http://www.ferrari.com/English/News/Pages/100222_GR_Per_chi_suona_la_campana.aspx Having a pop at the new F1 teams, Bernie and Max! A sample:
+1 While all that content might well be true, it seems to be extremely poor taste to have it published on their main commercial website.
Ferrari invest heavily in their time, effort and funds to participate in F1. Worth it to race other manufacturers and professional, well funded and experienced teams like Williams. Not worth it to race in an expensive club series with the likes of USF1 and Campos.
Their manner of expressing it may not have been the best, but they have valid concerns. If both USF1 and Campos make it to the races, is that going to be the good news or the bad news? Their performance may be so bad that they become hazards on the course in practice, and if they make the grid, in the races.
That's on the mark. Ferrari is right to push back on the powers that allow the sport to be contaminated by a bunch of charlatans. Most of these new teams were not vetted thoroughly, and yet Dave Richards' team was arbitrarily shut out. The fact is that the sport is still run by demi-gods who, at bottom, have very little of their own capital invested, yet have been made enormously wealthy by the success of the sport. They have got where they are on the backs of the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, etc.
Three thoughts 1) It is certainly within Ferraris right to speak their mind, but I agree it's wholly unprofessional to do it in this way, and only makes them look bad. Whomever is airing these thoughts ought to put their name to it as a blog (i.e. Luca's blog). It's not like making it anonymous but right on their webpage makes them look any better in the matter. 2) The comments are absolutely right. It is ridiculous that Ferrari are "competing" with Campos and USF1 and even Virgin/Manor. I suspect the speed differential will be astounding. I further suspect all of the new teams will not be on the grid at the last race. 3) Anyone know the current relationship between Todt and Ferrari/Luca? Rumor was it was cold at best. Does this sort of letter out of Ferrari ruffle Todt's feathers or is he in agreement with it? I wonder if there is some angst there. Furthermore, I wonder if the angst that is there is the very reason Max pushed for Todt to succeed him? (he already took revenge against Flavio, and Howett, and Dennis... Luca was the only one left).
Seems like BMW, Honda, and especially Toyota should be the ones stating that the reason they left F1 was because of Mosley. They haven't, because it wasn't the reason. So content is likely far from true. Why bring it up at all? Lotus, Virgin, they are of the new teams, they will be on the grid. Why put down the new teams that are trying? There was a time, most everyone on the grid at the moment was new, and face it, the big corporations need to take a few years sojourn because of the economy. They may never return if costs are not controlled. diMontezemelo got his feelings hurt by Mosley, so its now just Ferrari beating a dead horse. Someone should beat diMontezemelo, his inability to understand not everyone has the budget of Ferrari was, is, one of the problems within F1. If he did understand, it was his pure self centered attitude about himself, and not the future of F1 that mattered. di Montezemelo is a detriment to the sport, and most certainly Ferrari. Todt's philosphies are much more Mosley than diMontezemelo, so perhaps Luca is postering behnd someone else's words. He is an egotistical ass. Likely there will be a Todt/diMontezemelo conflict, and I am guessing that Todt is a lot stronger than Mosley. Potentially, diMontezemelo's ego will keep him from realizing this battle will be much tougher. I hope Todt has Luca bend over.
OMG. Andreas where is that pigs flying image. I am stunned that I agree with SRT Mike. Something is wrong here. Who has hacked into your account!!
Ferrari used a safe venue to express their gripes and took pains to specifically (and IMO justifiably) blame Mosley for the current state of affairs. It is no secret that LdM essentially pushed Todt out of Ferrari and ruined the race team in the process. I admire Luca for turning around Ferrari (at least in terms of product, haven't studied the financials) when he took over but he has a humongous ego that could not deal with the prospect of Todt challenging his status as THE man at Ferrari. He wanted to make sure that everyone understood -history books included- that he himself was the only irreplaceable ingredient in the winning recipe. And we've all witnessed the cost of that move. Todt left Ferrari a rich man but I'm quite sure that Luca does not want to piss him off. Just in case.
From The Autosport: Branson's response: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81748 I found this part interesting: QUOTE: "We are not complaining about it, and we are happy to go on with it, but Ferrari should be welcoming new teams because they [the new teams] make the sport much more exciting. And we will make them look better for a year or two until we catch them up. Ultimately, I think the new teams will give Ferrari a run for their money and I think will make the sport more exciting particularly as the budgets come down to more realistic levels." Hasn't Branson noted that Toyota weren't handicapped by budget restrictions and yet they failed to make any major impact on the top teams?. Success in F1 is not about how much money you can throw at a car (although it can help greatly), it's about having a good base car, sensible development, reliability, decent drivers (not just drivers who's No.1 asset is that they can bring money with them), and a good team spirit where everybody puts in 100% effort and pulls together (a lesson Ferrari learnt the hard way). QUOTE: Branson also believes that the move by manufacturer teams that blocked the FIA's plans to put a budget cap in place for this season was wrong. "I think it was a pity that they were resistant and I think it is foolish actually," he said. "I think the one thing the Virgin team will prove is that you can have a really good racing team, running very fast, within a very tight budget. There is no need to do massively expensive windtunnel testing, or all the other things that they do to get the extra second or two." Good luck with that theory!. Does he think that every other team hasn't looked into the pro's and con's of the methods they use?. Never mind "the extra second or two", they spend millions looking for tenths of seconds per lap, per corner etc., because that's what it takes to be succesful in F1. F1 on the cheap?, no thanks, not for Me!. My biggest problem with this interview is that having been involved in F1 for less than a year, Branson is telling the world of F1 that they're all going about it the wrong way and that his way is the right way. The likes of Ferrari, McLaren, Williams etc., have been doing this sport for decades and yet apparantly, they've all got it wrong!. It's also a little bit strange hearing this from a man who one minute was saying he had absolutely no interest in entering F1 unless it drastically changed it's ways when it came to finance and it's enviromental impact, and the next minute, jumped in and started taking credit for all of Brawn GP's success and now seems to think that he's running the sport!.
Welcome to Sir Richard's mind. It doesn't operate in a conventional manner. His comments at the end of the season will be far more interesting
Frankly, Branson doesn't know his ass from his elbow when it comes to racing, especially F1. He just doesn't get it. He's ignorant. He's thinking of it as a marketing exercise, and in that context, he is correct... you don't need to spend hundreds of millions for that fraction of a second in speed in order to get the same marketing benefit. But if you are a car OEM, it clearly is worth it. Branson is not a car OEM. He's not a racer. He's a marketing guy. He wants the most bang for the buck. To suggest they will be catching up Ferrari at any time - in 1 year or 20 years - is laughable. VirginF1 will be the new Minardi and they will never be fast, they will never win races, and they will never be in contention for any titles. Branson will realize this, will get sick of it, and will bail out of F1 within 3 years at most. And the budget caps will NEVER EVER EVER happen. Ever.
Sorry to have to break this to you SRT Mike, but I agree with you 100% on this one!. (See, miracles can happen! )
