Former F1 world champion Niki Lauda thinks Ferrari will “get a pasting” when they appear before the sport’s governing body next month to answer charges of race fixing.
Controversy followed last month’s German Grand Prix, in which the Scuderia sent coded messages to Felipe Massa instructing him to let team-mate Fernando Alonso through to win.
Although Ferrari were fined US$100,000 immediately after the race, they could face further sanction when the FIA’s World Motorsport Council convenes to discuss the matter on September 8.
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Lauda, who has already spoken out against Ferrari’s use of team orders, told F1’s official website that he was in favour of such an outcome. SkySports
“What they did in Hockenheim was against all rules,” Lauda told Formula1.com. “Either the rules are changed or everybody observes them. What they’ve done is wrong and they got an immediate punishment - and they will get a pasting from the World Council, that is for sure.”
“You have two models of how to race in Formula One as a team. If you approach it politically then you are in the Ferrari mould. Or you try to give both your drivers equal opportunities and the fans an exciting sport, as Red Bull are doing in letting their drivers compete with each other.
“That is what makes this sport a crowd puller because they see the best guys in the best cars racing each other with a ‘may the best man win’ philosophy - and not mocking the fans with a collusive result.” Formula 1
It is anticipated if further sanctions are imposed they will likely be against the team rather than the drivers.
That would leave Alonso still in the title hunt as the hearing takes place just four days before Ferrari’s home grand prix at Monza on September 12. The Press Association
UPDATE: August 23, 2010 12:21 pm
Ferrari have hit back at Niki Lauda’s criticism of their race-fixing tactics at last month’s German Grand Prix.
The three-time world champion said his former team would be given “a pasting” by the World Motor Sport Council in September when they review the race.
Stewards said Ferrari had imposed team orders on Felipe Massa to give Fernando Alonso victory in the race.
But Ferrari, in a column on their official website, said the 61-year-old Austrian was being “hypocritical”.
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Ferrari were fined $100,000 for their actions following the race on 26 July in Hockenheim.
But the sport’s governing body, the FIA, say the case will be heard by the WMSC in Paris on Wednesday 8 September - four days before the Italian Grand Prix - when the team could face the added possibility of a points deduction or even exclusion from the championship.
Lauda, who won two of his three world titles with the famous Maranello marque, was quoted as telling Formula1.com that what the team did in Germany was “against all rules.” BBC Sport
“After events in Hockenheim, a wave of hypocrisy swept through the paddock, with so many pundits, young and old, keen to have their say,” a column on Ferrari’s official website read. “Some were promptly brought back into line by his master’s voice, while others continue to pronounce sentence willy-nilly.
“The latest missive comes from Austria, from a person, who having hung up his helmet, has never missed out on a chance to dispense opinions left and right, even if, on more than one occasion, he has had to indulge in some verbal acrobatics to reposition himself in line with the prevailing wind. This time, good old Niki has missed out on a fine opportunity to keep his mouth shut, given that, when he was a Scuderia driver, the supposed Ferrari driver management policy suited him perfectly…
“That aside, where was all his moral fury when, over the past years, so many have been guilty of more or less overt hypocritical actions?” Yahoo! Eurosport UK
With regard to Lauda’s suggestion the WMSC will punish Ferrari severely, the column added: “As for any predictions regarding a possible decision from the FIA World Council on September 8, time will tell.
“In this sort of situation, the best policy is to respect and to trust in the highest level of the sport’s governing body.” The Press Association
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