verge of completing a deal with McLaren and race director Laurent Mekies also subject to a transfer.
On the track, things didn’t get much better for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, as neither Carlos Sainz nor Charles Leclerc were able to finish in the top-5.
Sky Sports Italy has reported that the latest ransom call made by the hacker after getting access to Ferrari data is being taken very seriously by the outfit.
The team released a statement regarding the leak.
“In line with its corporate policy, Ferrari will not accept any ransom demands as agreeing to such demands would finance criminal activities and allow the perpetrators of the threats to perpetuate their attacks,” a statement from the team read.
“In the belief that the best course of action is to inform our customers, we have notified our customers of the potential exposure of their data and the nature of the event.
“Ferrari treats the issue of confidentiality of its customers very seriously, and understands the importance of what happened.
“We have worked with experts to further strengthen our systems, the robustness of which we are confident of.
“We can also confirm that the breach had no impact on our company’s operations.”
The next race weekend will take place in Australia between March 31-April 2.
With so many problems already plaguing Ferrari, a cyber attack was perhaps the last thing the team needed as it looks to get its season back on track.
It is a far cry from the beginning of the 2022 season, when new regulations had given rise to a belief that Ferrari would be able to challenge for the title.
Had it not have been for some dubious decision-making on the part of then team principal Mattia Binotto, things may well have panned out quite differently.
However, for now, Ferrari has to make the best of whatever resources it has at its disposal as the team looks to get back to its past glory.