14/06/2014
NEWS STORY
Not for the first time, Ferrari has threatened to turn its back on F1, as company president Luca di Montezemolo vents his frustration.
The more sceptical might that say that frustration has more to do with his team's current position in the championship - third and under pressure from Force India, McLaren and Williams - but Montezemolo insists it is all about the direction the sport is taking.
"Formula One isn't working," he told the Wall Street Journal. "It's declining because the FIA have forgotten that people watch the racing for the excitement. Nobody watches racing for the efficiency... come on."
Not for the first time, Montezemolo is unhappy with the new rules. Indeed, he wrote to the Tifosi on the eve of the start of the season effectively warning them not to expect too much due to the complexity of the new rule package and all that it involves.
"People watch racing to be entertained," he continued. "No one wants to watch a driver save gas or tyres. They want to see them push from here to there. It's sport, yes, but also a show."
Now speaking on behalf of all fans of the sport one wonders why Montezemolo, if his feelings are so strong about the move to a greener F1, didn't speak out sooner and louder.
With Fernando Alonso due to wave the tricolour that gets the Le Mans 24-Hour race underway today, the Ferrari president hinted that Endurance racing might be the answer.
"Of course," we cannot do sports-car racing and Formula One," he warned. "It's not possible."
And yet, in days gone by that is exactly what Ferrari did. Indeed, Enzo Ferrari participated in Formula One merely to finance his beloved Sports Car programme.
Between 1960 and 1965, the Maranello outfit enjoyed a run of six successive wins at Le Mans, finally beaten in 1966 by Ford, the American manufacturer having sought to buy the legendary Italian a couple of years earlier.
Over the years Ferrari had won all the classics on its way to taking thirteen Sports Car World Championship and International Championship for Makes titles.
After a brief hiatus at the end of 1967 it returned in 1970 for an epic battle with Porsche whilst in 1972 its 3-litre 312P was almost unbeatable.
Though Ferrari produced the 333SP for customers between 1994 and 1998, by now Sports Car racing was changing, certainly compared to the days of Enzo Ferrari.
Despite constant dabbling with the rules by the FIA that infuriated and alienated fans and manufacturers alike - where have we heard that one before - Endurance racing finally began to settle down, attracting manufacturers who found the technology more relevant to its road cars, less expensive yet highly challenging. Endurance racing was also leading the way in terms of the move to more environmentally challenging racing.
Indeed, in all honesty, as one ponders this latest 'toys from the pram' outburst from Ferrari one has to wonder if the Maranello outfit could be any more successful in Sports Cars than it is in F1 at present.
The fact is, the rules are the rules and Ferrari accepted them. It has the opportunity to voice its opinion at the various committees that dominate the sport these days and enjoys unique privileges, not only in terms of money but its power to veto certain moves, all because of its long, long history in the sport.
However, the sport is changing and, as we know, in the eyes of the money men that control it there is no place for sentimentality.
Whilst Ferrari has and does bring much to the sport some might tire of this constant whinging, especially from a team that is under pressure to retain third place.
The man astride the prancing horse would do well to remember the little boy who cried wolf.
Chris Balfe