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Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has claimed that the Singapore Grand Prix 'night race' did little for F1's image.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is not a man afraid to hold opposing views to the majority of the Formula One paddock, but felt that he would differ by speaking out against Formula One's visit to Singapore.
However, having seen one of his championship contenders finish 13th on the road and the other end his night in the barriers having been set for minor points, new FOTA chairman di Montezemolo branded the event 'humiliating for Formula One' - in contrast to the majority who felt that it had been a breath of fresh air and a unique experience - and slammed both the Marina Bay street circuit and the use of the safety car, which appeared twice during the 61-lap night race.
"When you race on a track that would work better as a circus ring or something along those lines, anything can happen, because the real show was put on yesterday by the safety car," he fumed in an interview with Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport, "This is humiliating for the F1 world and, during the next few weeks, I would like discuss this with all the other teams."
Ferrari's biggest rival, McLaren, has also claimed that the timing of the first safety car, called when Nelson Piquet Jr crashed on lap 14, had a decisive effect on the outcome of the race, but accepted that 'the lottery' had a habit of evening itself out over the course of the season. While Lewis Hamilton came through to finish third in the race - behind Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg, who both benefited from the pace car period - Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who had been leading until that point, saw his chances of victory disappear in yet another botched pit-stop from the Scuderia.
Despite watching a near repeat of the incident that saw one of the team's refuelling crew injured in Valencia, di Montezemolo reserved his vitriol for the circuit and not for the maligned automated pit release system.
"We have fantastic mechanics who can also make mistakes and, of course, whoever made the mistake won't be anyone's favourite person these days," he said, "But, in any case we need to support him and all the others because, in other situations, there were other people who tipped the scales. We are the reigning world champions and we can still win again this year. Who knows if we won't make it with these outstanding people. You will see how there will be a big comeback already in the next race."
di Montezemolo's confidence will require both Massa and Raikkonen to be on top of their game at the same time, something that has rarely been the case in 2008. And, with the Finn now 27 points adrift of championship leader Hamilton, more than a little teamwork will be needed too as the Briton can afford to finish one place behind Massa in the remaining three races and still take the title.
"I hope Massa and Raikkonen pull a 1-2 in the remaining three races and, in any case, that they finish ahead of McLaren," he insisted, "The car is the best one around, Massa is the best and I hope Raikkonen can show his world champion class in the last few races. It was clear throughout the weekend that our car was the best one and, when the car was working well, Massa made a fantastic qualifying lap, proving his form is the best amongst all the drivers in the championship.
And with regard to Raikkonen now having to play second fiddle to the Brazilian?
"That's obvious," the president claimed, "We have gone through very rough times, but all drivers know they must race for their team. Then, we'll see what happens at the end."
yahoo.com
