Bernie Ecclestone mocks Ferrari ‘clowns’
Bernie Ecclestone: 'we have to be grateful to Ferrari for providing the clowns'
Bernie Ecclestone has hit back at Luca Montezemolo’s criticism of the Singapore Grand Prix as a “circus”.
Is this just a bit of tit-for-tat between two of the most powerful men in F1, or signs of a deeper tension?
Last week Luca di Montezemolo poured scorn on the first ever Singapore Grand Prix. saying:
When we race on tracks where staging a circus or something else would be better, anything can happen, because the spectacle is supplied by the Safety Car. This is humiliating for F1.
At the time I put the remarks down to frustration at how the team had let a one-two slip through their fingers in an embarassing pit-lane blunder involving Felipe Massa. But Montezemolo reiterated his claims a few days later:
On Sunday in front of the TV I felt like I was at Disneyworld. Let’s hope that at Singapore in 2009 they’ll do fashion catwalks, Disney parades, or something else. But certainly not F1. If this is the future of racing, we are sorted. I didn’t like Valencia, we’ll make ourselves be heard.
Ecclestone’s stinging retort to the Ferrari boss mocked the Italian team for its shambolic performance during the race:
If the Ferrari president is right about the Singapore Grand Prix being a circus then we have to be grateful to him for providing the clowns.
And he criticised the controversial traffic lights system used by Ferrari to release their drivers from the pits, which also caused trouble for the team at Valencia:
If it’s a matter of turning a switch, which I am led to believe is how it works, then why not stick with the ‘lollipop’ man of old? Why do you want to have some other piece of technology that can go wrong? It’s over the top.
Let’s not forget how well Ecclestone knows how these things work: he was team boss of Brabham in 1982 when it reintroduced modern-style refuelling stops before they were banned in 1983.
When Montezemolo says “we’ll make ourselves be heard”, presumably he means Ferrari, and not the new teams’ association FOTA. McLaren’s Ron Dennis, like many others in F1, heaped praise on Singapore. And the track today claimed over a record Paddock Club attendance of over 4,000 – a strong indication that it is boosting F1′s appeal for sponsors.
It seems Montezemolo is in the minority on this one. If I were in his position, my first stop would be the offices of Max Mosley, whom Ferrari supported throughout the sadomasochist sex scandal earlier this year, to suggest that safety standards on street circuits perhaps need tightening up.
Jean said on 7th October 2008, 7:09
OK , I’m a Ferrari guy , so anything I say on the comments made will probably be biased. But let me ask one question , for how many laps did Lewis Hamilton (arguably the best overtaker this year) remain behind David Coulthard , a visibly much slower car ? I think the answer will support what Mr. di Montezemolo’s feeling of the track is. Sure there is Monaco which is in itself a circus as far as F1 is concerned , question is do we need a visit to the circus more than once a year ?
F1freak said on 7th October 2008, 8:06
mmmmmmmmm… interesting … LDiM vs BE… FIGHT!
i am a ferrari fan but this time i say Mr LDiM is wrong. he will definitly not be saying these things if his team finished 1 and 2. I think its time for ferrari to let go of their eago and admitt their mistakes instead of blaming other things..they should have corrected their lighting system after valencia…
if they keep balming other things then i am afraid their wining days will be less..
DG said on 7th October 2008, 8:27
As I said before, when Ferrari are winning everything is fine and dandy, but when they start making mistakes and actually losing (or at least not getting any points) then they blame everybody else.
They always have and they always will. Luca is off to moan to Max, when he cannot deny it was his team and his drivers who messed up in Singapore.
I think the Red Cars need a ‘time out’ from F1 to do some real racing in GP2 or F3000, and re-learn what its all about!
Oh, and can we start a pole on who they will blame for any failures in Japan? (joke)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 7th October 2008, 8:56
If di Montezemolo thought Singapore was ‘Disneyworld’ he won’t like this.
James said on 7th October 2008, 9:10
It’s a funny little exchange, and how typical of Bernie to respond in a most public way, as he did with Mosley. What does concern me is if this is what Luca M behaves like publicly, what is he like behind the scenes? The petulance of his commence speaks volumes about how he sees himself and the team.
DG said on 7th October 2008, 9:23
Keith, isn’t the Disneyland circuit Bernies preferred option for a French race? I wonder which cars will be carrying the trademark ‘ears’? hehe
Leon said on 7th October 2008, 9:52
What an excellent new site ( new to me that is) !
Whatever one’s views on Bernie Boy ( and he just seems to me to have parked his barra’ in a Walthamstow sidestreet around about 1960 and decided to try his ‘and at this ‘ere motor racin’ lark ! ), and I’ve always believed that there are at least seven agendas lurking underneath every word he ever speaks….. you have to rate that put-down of the hyper-inflated Signor Montezemolo as one of the gems of the last 50 years ! One thing is true. He makes a very dangerous enemy.
El Gordo said on 7th October 2008, 9:57
What is LDM complaining about?
If it’s the safety car, the safety car didn’t disturb either of his drivers.
If it’s the night racing, it seemed to work fine for everyone else.
If LDM is complaining about the poor overtaking opportunities on the circuit, there certainly seemed to be a lot more over taking and wheel to wheel racing at Singapore than there was a Hungary, Monaco, Valencia, Barcelona, Bahrain or Magny Cours.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 7th October 2008, 10:01
Leon – welcome to the site! Glad you like it.
Leon said on 7th October 2008, 10:58
Hi Keith,
So Berne Boy does want us racing F1 at Disneyland ! Quite literally ! Well, there’ll have to be a few built-in jokes whenever we race there, naturally… How about electronic interference devices fitted to any other make of car that can threaten a Ferrari win ? Or track marshalls setting up instant temporary diversions through a ploughed field for all cars not coloured red ? Or you could have a giant Mickey Mouse head bridged over the track that eats any silver car it sees approaching…. ! The possibilities are endless.
Jean said on 7th October 2008, 15:01
Yes Leon , it’s an excellent site …. in fact a fantastic one if u r Brit and into ferrari bashing … i’m out of here
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 7th October 2008, 15:10
Jean – That’s completely unfair and unreasonable. I try to treat all the teams and drivers the same and have written plenty of articles criticising British drivers and British teams in the past.
Becken said on 7th October 2008, 15:20
Sorry for the plug, Keith, but Ferrari is building their first “FORMULA 1 DISNEYLAND” in DUBAI.
Leon said on 7th October 2008, 15:52
Keith, if I might make a reply to Jean……
I’m of mixed European blood. I’ve been an avid F1 nerd for more years than is respectable. And I worry about several aspects of F1 developments. One of my biggest concerns is the staggering power and influence of the big motor groups ( Mercedes-Maclaren, Honda, Toyota, BMW-Sauber, Fiat-Ferrari etc…. ) and my other big worry is an apparent absense of sense of humour among fanatics. I think Ron Dennis has had a sense-of-humour lobotamy, ( though I grealy admire the Mclaren team ). Equally, I think that DG is dead right when he suggests that big teams like Ferrari completely forget just who they are and what they are doing, and that a fresh spell in a GP2 reality-check would do them the world of good.
F1 has come a hell of a long way in a very short time, but at it’s best it is still the pinnacle of the very best in motor-racing. This year we’ve seen one of the most competitive and unpredictable seasons ever and I admire all the teams and all the drivers for the cracking show they’ve put on for us.
And without the prancing horse F1 would be terminally diminished. So stick around Jean, we love the Scuderia to bits.
Too Good said on 7th October 2008, 16:41
Jean – I for one have been biggest critic of New Millenium McLaren, and personality of Lewis Hamilton (brashness). And this site has coverage to my views. So Its a hurried conclusion that you have drawn
Cheers !!!