Following Ferrari's imposition of team orders at the German GP, fine and subsequent summons to appear before the World Motorsports Council on a charge of bringing the sport into disrepute, former World Champion and Scuderia Ferrari pilota Niki Lauda claimed its actions 'mocked' Formula 1's fans and deserve punishing. He said: "What they've done is wrong and they got an immediate punishment - and they will get a pasting from the [FIA] World [Motor Sport] Council, that is for sure." This elicited another bizarre and largely incomprehensible outburst from the anonymous, but clearly Maranello-stabled "Horse Whisperer" which we reproduce for your consideration. Wonderful pic though!

"After events in Hockenheim, a wave of hypocrisy swept through the paddock, with so many pundits, young and old, keen to have their say: some were promptly brought back into line by his master’s voice, while others continue to pronounce sentence willy-nilly. The lastest missive comes from Austria, from a person, who having hung up his helmet, has never missed out on a chance to dispense opinions left and right, even if, on more than one occasion, he has had to indulge in some verbal acrobatics to reposition himself in line with the prevailing wind.

This time, good old Niki has missed out on a fine opportunity to keep his mouth shut, given that, when he was a Scuderia driver, the supposed Ferrari driver management policy suited him perfectly… That aside, where was all his moral fury when, over the past years, so many have been guilty of more or less overt hypocritical actions? As for any predictions regarding a possible decision from the FIA World Council on 8 September, time will tell: in this sort of situation, the best policy is to respect and to trust in the highest level of the sport’s governing body."