Formula One: Ferrari President is furious following the events of the German Grand Prix
Luca di Montezemolo the Ferrari president has hit out strongly at the FIA after the controversy at the German Grand Prix. He said that this is pure hypocrisy and there was absolutely nothing wrong in the manner of win for Fernando Alonso.
The team was handed a heavy fine of one hundred thousand dollars by the FIA. Felipe Massa was leading the race, when he was instructed by the Pit crew to facilitate his team mate and Alonso ran through to complete the win. The Ferrari President was furious at FIA and also at the others who had been criticizing Ferrari. He said that this was nothing out of the ordinary that happened at the German Grand Prix, and this has always happened. He went on to say that, people who have been raising their fingers are nothing but Hippocrates.
He said that everyone who drives for Ferrari is fighting for the same objective; there is no harm in aiming for collective success. He said that this is exactly what the team did at Hockenheim. He said that Alonso has clearly been leading Massa this season and has a better chance at winning the world title. The Ferrari President went on to say that, this has always been the case in this sport. The team does tend to facilitate the driver that they feel has a better chance of getting them the world title. Massa said he had no complaints and he is a team man. Montezemolo added that it is a decision for the teams to make internally and no one from the outside should be able to influence that in any manner.
After the race, when Massa was asked the question that what went wrong at that point when Alonso went past him, Massa replied by saying ‘he just passed me.’ The reporter probed and teased him by saying that “don’t you think you were denied a chance to win the race?” the Brazilian remained composed and said that it is the interest of the team that we are working towards and a win for Alonso was the best thing for the team.
Alonso meanwhile was a bit embarrassed from inside even if he was able to hide it upfront. His typical pumping the fist celebration after the chequered flag was also a bit hesitant. As soon as Massa and Alonso got out of their cars after the race, there was an awkward hug between the two. Alonso after the race did not show any signs of being worried by what may come his way after what happened. He said he was delighted to have won the race and the rest of the season will see a whole new approach from Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel, who was 3rd in the race, said that Ferrari was certainly faster than them throughout. Vettel added that he has been impressed by the upgrades Ferrari have made to their cars, and admitted that the final 8 races would be a difficult challenge.
The win in Germany put Alonso once again the fight for the world title, it looks to be a 5 way battle now. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button from McLaren, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull and Fernando Alonso from Ferrari would be fighting tooth and nail till the end of the season for the world title it seems.
The start of the season saw Red Bull leave the chasing pack well behind, but the other teams have been working hard on upgrading their cars as the season has gone on. McLaren did show improvement in Turkey and Valencia, but Ferrari seems to have found the right answer with the new double diffuser. The 1-2 finish by Alonso and Massa was a clear evidence of how much the diffuser has helped both Ferraris.
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