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In contrast to the gushing reactions of most, President di Montezemolo has been outspokenly critical of the Singapore event. This may seem like sour grapes in the light of Ferrari's dismal showing, but he did say before the race that he thought street circuits like Singapore and Valencia were not good for the sport. His views are in accord with fans we have spoken to, irrespective of their allegiance; some likening the Singapore track to an underground car park. With traditional venues such like Spa and Silverstone increasingly under threat, despite coming out on top in the seemingly forgotten FIA survey of fans some years ago, the President clearly shares grass-roots feeling. Others believe that his position could be part of a fight for the future of F1 between the newly-formed Formula One Teams Association, of which he is Chairman, and F1 Ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone, whose vision these events are. Di Montezemolo's remarks have been reported extensively and this piece, written by Andrew Burns-Mollison and appearing the Guardian on-line, is typical. "The Ferrari president Luca poured scorn on last Sunday's Singapore grand prix, calling the track a "circus" and describing the use of the safety car as humiliating for formula one. Felipe Massa, Ferrari's world title contender, suffered from a bungled pit stop that helped give Lewis Hamilton a seven-point lead in the drivers' championship while the faltering world champion, Kimi Raikkonen, crashed in formula one's first night race. "When we race on tracks which should be used for the circus, anything can happen including the spectacle of the safety car," Montezemolo said. "All this is humiliating for F1 and it is an.phpect I want to talk about with the other teams." Singapore saw two safety car interventions, the first of which turned the race and contributed to the Spaniard Fernando Alonso's unexpected victory for Renault. Montezemolo, appointed recently as the first chairman of the Formula One Teams Association, said before the race that street circuits and the lack of overtaking opportunities were not the right way forward for the sport. Raikkonen is out of contention for the title but Montezemolo said the
Finn still had a role to play. "I expect Raikkonen to show he is
world champion in the remaining races, to help Massa, to race for the
good of the team and to finish in front of McLaren," he said. The
president also backed the mechanics who gave Massa the green light during
a pit stop despite the fuel hose still being attached to the car as he
sped away. Click here to return to the Ferrari Happenings page.
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