"New F1 teams a joke"

[christophulus]

Go on, see if you can guess which F1 boss is complaining about the new teams, and wanting a third car and more testing.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsAr...aspx?AR=250377

Ferrari’s boss also proposed revisions to spice up the sport.


"Do we need to race at two in the afternoon when everyone is at the sea?" he said. "Could we have two races per meeting? Do races need to last so long? F1 is not an endurance race. We need races to be short and tough."

I'm pretty sure F1 has been an endurance race for the past 60 years. Nothing to do with your cars being slow and unreliable then...?

[Sonic]

Phew! Thank God the FOTA teams didn't break away because otherwise this drivel would become reality.

[UltimateDanGTR]

ferrari's leaders never fail to dissapoint lately......

absolute drivel like sonic says. F1 hasn't had 3 car teams for years, 2 car entities its been for so long now and so it should be. to me it seems ferrari only want a third car to gain more prize money and become more prominent (not that they're not already though).

I admit F1 wouldnt be the same without ferrari. ferrari wouldnt be the same without F1. but I have news for them: It's not ALL about you.

[ArrowsFA1]

"F1 is like soccer. It needs heroes and it needs big teams."

Max used to compare F1 with a game of chess, so Luca comparing with soccer is slightly different! Yes, F1 needs heroes but not everyone's hero is a champion or a top team. The sport needs smaller teams just as it needs the big teams.

"You cannot equalise everything. We need to avoid having too many small teams because it means too many compromises."

F1 is a meritocracy where the ability and talent to do things better than everyone else is rewarded with points, race wins and championships. Whether you are a small or a big team you have the same opportunity to fight for points, wins and championships.

Luca appears to be arguing for the status quo where the big teams stay big, and there is little or no opportunity for new teams to come into the sport and rise to the top, if they are capable of doing that.

What compromises is Luca talking about? Does he mean the enforced reduction in budgets that allowed the likes of Virgin, Lotus and HRT to appear on the grid? If so, I think he has a point that the whole process that led up to new teams entering F1 this year was poorly handled, particularly as those new teams had the impression that budget restrictions would apply to every team, not just them. The goalposts moved and as a result how can Luca, or anyone, expect new teams to be as competitive as the big teams when they're running on comparatively tiny amounts of money.

I think it's generally recognised that the whole idea of new budget capped teams was a ploy by Max to be used against FOTA. Now Max has gone the sport is left with the consequences. What Max failed to acknowlege was that economic conditions determine budgets, and the FIA should not have become involved in dictating what teams can and cannot spend. However, the new teams are here now and perhaps Luca is simply arguing that this kind of entry process to F1 cannot be allowed to happen again.

"Giving this car to a good young driver or Valentino Rossi would be better than a team being four seconds behind."

Luca does seem very keen on getting Rossi onto the grid in a Ferrari but I don't see how F1 would benefit from three Ferraris, McLarens and Red Bulls dominating the grid as opposed to two. F1 needs variety.

I can see the merits of teams being allowed to sell their cars to another team which would then run them separately from the 'works' team, but existing teams running a third car does not appeal to me. Again Luca appears to be arguing for the status quo, except a reinforced status quo where the big teams have more of a chance to dominate.

"Do we need to race at two in the afternoon when everyone is at the sea? Could we have two races per meeting? Do races need to last so long? F1 is not an endurance race. We need races to be short and tough."

No Luca, F1 is not an endurance race, it is already different to the GT Championship. I have no desire to see F1 races reduced to sprint events.

As for the timing of the races Luca, as you're so keen on football I assume you oppose 3pm kick offs because everyone is shopping or at the sea What are you suggesting; that races start when people are sat down having breakfast, or dinner? And what about the time differences around the world? Is everyone at the sea when F1 is on tv? Bernie's idea of having floodlit races so that Europeans could watch at a 'convenient' time is equally daft.

"F1 is the only sport in the world where there is no training."

The testing ban is rather excessive, but Ferrari have always wanted to be able to continue using Fiorano as and when they please, which is understandable.

I’m very impressed with Le Mans but we can’t do both [F1] because of money and know-how and it’s only one race. Instead if we can put together an endurance series, either 12 or 24 hours, with other car makers and race around the world, that would be good,"

Is this a diluted repeat of Enzo's occasionally used threat to withdraw from F1 if things aren't done in a way that Ferrari approve of?

[F1boat]

I agree about the testing ban, it's quite unfair on Ferrari IMO. The rest is ridiculous, though.

[Ranger]

Phew! Thank God the FOTA teams didn't break away because otherwise this drivel would become reality.

Amen to that.

[fandango]

In some ways I agree with him. Remember Lola, and teams like Osella years ago.

To make the comparison with football is interesting, because my question would be what, exactly, does an F1 team consist of? All the teams have two cars on track, but if you look at the number of mechanics and engineers I imagine there are big differences between the bigger and the smaller teams. I think they should limit the mechanic and engineering personnel too.

Let the teams test all they want, but at a race meeting they should have equal resources in man-hours (the same number of mechanics and engineers). Put cameras in all the garages and let everyone see them at work. It would increase the techie aspect, but if shows like CSI can be popular so can watching mechanics trying get set ups and repairs done in time.

The better people would get paid better and go to the richer teams, but it would leave more scope for ingenuity and talent.

[Dave B]

ALL teams were new at some point, even if was 50 years ago. It may just be that of the current crop only Lotus have what it takes to go the distance, but the sport would be a lot poorer if we'd never had the likes of Minardi, Jordan, Stewart, Prost and many more.

As for three cars, yes we get it, you want Rossi in your team. It's getting slightly obsessive and embarrssing to hear Ferrari banging on about him all the time, like some teenage girl fantasising about Justin Bieber.

I may not be a Ferrari fan but I do have a deep respect for their achievements over many decades. However, recent comments and actions are making them sound like bitter sore losers who can't stand to see others doing well.

[MadDan]

Go on, see if you can guess which F1 boss is complaining about the new teams, and wanting a third car and more testing.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsAr...aspx?AR=250377



I'm pretty sure F1 has been an endurance race for the past 60 years. Nothing to do with your cars being slow and unreliable then...?

i believe that my ones faster than your because it is red
all day sunday not one bit of news about valentino rossi broken leg
yet a heap of valentino rossi to drive 3rd car

AM I RIGHT

[Dr. Krogshöj]

I think Luca di Montezemolo's quotes are generated by a software at the press office in Maranello. The ingredients are always the same: blaming a rule or a ruling for Ferrari's dissapointing results (double diffuser, testing ban, F-duct), badmouthing the new teams, Valentino Rossi, a couple of ludicrous ideas to 'shake up the sport' and yapping about a third car for Ferrari.