The beginning of the article is stuff that has been covered, but then it goes into other interesting tidbits: http://www.f1i.com/content/view/6909/1/
Excellent article, thank you. The only chink ever in MS's armor was the fact that he would not have a true Number 1 like Mika or Kimi on the same team. Thanks again for this link.
Perhaps he wanted to hedge his bets against another 1999 Season or run his own team instead of Michael Schumachers team. Read the article in the same link called out of the Woodwork about Todt, Schumacher and the Norbert Fontana affair in the last race of 1997. You think, Fangio, Clark, Stewart, or Senna would have pulled that ****?
Very interesting article, unfortunately I wasn't into F1 back then so I don't remember Villeneuve being held up.
If the facts of this article are true, it seems to really put Ferrari and MS in a "bad" light. MS had the option to race with kimi, but opted to retire. Luca did not want to give MS enough time to really decide. These decisions should be made during the off season, not while preparing for the next race. Braun and Todt were not too happy, and with Todt still not being truly happy with the Ferrari "boss" maybe he is not giving Ferrari "110%". All of which could translate to a few tenths in the pits, car setup, etc.... What do you think?
This article has a bit of speculation in it, and I hope the rest isn't true. The odd manner in which Schumi retired does support some of the assertions made. It also seems that it would be unlikely for Brawn to return to Ferrari.
Did you notice, that this goes against your comment, that the retirement was all a done deal after the USGP? So Massa was indeed the "disposable" driver to fill in the gap just in case. PS: Excellent article and certainly not something you'd find in MS' official biography.
I'm not sure if I am able to believe all the information presented in that article, plus even if any of that was true, I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't leave Maranello because we all know "What happens at Ferrari, stays at Ferrari"
I knew I read this some place before. This article was discussed months ago in a thread started by the Admiral: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=129641 tifosiron's post #34 in that thread sums it up nicely. Why would f1i rehash something that was published nearly 6 months ago ? Notice no by line of who authored this crap on the f1i site.
There is so much speculation and lack evidence or facts in this feature. The accuracy of its reporting ludacris..... And the fact that Tom Rubython's BusinessF1 magazine site, only last weekend was in the news its self, As reports have suggest that Ron Dennis has circulated a petition last weekend (Malaysian GP) calling on members of the F1 community to join him in expressing their lack of confidence in the magazine and the accuracy of its reporting. taken from Pitpass.com 08/04/2007 "For once, we have agreement within the paddock............. Even the most casual observer will be aware that it is rare for F1 team bosses to agree on anything without months and months of wrangling. However, at the suggestion of McLaren boss Ron Dennis, it appears that at long last the majority of the team bosses, indeed the inhabitants of the F1 Paddock, may have something on which they are agreed, that they cannot support Tom Rubython's BusinessF1 magazine. Stories emerging from Malaysia suggest that Dennis has circulated a petition this weekend calling on members of the F1 community to join him in expressing their lack of confidence in the magazine and the accuracy of its reporting. The magazine and its owner, Tom Rubython, have been involved in numerous legal fights with leading members of the F1 community, including amongst others Wili Weber, Max Mosley, Flavio Briatore, Charlie Whiting, Richard Woods and former Jaguar boss Tony Purnell. Critics have argued that the magazine is doing damage to the sport and many of the people who work in it. Prior to running BusinessF1, Rubython edited Bernie Ecclestone's F1 Magazine. However, that project ended in tears with the F1 supremo eventually pulling the plug. Ecclestone famously remarked that whereas the paddock had always been a fairly happy and carefree place - other than allegations of cheating and demands for more money - articles in F1 Magazine led to all manner of complaints, with its owner bearing the brunt of the grief. Our sources in Malaysia tell us that Dennis has finally had enough, and has discussed with fellow team bosses and other F1 insiders the need to do something for the good of Formula One. We hear that the reaction has been encouraging with support at all levels and that this may lead to action in the run up to the race in Bahrain. Regular Pitpass readers will be aware that in late 2006 Mr Rubython threatened legal proceedings against our very own Dr Mike Lawrence, alleging that an article written in November 2005 by the highly respected author referred to him, even though the article made it categorically clear that the person referred to as Caliban was not the BusinessF1 editor"
I totally agree with the last post... Rubython does not have a good reputation... even if he "wins" in court, anyone who has been involved in so many issues.. I take their words with a huge grain of salt! Rubython's reputation has never really been that good and I would suspect that a great many people dont like him in and out of F-1! as for the article? rubbish... if Todt, Montezemolo were having a "war" I think the italian press would have been ALL over it... in a big way! I think the fact is that Schumacher decided to retire, and Ferrari most likely said that they cant keep giving him total preference if they sign Kimi... in any event I'm not going to feel bad for a guy who's earned $1billion from the sport... boo hoo... for Schumacher? please! The best thing for him to do is to race in Sports cars for Audi, or get Ferrari to do other racing... then he can cement his reputation for being the best driver ever... he needs to win Le Mans on his own, Sebring, and Indy 500.... as well as race at the Daytona 500.... that would do it!
Did you watch the moments after MS got out of the car until the ceremony? Montezemolo trying hard to hug Michael and Todt and neither of those wanted anything to do with him. It was very obvious.
Well, someone´s facial expression is not a very solid evidence. I agree that there can be some truth in that article, but anyway it´s just speculation.
