What is the political power of Ferrari in Formula 1? The question is more than legitimate considering how events unfolded for the Scuderia during the Monaco GP in the controversial stages of a race that sparked a lot of controversy. Many complained about Michael Masi as race director, but Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas, who replaced him this year, seem to be much worse, not very authoritative and always oriented towards decisions to protect their choices.
Having said this, the silence of Ferrari is astonishing: even if John Elkann and Piero Ferrari were present in the pits of the Principality, the leaders of the Maranello team have chosen silence once again, even in the face of certain decisions that only Mattia Binotto tried to attack very weakly.
Replays showed how Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen both stepped on the yellow line at the exit of the pits. The championship promoter highlighted the regulation anomaly with the numerous replays aired, but the FIA remained without any reaction. But in other situations we would have seen the thunderous reactions of Toto Wolff or Christian Horner, while from Ferrari there were only the very calm words of the team principal, who faces a tragedy like a victory with the same tone of voice.
“When you are first and finish fourth there is something that did not work – explained Mattia – and there are our responsibilities, but I feel that there has been a bit of injustice because the tires should be on the cars with five minutes before the race start and the Red Bull cars were without tires. How come? And it is not clear why the FIA decided to postpone the start three minutes before the scheduled start of the race. But the regulation says that in 5 minutes the tires must be fitted. It’s a fact”.
Ferrari’s attitude was too soft even with regard to the complaint about the yellow lines touched by Verstappen and Perez …
“More than protesting Red Bull which I don’t care about, because I don’t want to enter this type of competition with them, we have made a complaint to demand clarity on their decisions from the FIA.”
This is a Ferrari far too shy in defending its rights, but the responsibilities cannot and must not all rest on Mattia Binotto’s shoulders. In Monte Carlo there were also the leaders of the Maranello team who preferred to turn their heads away. What is the signal that has been given by this attitude? Certainly not one of force. There could have been the disappointment for a one-two finish that evaporated at the best due to the strategy mistakes made by the pitwall (and the blame was very honestly taken by Mattia on his shoulders) but it is not by leaving the team principal alone that you can win other battles that are absolutely necessary to fight for the world championship until the end.
The feeling is that the Scuderia is still a “hostage” of that secret pact signed with the FIA to close that black page of the engine, the irregularity of which has never been fully demonstrated.
Maranello has paid a very high fine (which has remained secret) and two years of “purgatory” in F1: now is the time to look ahead and take the battle also outside the track.
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