Italian media declares: This is war | FerrariChat

Italian media declares: This is war

Discussion in 'F1' started by william, Mar 5, 2020.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,447
    Italian media declares: This is war
    http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/711884/Italian_media_declares_This_is_war/

    The Italian media has proclaimed that Mercedes, and basically every non-Ferrari powered team, has declared a “state of war” against Ferrari and FIA president Jean Todt.

    On Wednesday Ferrari’s rivals wrote an open letter to the FIA demanding an explanation for last week’s “settlement” between the Scuderia and the FIA.
    After months of investigating Ferrari’s power unit, which rivals believed broke the rules regarding fuel flow, the FIA announced that it has reached a private agreement with Ferrari.
    Mercedes, Red Bull and every non-Ferrari power team is not having that.
    They have demanded an explanation, or else.

    The Italian media says this is war.
    Daniele Sparisici from Corriere della Sera wrote: “Ferrari and FIA are under siege.
    “Yesterday morning at 11 o’clock Formula 1 declared a state of war. Ten days before the inaugural Melbourne Grand Prix.
    “Toto Wolff’s campaign garnered 100 percent approval against the Federation and Ferrari for the agreement that ended the investigation into the 2019 Ferrari engine, which was suspected by opponents of having evaded the rules.

    “In that document, of enormous vagueness, the FIA said that the details will remain between the two parties, adding that the Scuderia Ferrari would help to assist the technicians in the control of future power units and in research on alternative fuels.
    “In those paragraphs most of F1 read a compromise was made to get out of an embarrassing situation.
    “So Mercedes coordinated the blatant and unusual protest by dragging in its customer teams Williams and Racing Point, but also Red Bull, AlphaTauri, McLaren and Renault. Seven out of ten, those of the Ferrari galaxy (Alpha and Haas) are missing.
    "They threaten lawsuits. There is political power and money at stake.

    “The siege operation continued, the target is not only Maranello but also the president of the FIA Jean Todt, accused of having been too soft against his former team.”
    Gazzetta dello Sport’s Luigi Perna agrees with the sentiment.
    He wrote: “Now it’s war! This is war, politics, power and even of money.
    “If Ferrari had been found guilty of some infraction, its second place in the 2019 Constructors’ ranking and the related cash prizes would be called into question.

    “But is there also something more? Could Maranello have acted with the engine within the limits of the regulation, in one of its gray areas, but be perfectly compliant?
    “The team principal Mattia Binotto, admitting that he had undergone many exams and that he collaborated willingly with the Federation, also proudly claimed that Ferrari were in bounds. So why so many secrets with the FIA?
    “Maybe because the agreement would reveal the thin perimeter within which Maranello acted without breaking the law? F1, in wars like this, is vaccinated.”

    Aessandra Rentico from La Republica feels the FIA is trying to cover up its own inadequacies.
    “The whole affair has shown the FIA’s fragility: the F1 government does not have the means to discover the most sophisticated tricks that dozens of engineers from each team study and experiment with.
    “It’s an unequal challenge: progress helps referees in other sports. On the contrary, the technology in Formula 1 serves to increase the gap between controllers and controlled. For the benefit of the latter.”

    As for Il Resto del Carlino’s Leo Turrini he says a “spy” provided the info but refused to name the person.
    “A spy arrived, someone who knows all too well the technical secrets of Maranello and explained to competitors where the “trick” lies, that is, in the management of the flow of petrol to the power unit.
    “The FIA has not been able to prove malice on the part of the Cavallino, but to avoid any misunderstandings it has changed the rule on the flow of petrol. This explains the curious epilogue of the procedure, in practice a confidential transaction, however destined to send the red team’s enemies on a rampage.”
     
  2. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,252
    In other breaking news:: water remains wet.
     
    Jacob Potts, fer312t and Kiwi Nick like this.
  3. DeSoto

    DeSoto F1 Veteran

    Nov 26, 2003
    7,481
    That is open to interpretation: water wets, but is itself wet?

    We'll have to reach a confidential settlement.
     
  4. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

    Entertaining but it wasnt the FIA or Red Bull who altered the fuel flow or other components. If this was Mercedes I would post the same. Evidently Ferrari had done enough to change its configuration near end of last year to be affected. This is not to be over looked. There is no need for a national response to something that will occur again in the future and was simply not handled well after this testing period.
     
    DGPF likes this.
  5. kraftwerk

    kraftwerk Two Time F1 World Champ

    May 12, 2007
    26,826
    England North West
    Full Name:
    Steve
    I see many twists and turns ahead as the plot thickens.

    I thought Todt's mandate when he took over was to clean up the FIA and be transparent and be straight down the line with all concerned.
    This reminds me of Brawn's DD issue, Mosley couldn't say either way whether it was legal or not, IIRC the racing started with out clarification.
     
    polishhammer83 and william like this.
  6. crinoid

    crinoid F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Apr 2, 2005
    9,414
    Full Name:
    LaCrinoid
    What a great distraction from Mercedes adjustable aero oh I mean steering.... Ferrari should leave F1.
     
    375+, V12addict, Jeronimo GTO and 2 others like this.
  7. kraftwerk

    kraftwerk Two Time F1 World Champ

    May 12, 2007
    26,826
    England North West
    Full Name:
    Steve
    If you aint making waves you aint trying hard enuff...
     
  8. ingegnere

    ingegnere F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 12, 2004
    5,222
    Montreal
    And to be more precise not adjustable steering but adjustable car static settings and aero - obviously against the spirit of the rules and already outlawed for next year.

    So allowed until rules changed to clearly control the thing.... kinda like the addition of a second flowmeter.
     
    John_K_348, Bas, Igor Ound and 2 others like this.
  9. TifosiUSA

    TifosiUSA F1 Veteran

    Nov 18, 2007
    8,468
    Kansas City, MO
    Full Name:
    DJ
    if youre Mercedes...if you're Ferrari and do the same you get branded a cheat by the Brit dominated F1 press
     
    375+, John_K_348, Picchu88 and 5 others like this.
  10. TifosiUSA

    TifosiUSA F1 Veteran

    Nov 18, 2007
    8,468
    Kansas City, MO
    Full Name:
    DJ
    if they never got rid of the glorious V10s there wouldnt be any problems

    what happened to all those engine manufacturers the V6Ts were going to attract? lol there were more different engine manufacturers during the V10 era

    what a clown show.
     
    375+, John_K_348, greg328 and 12 others like this.
  11. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,447
    FERRARI SETTLEMENT « POLITICAL SUICIDE » BY FIA - MARKO

    http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/711954/Ferrari_settlement_political_suicide_by_FIA__Marko/

    Friday 6 March at 08:35 : Mar.6 (GMM) Political "war" has broken out in Formula 1, according to the Italian media.

    "With a planned attack on Wednesday morning at 9am, Formula 1 was thrown into war," said Corriere della Sera.
    It started with the FIA announcing that a confidential settlement had been reached with Ferrari, following an investigation into the team's controversial 2019 engine.

    The seven non-Ferrari affiliated teams reacted with fury, threatening legal action.
    "Now it's war," announced La Gazzetta dello Sport. "A war over political influence and money."

    Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko told the Munchner Merkur newspaper that the situation is no less than a scandal.
    "The whole thing has now taken on FIFA proportions," he said, referring to the world football association's reported corruption some years ago.

    "Only one letter is missing between the FIA and FIFA," Marko charged. "In any other association, this would be political suicide by Jean Todt.
    "The FIA has discredited a sport in which we invest three-digit million sums of euros each year."

    But another newspaper, La Repubblica, thinks the Ferrari settlement simply shows that the FIA is becoming out of its depth in certain technical areas.
    "What happened shows the fragility of the FIA," he said. "They do not have the means to get to the bottom of these complex technical situations that dozens of engineers come up with at every team."

    For now, the FIA has responded to the seven teams' fury by insisting that the secret settlement it reached with the FIA is legitimate.
    Admitting that it was "not fully satisfied" that Ferrari's engine was legal, the federation said in a statement: "This type of agreement is a legal tool recognised as an essential component of any disciplinary system".
     
  12. furoni

    furoni F1 World Champ

    Jun 6, 2011
    13,609
    Vila Verde
    Full Name:
    Pedro Braga Soares
    What a bunch of tools, why not just say...look, what they did was not ilegal, but it went against the spirit of the rules, so we asked them to stop it, just like the DAS. End of story! Is this really so hard! Or does it just work for Mercedes?
     
    Picchu88, TifosiUSA, stavura and 3 others like this.
  13. classic308

    classic308 F1 Veteran

    Jan 9, 2004
    6,793
    Westchester, NY
    Full Name:
    Paul
    The future is FE, not F1....
     
    DGPF likes this.
  14. furoni

    furoni F1 World Champ

    Jun 6, 2011
    13,609
    Vila Verde
    Full Name:
    Pedro Braga Soares
    If so, i'm glad we are still in the present!
     
  15. fer312t

    fer312t Formula Junior

    Nov 16, 2010
    777
    Brawn's double diffuser was, and Mercedes DAS is very much on display for everyone to see. There's really no mystery of what they were/are trying to achieve - they were ahead of the curve and relatively transparent in speaking publicly about the loophole they were/are exploiting - if of course protective of the actual design details of their proprietary parts/systems.

    Presuming Ferrari were actually doing what people think they were doing (such as interfering with or bypassing FIA sensors) then it's a completely different kettle of fish. Ferrari fan or no - it is somewhat troubling that people refuse to make any distinction - this is not a 'loophole.'
     
  16. crinoid

    crinoid F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Apr 2, 2005
    9,414
    Full Name:
    LaCrinoid
    Then the future is dead. I’d rather go watch a local RC car race than 10 seconds of FE.
     
  17. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,447

    Spot on !
    Very good post.
     
    DGPF likes this.
  18. 11506apollo

    11506apollo Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Oct 16, 2008
    2,484
    Tx Co Ca
    Ferrari should leave F1 for 2020.
    Let the steep drop in audience speak on behalf of the world's greatest F1 team in history.
     
    John_K_348 likes this.
  19. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,447
    Except they (probably) cannot !

    Ferrari is under contract to turn up at every GP of the championship, unless the clause of "force majeure" can be invoked.

    I think it would cost them quite a lot to extricate themselves from this contract before it comes to term.
     
    DGPF likes this.
  20. TifosiUSA

    TifosiUSA F1 Veteran

    Nov 18, 2007
    8,468
    Kansas City, MO
    Full Name:
    DJ
    kinda the theme of your post
     
    ingegnere likes this.
  21. ingegnere

    ingegnere F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 12, 2004
    5,222
    Montreal
    First of all, nobody knows what Ferrari did, or didn't do. Not even the FIA. Like the DD, if the rules and controls are insufficient, suck it up, fix the rules and shut up. Don't imply that someone cheated and allow a free for all against the team as the FIA have allowed.

    Secondly, Brawn was not transparent at all about exploiting a failing of a control put in place to limit the volume and effectiveness of the diffuser and so limit cornering speed for the sake of driver safety. They managed to show compliance to the rules (as written) at inspection and were allowed to keep using the arrangement despite protestations from other teams. The loophole was closed for the following season just like the additional flow meter was imposed to close a possible (but not proven) loophole.

    Also, whereas Brawn exploiting the loophole resulted in an increase in cornering speed against the intention of a rule to slow cars down, Ferrari have and had still to respect a maximum fuel usage for the race which was implementing for both power limitation and appearance of eco-friendly fuel consumption.

    This is not the first go by the other teams to learn the details of Ferrari's design. Two years ago it was the battery system. All the whining and crying led the FIA to measure everything on their charging system and details leaked to other competitors.

    Regarding the DAS - which clearly contravenes the requirements to not change car setup and will be banned next year - let's see how long before RBR protest this when they think that it's the only thing that stands between them and victory.
     
    PROV, Picchu88, Finlander and 7 others like this.
  22. furoni

    furoni F1 World Champ

    Jun 6, 2011
    13,609
    Vila Verde
    Full Name:
    Pedro Braga Soares
    Bang on...the true purpose of Merc and Renasult is to force the FIA to tell how Ferrari managed to produce much more power from their power unit....cause they can't figure it out alone...losers...
     
    John_K_348, stavura, crinoid and 3 others like this.
  23. rotaryrocket7

    rotaryrocket7 Formula Junior

    Dec 7, 2011
    580
    Eden Prairie, MN
    Full Name:
    Matt
    It's interesting in the FIA letter that they mention alternative fuels. Maybe it's a red herring, but perhaps Ferrar found a way to change the combustibility of the fuel or some other trick to change the flow rate measurement by making it more dense therefore for a single unit of flow they had more volume or power? Just thought it was interesting that the alternative fuels were mentioned.
     
  24. crinoid

    crinoid F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Apr 2, 2005
    9,414
    Full Name:
    LaCrinoid
    https://rossoautomobili.com/blogs/magazine/racing-in-red-an-analytical-approach-to-the-fia-ferrari-controversy


    Racing in Red | An Analytical Approach To The FIA/Ferrari Controversy
    It goes without a question that the settlement agreement entered by the FIA and Scuderia Ferrari regarding the legality of the Maranello PU has caused enormous unrest within the paddock. What does the latest FIA press release tell us about it?

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    The background
    In case you missed it, Scuderia Ferrari came under scrutiny during the 2019 Formula 1 Championship for an alleged irregularity in fuel flow to the Power Unit. In order to verify the validity of the accusations, the FIA implanted a second fuel flow meter in the car and carried out extensive tests, going as far as impounding the engine.

    After months of speculation, the Federation finally concluded the investigation by entering a settlement with the Italian outfit, whose details were not disclosed. In light of this, non-Ferrari powered teams expressed informal complaints on the transparency of the proceedings, to which the Federation only recently replied.

    What we can tell
    From a technical perspective, chances of getting answers on the matter are slim to none. Let's start with the rule of law. Article 5.10.3 and 5.10.5 of the FIA Formula 1 2019 Technical Regulations read as follows.

    "All cars must be fitted with a single fuel flow sensor, wholly within the fuel tank, which has been manufactured by the FIA designated supplier to a specification determined by the FIA. This sensor may only be used as specified by the FIA. Furthermore, all fuel delivered to the power unit must pass through this homologated sensor."

    "Any device, system or procedure the purpose and/or effect of which is to increase the flow rate or to store and recycle fuel after the measurement point is prohibited."

    Insiders tell us that the inefficacy and inaccuracy of the FIA-provided sensor is common knowledge within the paddock. Said sensor, sources say, is incapable of correctly measuring the laminar flow of modern F1 fuels (which, as it stands, every team independently supplies) and is faulty when it comes to sampling intervals. The inability of the FIA to provide for an accurate, trustworthy measuring instrument has resulted in teams possibly exploiting this "breach in the system" to their own advantage. Which is why the Federation had absolutely no intention of going any further in the proceedings.

    The legal perspective
    A "dissuasive settlement agreement" eventually boils down to a pact with which the parties respectively concede to some of their requests. As we know, Ferrari has promised to put their resources in the hands of the Federation to improve the faulty fuel flow sampling system, while the FIA has not disclosed what was "conceded" on their side. It is not unreasonable to believe that further investigation would have resulted in severe sanctions for the Scuderia, possibly a disqualification, which both parties could not sustain, neither economically nor in terms of image.

    Pages and pages could be written on the lack of transparency of FIA jurisdiction, but what was done is in perfect compliance with Article 4.ii of their own Judiciary and Disciplinary rules and is, in fact, customary in most arbitration courts worldwide. Whether the other Formula 1 teams are going to accept this is, however, still all to play for.

    Written by Aurora Dell'Agli
     
  25. DF1

    DF1 Two Time F1 World Champ

    --It is not unreasonable to believe that further investigation would have resulted in severe sanctions for the Scuderia, possibly a disqualification, which both parties could not sustain, neither economically nor in terms of image.--

    Ferrari settled to avoid this. Im thinking it was an offer from Ferrari to the FIA, a settlement was Ferrari's idea. Better to speed up the 'settlement' and move on. The FIA can take its time actually. The lack of open-ness on the FIA part is the teams major protest it appears and a problem with a perception of 'favourable' treatment for Ferrari

    If this was Mercedes we would see all teams not Mercedes powered protest. Its normal. In that situation I would think Ferrari would lead the effort against the FIA.
     
    DGPF and william like this.

Share This Page