What Do Ferrari’s F1 Drivers Have To Say About The Luce EV?

When a company competes in Formula 1 on Sunday and sells cars during the week, there’s bound to be some crossover between the two worlds. It’s only logical that Ferrari is capitalizing on having Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on the racing side to promote its latest road-going models. It happened last year with the F80 hypercar, and now it’s happening again with an entirely different vehicle.

But Luce is unlike any other Ferrari since Maranello started making cars nearly 80 years ago. Why? Well, just look at it. The radical design has sparked unprecedented controversy online, while the electric drivetrain has only added fuel to the debate. Of course, you’re not going to hear F1 drivers saying negative things about a product their employer is selling for €550,000 apiece.

Charles Leclerc Notes It Has A Very Different Design Than Past Models

Leclerc does say a few things we can all agree on, such as how “the design is very-very different to whatever we’ve seen from Ferrari in the past.” Additionally, the return to more physical buttons is likely to be universally appreciated. The 28-year-old Monégasque driver goes on to describe the Luce as “very futuristic,” which is certainly one way to characterize the five-door, five-seat liftback: “It’s very Ferrari-like to look towards the future and to innovate.”

Lewis Hamilton Likes How It Drives

Hamilton takes a different angle, praising the attention to detail and also describing the car as “very Ferrari.” Design aside, the seven-time F1 champion appreciates how the Luce feels behind the wheel: “The power delivery is amazing. You just feel centered the whole time even when you’re going through corners.”

While the video is predictably a carefully orchestrated marketing effort, the comments left by viewers are absolute chaos. You’ll have to scroll quite a bit to find positive feedback. In fact, some users were surprised Ferrari even left the comments section open on YouTube, effectively opening the floodgates to harsh criticism.

Photo by: Ferrari

Don’t Write Off The Ferrari Luce Just Yet

But as unconventional as the Luce looks on the outside, it’s reasonable to assume Ferrari conducted extensive clinics with prospective buyers. The EV has been in development for many years, and logic suggests Maranello had plenty of time to speak with customers and gather feedback.

The outcome has set the Internet ablaze, but Ferrari clearly saw this coming. Later in the video, the company’s Head of Global Product Marketing, Emanuele Carando, accurately describes what the past few days have been like:

‘Whenever we will unveil the car, there is going to be incredible discussion. We’re going to have some great lovers, and we’re going to have a lot of haters.’

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Source: Ferrari

Motor1’s Take: Ferrari knew the kind of reactions its first EV would generate and moved forward with it anyway. Although most comments have been critical of the Luce, it’s far too early to label the car a sales failure. Shocking as it may seem, the Prancing Horse has undoubtedly done its homework, and the striking design is unlikely to catch customers off guard.

Ferrari probably understands what its buyers want better than any other automaker in the industry. This is a high-stakes business with little room for experimentation, so we wouldn’t write off the Luce just yet.