Ferrari label Singapore GP humiliating

Eurosport - Wed, 01 Oct 23:45:00 2008

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has poured scorn on the Singapore Grand Prix, saying the "circus" track and the use of the safety car was humiliating for Formula One.

FORMULA 1 2008 Singapore GP Ferrari Räikkönen, Massa - 0

Formula One's first night race drew rave reviews from participants and onlookers, including the sport's delighted supremo Bernie Ecclestone, but was one to forget for the Italian team.

Brazilian title contender Felipe Massa had his race ruined by a bungled pit stop while faltering world champion Kimi Raikkonen crashed near the end.

"When we race on tracks which should be used for the circus, anything can happen including the spectacle of the Safety Car," Montezemolo was quoted as saying in Gazzetta dello Sport.

"All this is humiliating for F1 and it is an aspect I want to talk about with the other teams in the next few weeks."

Singapore saw two safety car interventions, the first of which turned the race upside down and contributed to Spaniard Fernando Alonso's unexpected victory for Renault.

Montezemolo, appointed this month 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.

Ferrari's failure to score any points in Singapore meant McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, third behind winner Fernando Alonso, extended his championship lead over Massa to seven points with three races left.

Finn Raikkonen is out of contention but Montezemolo still sounded confident.

"We have the best Ferrari, Massa is the best. 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 the McLarens," he said.

The team 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.

"We have extraordinary mechanics who in other occasions have swung results our way. We must stay close to each other because Ferrari are always world champions and are still in the running to win," Montezemolo added.

Reuters

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  1. The all things that happened in Singapore GP. is due to the Renault team. Nelson Picquet, one of their driver who crashed in the wall by mistake. That brings Saftey car in to play then what happens, the race change reversly. The Man who start race with pole position finished last. F. Alonso winns the race for Renault.

    But I Still believe Ferrai wins both championships...........
    Massaaa will be back.......

    One thing is sure... the 3 races left will be caraker

    From Sudhi, on Wed 1 Oct 11:44AM
  2. I have to agree with you arshad. jbolan IS the most pointless person in here. Just insults and no race talk.
    Back to the real stuff. 3 races left and all to play for. I wonder what twists, penalties and issues are yet to come to us all. My money is on Hamilton to win the championship but Ferrari to do the constructors. Both Ferrari's usually score decent points. Hamilton is obviously usually in the high points but Heiki has really under performed this season. Can't remember the last time he put on a charge or over took. This is why Hamilton IS so good. He actually races. Love him or hate him he puts on a show of racing. The only other guy that does it is Alonso. Perhaps they are too similar and that's why they didn't get along.

    From crispyduck, on Wed 1 Oct 11:20AM
  3. Oh come on now sadGITtarius! You are SO bitter. The usual vile, one-sided comments from a Ferrari stalker. Keep up the bad work old fellow!

    From crispyduck, on Wed 1 Oct 11:11AM
  4. This just goes to show how good Ferrari realy are lol

    From Chris P, on Wed 1 Oct 10:58AM
  5. interesting how they find the least complimentary pictures of kimi and massa, don'tcha think?? sure, and there's no conspiracy here, right?? ok.........

    From sagittarius1958, on Wed 1 Oct 10:54AM
  6. Montezemolo is right about Singapore. The whole floodlit effect left the race looking like an early version of a Nintendo F1 game - no scenery, just miles and miles of wire fencing and tarmac.

    Race track? It looked more like a building site.

    Bring back Mickey Mouse.

    From d.netherton@..., on Wed 1 Oct 10:47AM
  7. i repeat: the only thing worse than a sore loser, is a winner that gloats...

    From sagittarius1958, on Wed 1 Oct 10:38AM
  8. sure, ads... ferrari blame everyone else, unlike mclaren who 'never' had possession of stolen information, who 'never' played favourites between a rookie and a world champion, who 'never' tried to have THREE drivers disqualified in the 'name of clarifying'... yeah, right, only ferrari does that kind of thing, right??

    From sagittarius1958, on Wed 1 Oct 10:37AM
  9. i see the conspiracy theorists are alive and welll, in this conversation... what does massa have against sutil?? you gotta be kidding, right?? have you never heard the word "coincidence" or possibly the phrase "timing is everything"?? give it up already, next you'll be saying ferrari and renault plotted together and had nelsinho purposely crash his car to bring out the safety car... enough already, you have yourselves a team that's manipulative to the extreme, enjoy it while you can...

    From sagittarius1958, on Wed 1 Oct 10:34AM
  10. Ha FERRARI not like them to always blame somebody else for their missfortunes!!! the race was lost for massa through an error that happened during a routine stop, not one due to the safety car coming out or even the fact that it was a night race. if massa had not been released too early almost causing a serious incedent then the the fuel hose would have had time to be released and he would have sailed to victory! also what on earth were the pit crew upto watching as massa screams off down the put lane two of them should have been after him straight away!!! i thought it was laughable, not the first time ferrari have bungled it for massa! after all that, massa couldnt even keep up the pace with the last placing cars, he wasnt even able to stay on the track, loved watching him slide all over the track like a lemon!!! how can anyone at ferrari blame anyone other than themselves for near-enough handing hamilton the title!!! great race.

    From Adam, on Wed 1 Oct 10:33AM
  11. I must delare my interest from the start. I am another Ferrari fan. First of all Lewis. Lewis reminds me so much of Schumacher. This boy is going to win loads of GPs and at least 2 or 3 Championships. Ferrari....as we all suspected....really miss the the chemistry between Ross Brawn, Todt and Schumacher and I fear that it is going to take some time for the team to polarise around a new set of personnel. I have supported Ferrari for over 30 years and can remember the shambolic two decade lean times. I just pray that we aren't heading for another Ferrari ice age. Singapore; well it was not a bad race. The SC was inevitable and I assume that most teams had factored it into their strategies. But street circuits really aren't that great if you ask me. Night racing?! Well I remember wathing the inaugural Moto GP night race in Kuwait and the (Australian) commentator laughed "Carbon footprint, jesus christ you'd have to plant a rainforest the size the Amzon to offet this lot!". Nough said.

    From daniel_jared6204, on Wed 1 Oct 10:18AM
  12. quite rite ``,, we agree with every word issued by top team ,,,

    From serrrannos, on Wed 1 Oct 9:40AM
  13. It would have been the most successful race ever if Ferrari had won. Montezemolo should stay on the business side of racing and keep his nose out. They always complain when things don't go their way. Bunch of f*&^%$g cry babys. And that goes for their fans too.

    From keithwatson1997@..., on Wed 1 Oct 9:34AM
  14. I agree with haywood a penalty that cost nothing is no penalty at all, Massa should have got a 10 place drop on the grid for the next race not a drive through. Wonder what he's got against Sutil anyway.

    From GEORGE, on Wed 1 Oct 9:32AM
  15. well of course it was humiliating...FOR FERRARI!!!! humiliating for F1??? HA... i thought is was one of the best races in years!

    From Richard B, on Wed 1 Oct 5:23AM
  16. F1 IS A CIRCUS AND bernie/max are the clowns

    From COBRA65, on Wed 1 Oct 5:09AM
  17. So we have to thank Ferrari for two things, calling a spade a spade, and putting on a sideshow that saved this circus from becoming a turkey.

    From haywood, on Wed 1 Oct 3:28AM
  18. I admire Montezemolo, he is the only one to call Singapore for what it was, a circus. No overtaking, a track with a worse surface than a Belgian motorway, and curbs that I thought had been outlawed after Haikkonen went airborne at Adelaide. It did look pretty from the overhead shots all lit up, but that was about it.

    From haywood, on Wed 1 Oct 3:15AM
  19. the only thing worse than a sore loser is a winner that gloats... the irony is that sooner or later, lady luck stops shining on you... =;-)

    From sagittarius1958, on Wed 1 Oct 3:08AM
  20. Massa gets a stop/go for dangerous release in the pit lane, FIA thus demonstrate how even-handed they are, 'Look, see, we do hand out stop/go's to Ferrari.'
    Yes but Massa was unlikely to score any points anyway, so it was a non-penalty. Hamiltons questionable 25 sec penalty cost him 7 points. When a stop/go has no impact, it is not a penaly, Massa should have had points deducted as well, or be put back on the grid at the next race, as happened to Lewis.

    From haywood, on Wed 1 Oct 2:42AM
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