Ferrari slams new teams and Mosley

RichardsF1    Catfights, Formula 1     Campos, Ferrari, FIA, Max Mosley, Stefan GP, Team Lotus, USF1, Virgin Racing

Ferrari has gone to town and launched a stinging attack on the (then, Max Mosley-led) FIA and the introduction of the new teams to F1.

Since the departure of Jean Todt from his post at Ferrari – and ironically, to the post of FIA President – Ferrari has assumed a very different mentality under the combined leadership of Luca di Montezemelo and Stefano Domenicali. Whereas in days past, it was very much a ‘Ferrari vs. everyone else’ mentality, the Scuderia has been a much more active force in promoting the unity of the teams and the future of the sport as a whole.

It was this in mind that we became more used to more fiery vitriol from the Ferrari camp. In the lead-up to the Monaco GP, there was strong criticism of the aspiring teams seeking entry into the 2010 F1 field, and they directly implied that Formula 1 would be reduced to the standards of the GP3 championship were this to occur.

Their latest attack takes it to a completely new level.

Using an editorial mouthpiece known as the “Horse Whisperer”, Ferrari questions the disarrayed scene around them that sees two teams – Campos and USF1, in particular – struggling to make the opening round of the 2010 race in Bahrain, while F1 has seen the departure of three key manufacturers, Honda, Toyota and BMW.

It reads: “Of the thirteen teams who signed up, or were induced to sign up, for this year’s Championship, to date only eleven of them have heeded the call, turning up on track, some later than others, and while some have managed just a few hundred kilometres, others have done more, but at a much reduced pace.” The use of the term “induced” is particularly interesting, perhaps in reference to the manner in which five of last year’s teams were forced to sign up to the 2010 championship in the midst of the budget cap debate.

“However, the beneficiaries of this generosity might find the knight in question expects them to fulfil the role of loyal vassal. All this means, it is hard to imagine the Dallara designed car showing its face at the Catalunya Circuit, with Sakhir a more likely venue to witness the return of the Senna name to a Formula 1 session.”

The statement then went on to express the team’s malcontent with the situation surrounding the Stefan GP team, which is hoping to secure an entry into the 2010 championship. The team recently took on former McLaren designer Mike Coughlan, the man at the centre of the “SpyGate” scandal, something that has riled both Ferrari and McLaren.

Ferrari lays much of the blame for the current situation firmly at the feet of former FIA President Max Mosley, who openly fought with manufacturers last year in his bid to slash costs and encourage the entry of new teams.

“This is the legacy of the holy war waged by the former FIA President. The cause in question was to allow smaller teams to get into Formula 1. This is the outcome: two teams will limp into the start of the championship, a third is being pushed into the ring by an invisible hand – you can be sure it is not the hand of Adam Smith – and, as for the fourth, well, you would do better to call on Missing Persons to locate it.

“In the meantime, we have lost two constructors along the way, in the shape of BMW and Toyota, while at Renault, there’s not much left other than the name. Was it all worth it?”

This is poetic and clear in its message and timing.

I’m looking forward to the responses from those in question!