F1 champion Nico Rosberg has suggested Ferrari may be on the brink of making a stunning change.
The Scuderia has worked out of its historic base in Maranello for 82 years after legendary founder Enzo Ferrari switched his team from its previous roots in Modena in 1943.
The factory is part of Ferrari's folklore; however, Rosberg has indicated the possibility that it may now be about to expand its operation beyond Italy.
“I’ve seen a little bit of the inner workings there at Ferrari, and you can see 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,” said Rosberg, on the SkySports F1 podcast.
“You can just see the whole culture there, the fact that they’re in Italy, making it a lot more difficult for them."
Referencing his experiences at Mercedes with Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg added: “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.
“Whereas at Ferrari, there are 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."
As to the rumour mill, Rosberg added: “There are a couple of ideas that I heard going round.
"I think Ferrari has been exploring perhaps opening 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 that."
At present, as a manufacturer, Ferrari's entire operation is based at Maranello.
Mercedes is split across its UK facilities at Brackley and Brixworth, whilst from next year, with the addition of Red Bull Powertrains, the team will be housed on one campus in Milton Keynes.
Of the other teams, McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams have bases in Woking, Silverstone and Grove, respectively. Racing Bulls is run out of Faenza, Italy.
Alpine has long been headquartered in Enstone, with its engine operation working out of Viry-Châtillon in France, although that changes next year when the team will be powered by Mercedes.
Of the remaining two teams, Sauber [Stake] operates out of Hinwil, Switzerland, although from next year, when it morphs to Audi, the power units will be manufactured in Neuberg, Germany.
Haas, meanwhile, which is closely affiliated with Ferrari, is split across bases in Kannapolis, North Carolina, as well as Banbury, and Maranello.
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