Slightly older Formula 1 fans clearly remember that Austrian Grand Prix in which Rubens Barrichello was instructed by the Ferrari team boss to let Schumacher pass him and win the race. Well, they did it again! This time in 2010 German Grand Prix in Hockenheim they ordered the other Brazilian Flipe Massa to slow down in favor of Fernando Alonso, because he stands a greater chance to win the world championship. Obviously, there were ramifications.
Just after the race Stewards realized about that by monitoring the team’s radio, not that it wasn’t clear to see on the track, and they decided Ferrari has broken some Sporting Regulations which have changed the outcome of the race. As a result Ferrari has been fined $100,000, but they were lucky the result remains unchanged. They are also facing a lot of criticism about fighting dirty!
Ferrari boss Luca Di Montezemolo though is reacting very Italian! He says rubbish, it’s all hypocrisy!
“These things have happened since the days of Nuvolari and I experienced it myself when I was sporting director, in the days of Niki Lauda and not just then,” said Luca di Montezemolo.
“The polemics are of no interest to me. Enough of this hypocrisy, even if I can well believe that some people might have liked to see our two drivers eliminate one another, but that is definitely not the case for me or indeed for our fans,” said the Italian.
GMM – picture: WN