Formula 1
It’s the biggest controversy in the past decade: #Ferrarigate and the absurd dispute over a secret agreement between the FIA and Ferrari. The seven rebel teams asks FIA for clarification.
More details have leaked in the Melbourne paddock – and the questions the teams had sent to FIA and F1 owners Liberty Media.
+++ Why is the agreement secret?
+++ What rules did Ferrari break and how?
+++ Why was the breach of the rules not made public?
+++ What sanctions have been imposed?
+++ If the FIA has not clarified this technical incident transparently, why should we confidence in the FIA to monitor and sanction the budget ceiling seriously from 2021?
The letter contained a lot of explosives because it indirectly lists charges against FIA President Jean Todt. The accusation that can be read between the lines: Todt did not regulate the matter transparently and fairly.
What makes the whole situation even more delicate is that Todt’s son Nicolas Todt is Charles Leclerc’s manager – and Todt still maintains an excellent relationship to Ferrari as former team principal. He maintains a close relationship with Mattia Binotto, whose boss he was when Michael Schumacher was at its height.
The Frenchman’s response to the team’s letter won’t satisfy the teams either. Accordingly, the FIA could not publish the agreement without Ferrari’s permission. The FIA is not sure whether the power unit was legal in 2019. But due to the complexity of the case, it could not prove the opposite either.
A high-ranking team principal asked justifiably: “What is the FIA good for if it cannot keep the rules as a rule keeper?”
Formula 1 boss Chase Carey claims that it had nothing to do with the settlement nor with any investigations.
However, it has been leaked that FIA and Formula 1 prevented the teams in Abu Dhabi from launching an official protest. Their promise to the teams: We take care of it.
The “Magnificent Seven”, as the seven rebellious teams are now called in the paddock, no longer want to be made a fool off. This is also a challenge for FIA President Jean Todt, his power and legacy within F1.
Red Bull chief-advisor Helmut Marko to F1-Insider.com. “In this case a sport was discredited in which we invest millions each year. We cannot accept that any longer. “
