Ferrari has long loathed privateer upstarts. The old man himself, Enzo Ferrari, famously referred to the British teams as garagista -garage owners. Now, although I’m not particularly a fan of theirs, Ferrari has it absolutely right.
Check it out by clicking this word. Or this one.
The reason major manufacturers have left a sport that should be the pinnacle of engineering excellence has absolutely nothing to do with the “economic downturn”. I believe it’s the old boy’s club that run the sport who yearn for the days of smuggling cocaine in DFR cylinder heads. They’re Essex wideboys who should be selling pirate DVDs outside pubs.
The grid hasn’t been this close since the inception of the sport, but the major manufacturers are being forced out by blinkered management with a style more suited to a country club than a spectator sport. We’re going back to the dark old days of shite cars, way off the pace, being lapped and having a young Gavin Williams hope Senna trips over one of them.
Bernie Ecclestone constantly bangs on about “preserving the future of F1” when all he’s really concerned about is the past and making money. Unfortunately his nostalgia doesn’t extend to classic circuits. For instance, replacing the always thrilling Montreal GP with the Jean-Michel Jarre wet dream of Abu Dhabi and being on the verge of cancelling the British Grand Prix.
BMW, Honda and Toyota replaced by Campos Meta, USF1 and Lotus? A brand that has nothing more than faded heraldry and Malaysian owners. Cosworth hasn’t made a competitive engine since the 70s. I love the fact that I can support a team that represents the car I can go out and buy, and Formula 1 is slowly losing that. Ferrari wants the sport to be professional and have bragging rights over other manufacturers, not hapless garagista.
Yet we keep watching.
I sincerely hope the manufacturers are using their usual “exit strategy” marketing speak for a reason instead of pointing an accusing finger at the FIA because they hope to return to the sport one day.
Gavin Williams
Jean-Michel Jarre, late last night.
Tags: campos, cocaine, cosworth, country club, enzo, f1, ferrari, jean-michel jarre, lotus, smuggling, toyota, usf1, withdrawal
