Former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo believes that in hindsight, the introduction of the 1.6 litre hybrid V6 turbo power unit era was a mistake.

The Scuderia's level of performance has suffered since the advent of hybrid engines in Formula 1, with Ferrari collecting just three wins, all achieved in 2015, in the past three seasons.

Montezemolo admitted he hasn't been surprised by Mercedes' utter domination of Formula 1, given the fact that the German manufacturer started working on the hybrid concept ten years ago!

"Niki Lauda recently confessed to me that Mercedes was working on it since 2007," Montezemolo told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

"That is why they were so adamant during the (rules) negotiations," he claimed.

With regard to the decision to steer Formula 1 into a hybrid era, the former Ferrari boss admits that supporting the change was a big mistake for the Scuderia.

"I made a mistake, yes. But I felt that I could not put Ferrari in a position antithetical to progress. A fearful Ferrari could not be my Ferrari," he concluded.

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