Todt Explains Ferrari's Position on USGP Controversy

Sunny ... I'm on your side and have been agreeing with you all along , infact I thought I had already stated that (This thread)

Totally agree with you ... and that is what I thought my post said ... definitely was not meant to be a Todt/Ferrari worshipping post at all, ie:

Pete

 

I don't care WHO asks for the favor, for one team, you can retire and watch from the private boxes or the pits. Two teams, thats just bad luck. Seven teams? Even though thats most of the field, that still leaves three teams to race right? I have no problem with this. I take issue with those who show so much as a hint of going against the chicane to make the best of it for the supporters. There's a big difference between a businessman and an athlete. Todt showed us which one he is.

You need to get real.

Sunny
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LOL! Pete, you and I agree, but there are those in the thread that don't see a difference between 1 team or most of the grid develop problems and how to react a fan, a team principal, or FIA management. No racing, no money, no series. The kind of attitude of Todt's should not be welcome in the sport and it does his team a disservice. Score one hollow victory for Ferrari. Todt must be pleased.

Sunny

 

Ferrari have shown for many years that it does not care HOW it wins, just that it does.

The fact that they got so much pleasure in the last couple of years in beating well nobody shows that they just don't get it. Good on them and all, but I would have been commenting to the press that we wish our opposition would improve so we had a challenge. The USGP just showed it up perfectly ... they would rather there was nobody else on the track, and they would still rate it as a great win.

Personally I'd rather win by 1 point on the last race after a fncken awesome race long battle that had everybody screaming from their seats ... followed by 5 minutes of clapping from the stands afterwards. Now that is winning.

Pete

 

i am a ferrari fan. I feel disapointed with their decision. I know it not their fault and unfair to them but they should of take the bullet for the sake of the sport.

 

Right on! ... and well said.

Pete

 

wrong, McLaren are the ones that don't care how they win , so long as they do - remember the barge board episode from RD the weasel!

This is big business and after 21 years of coping heaps from the garagisti there is now reference to sportsmanship !!!??? ffs get off the high horse what a crock of **** .....

everytime one of those billycarts win like McLaren or Williams it means nothing to Ferrari fans (except we need to build a better billycart)

Todt is the reason Ferrari are on top and I hope he becomes the next MM as that will really piss some people off

Todt has NEVER made a wrong decision (from a business perspective) and I hope he never backs down from what HAS to be done to win the championship, if the others were in a position to do it they wouldn't hesitate.

You have to be ruthless and dogmatic or else you end up on the huge pile of wannabes that is the F1 letovers.

Bugger sportsmanship, this is F1 , Ferrari versus the rest so it's a take no prisoners attitude and Todt is doing just fine ... love the man

 

Let's look at the score.

John: 1
Pete: Nil

 

Gee guy's I hate to jump in so late here but..... Has anyone read all the news at Planet F1? Ferrari did the right thing. They were prepared and they raced.
If there would have been a chicane the FIA would have pulled ALL U.S. sanctions.
What I can't believe is that the Michelin cars left 3 or more points on the table. There is no reason the Michelin cars could not have used the pit lane entrance. (not the pit lane as some people have stated) (look at a track map) They probably could have even beaten the Minardis.
Personally, I hope Ferrari wins the Team Championship by one point.

Fire suit on,
Rick

 

I agree with him totally, my only point is without the fans where would this money come from? That's why they should perhaps consider what we have to say before they go not running races. If all the people that smoke Marlboros for example, stopped smoking them because of the USGP do you think their sponsorship of Ferrari would continue? Sponsors are in the game to attract business and many fans have chosen the things they buy on the basis of what team they sponsor. I have a kenwood in my car for that very reason as i'm sure many of us have similar examples. As much as I hate to admit it Nascar is the only sanctioning body that has it right so far. They took a hillbilly sport that was hardly watched into something that rivals baseball in american attendance and is growing worldwide. thier commitment to the fans is job 1. Your jaw would drop if you went to a race and saw how accessible everything was, cars, drivers, etc.

 

Not a bad point Racerx. I don't think consumers will be very much affected by Indy though. And the sponsors of Ferrari pretty much had an exclusive commercial for 1 1/2 hours...they sure got their money's worth on that.

I agree with you that Indy was not a race, sucked for the fans and even may damage future USGPs, at least at Indy (although this was not the tracks fault). I wonder if the Europeans will look at this the same way, though..or will they say "Stupid Americans ruined F1".

I think Ferrari made the right choice to race and win. It would have been very sporting of them to sit out the race and have Todt say, "we came her to race, not to test. And if there is no competition, there is no race". But, F1 is not just a sport, it's a business.

 

From what i heard on TV, both Magny Cours and Silverstone spoke to the FIA regarding the USGP worried that the same thing would happen to them. I think everyone is in agreement in this case, it's bad for formula one in general not just in the US, but that's just my two cents.

 

How apt with it being Wimbledon fortnight!! Watching the argument from one side to another. Don't you guys realise I have work to do, and said to my colleagues I would start after dinner .

JaguarXJ - I think you are saying as one of the Bridgestone team refused to compromise [and they are in the minority] by adding a chicane etc, that for the sake of the F1 fans they should of conceeded? I understand your logic, and in a perfect world that could of been an answer.

I think I read somewhere that Ferrari would of pulled out if the chicane had been added. So from JaguarXJ's standpoint, then why did that not go ahead. Lets face it then only one team would not have raced. However the FIA decide to stick to their (questionable) rules. So I can only point the blame at Michelin for not preparing properly, and secondly (though only a small amount) the FIA for not finding a compromise. Not sure how Ferrari are at fault.

It has been mentioned but Ferrari/Bridgestone have (and still do) their problems. I guess as Michelin are in the majority then it is tuff **** for Ferrari. If you agree with this then surely Todt has justification for his decision.

As I have mentioned on other threads am brand new to F1, in fact sport period! But now i know what it is like to be a Manchester United fan. Everybody hates them because for the last umpteen years they were very successful (perhaps it is the colour Red - Man U's colour too)!!

I also don't think Ferrari sales will be affected. I bought my Ferrari cos I like em, the F1 did come later. I never watched F1 when Ferrari were winning, only when they were/are the underdogs. But I still think it is fantastic. Going to have to miss it live on Sunday cos I am at a "American Car show" and I love American cars! Never thought I would think like that. Actually think that the USGP fiacso has boosted (we have debated nothing before in such detail here in the office) the awareness of F1. Bad publicity is still good publicity as they say.

Never certain whether us Brits are europeans or not but I don't think it has crossed anyone's mind that the American's were at fault.

I am very much looking forward to Sundays GP. Michelin will have got it right they are racing on home ground

 

Ferrari made a great decision in regards to customers IMO. Most doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, etc. tend to have a "do what you gotta do… make it happen" type of attitude. Most people who can afford a Ferrari tend to have huge problems with changing the rules to appease underperformers (think welfare, etc.). I just have a real hard to time believing that an educated, middle age businessman/woman is going to agree in any way, shape, or form with supporting the Michelin teams. They showed up unprepared, and then they wimped out. They had a chance to step up and make it happen, but instead they took the low road.

From a selling t-shirts perspective (huge mrkting revs)… most of those people have never even been in a Ferrari, etc. They like what the team represents; fast cars, hot women, money, passion, etc. Ferrari has never, ever been the pinnacle of sportsmanship, so saying that because all of a sudden they are being hard asses on a rule change is gonna offend people and make them buy Williams t-shirts is laughable. If Ferrari has been one thing through the years, it is shady. This debacle pales in comparison to the stuff they have pulled through the years in sports and formula racing. But everyone still loves them...

 

Ferrari did no wrong in their customer's eyes, they raced because that's what they do. This would not effect me if i were shopping for a Ferrari at all to be honest. Now if i could only find 300grand somewhere..........

 

Whether or not Ferrari agreed with the Michelin-shod teams on some compromise is irrelevant. The decision is only the FIA's, not the teams. It is clear from the statements made by Max Mosely and Charlie Whiting that installing a chicane would have been unacceptable regardless of what the teams agreed to. Their reasons are based on safety, legal liability potential for not following the FIA's own procedures, and equity. You can read the statements and the correspondence between Charlie Whiting and Michelin on the FIA's website.

 

Welcome to the dark side, racerx, welcome.

 

I pledge myself to your teachings........................

 

Interesting but you are forgetting that not that many years ago they did just that ... installed a chicane for RACE day only.

Yep I think it was '95 at the Spanish GP.

So sorry, it has been done before ... and it could have been done again.
Pete

 

LOL,

John,
What did you mean by this statement, specifically the MM reference:

I do understand where you are coming from, but I do not want to get in to a McLaren versus Ferrari debate ... your point is valid and RD has sometimes embarrassed himself.

I guess my point is that F1 has lost the sport ... and that was amply demonstrated by Ferrari at the USGP. The fact that Todt would not even listen to anybody, really upsets me ... atleast listen!, and then tell them to fnck off

Pete

 

HAHAHAHA Hey Pete, what I was talking about was some speculation that Todt would be asked to take MMs place on the FIA, it's been on a few of the F1 websites (pitpass was the last time I saw it)

Sorry, RD just gives me the sh!ts and is a grumpy basteward with a shedload of money that woulod make a third world country happy but he continues to be a "recalcitrant"

I think F1 stopped being a sport after Fangio finished taking other people's cars to finish a race and then claim the WC title - I always felt sorry for Peter Collins who had a chance to be WC but graciously gave the car to JF because he said he had plenty of time to win a WC for himself (not knowing his future was gone soon after making that statement)

So as the "sport" is now a business it makes sense to have a hard-nosed guy like Todt to behave ruthlessly to achieve the end goal of a WDC and manufacturers championship as well.

He's got a top resume

 

It was 94 and it was after Senna had been killed if i remember right. This was after pressure from the drivers. Yes it could have been done.

 

Precisely - not because some tire company came to the race unprepared.

A significant difference IMHO.

 

Agree ... but not sportsmanship (read the definition )

Pete