Ferrari Attack the New Teams, Bernie and Max.
- Published on Feb 23rd, 2010 by Jack LamureAn article posted by Ferrari on their official website today launched a series of quite brutal attacks on the new teams entering Formula One this season, as well as F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and former FIA president Max Mosley.
The 'White Knight' and the man who 'waged a holy war'- Bernie and Max.
You'd think that having bagged double world champion Fernando Alonso, having Felipe Massa back to full fitness and with strong testing times this winter Ferrari would feel content to sit back and focus their energies on the new season. But no, they've decided to get some things off their chest.
The targets of their anger are the new teams entering the sport this year. Lotus and Virgin get off pretty lightly, described in the article as being about to 'limp to the start of championship'. Considering Lotus built their car from scratch in 6 months a little limp isn't really that shameful, is it?
Campos Meta- who recently changed ownership- get a harsher analysis. According to Ferrari their saviour- referred to as 'a munificent white knight' and clearly Bernie Ecclestone- will want them to fulfill the role of 'royal vassal'. In other words, they'll have to be on Bernie's side in any arguments that may arise.
USF1 get it too. As Badger reported a few days back they're currently suffering serious financial issues and don't have a finished car. Ferrari attack them for continuing to claim everything is 'hunky-dory under the starry stripy sky'. They later suggested that you'd be best to 'call on missing persons' to locate the team. Ouch.
But it's Stefan GP, the Serbian-based team who've got their hands on Toyota's 2010 cars, who come in for the worst attack. They're called 'Serbian vultures' who've 'picked the bones of Toyota on its death bed'. They've also hired people with 'a whiff of past scandals' and have the backing of the 'very same white knight' who saved Campos.
The conclusion is that the current problems are the 'legacy of the holy war waged by the former FIA president', Max Mosley. Maybe a bit of a grad comparisson, but then Ferrari don't do things by half. Perhaps they'll be happier with the new FIA president- former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt.
So Ferrari clearly aren't happy about Mosley's new team initiative, Bernie's role in Campos's buyout, or the perceived weakness of the new teams. What's are your thoughts on the Scuderia's candid remarks? Are the Ferrari PR folk just having a laugh?!
Read the full post on Ferrari's official website.
Comments and Discussion
Ferrari are like the no-hopers you get at school. Where if they're not getting bullied then they'll eat the class bunny or something to make sure they're the centre of attention again.
I guess they're not very confident about their 2010 car to feel the need to try and gain a psychological advantage over others.
Serbian Vultures? I'm surprised they didn't go down the Eastern European route to be honest.
I reckon they're just having a laugh; it's quite typical of their style and refreshing compared to the corporate-bore of McLaren and co.
Nothing though, and I mean nothing will compare with Stefan GP's press releases. Unbelievably professional...
If nothing else this has taught me what a 'vassal' is.
Also, I wonder just what 'the whiff of past scandal' smells like.
This is good stuff.
Makes a change from them being all "press conference-ey".
More of the same please!
Never have been a fan of Ferrari so I'm biased, but I think they're a bunch of idiots who resort to intimidation tactics to try to make up for their own shortcomings. Don't they have /any/ credibility? It's not even the start of the season and their PR machine is already spouting bollocks.
Some people just cannot bear to hear the truth and resort to prejudices to justify their short comings