Ferrari
Chairman Luca di Montezemolo and Vice Chairman Piero
Ferrari have both swiftly hit back at Italian Minister Roberto Calderoli who called on the former to quit after the pit
stop call on Sunday that cost Fernando Alonso the F1 World
Championship title. Alonso had arrived in Abu Dhabi for the
final round of the championship with a healthy eight
point lead in the title race, but was eventually only
able to finish seventh.
Calderoli, who is a
minister from Italy's right-wing Northern League party
described Alonso's early pit stop which saw him drop
down the order and unable to pass the Renault of Vitaly
Petrov as a "demented" strategy and demanded
Montezemolo's resignation. Montezemolo has clashed with
the Northern League in the past.
Montezemolo hit back
quickly, saying disdainfully, in a statement issued by
Ferrari: "When the statesman Calderoli will achieve in
his life 1 percent of what Ferrari has done for this
country in terms of industry and sports, then he'll
deserve an answer."
Also riding to the
defence was Piero Ferrari, who said: "I'm astonished and
saddened by certain statements some politicians and a
minister of the Italian Republic made after yesterday's
race. It has never happened in my entire life at Ferrari
that politicians intervened during good and bad moments
in our life in motorsport, and I want it to stay like
this. But if we want to have a look at how much Ferrari
has done for Italy's image around the world, then I can
only say that it is definitely much more than certain
politics have done."
Meanwhile the defeated
contender, Alonso, said: "Waking up was hard after
[Sunday's} disappointment, I can’t deny it. It hurts to
come so close to the goal and see it slip away like
that, but that’s the way sport goes and we have to
accept it. The closing chapter of the season must not
erase all the positive things that we’ve done this year.
And – I repeat – for me it’s been a top year. There have
been wonderful moments, such as the Monza podium, that
will stay in my memory and the bitter end will never be
able to cancel them out. Now it’s pointless to try and
work out who got things wrong: a world championship that
slips away by four points after 19 races can be lost on
so many occasions, not just at the end. We are a team:
we win and we lose all together. I’m happy to be at
Ferrari – to feel, together with all the men and women
who work here the pride of being a part of this family
and this extraordinary history. We are a great group and
we will show that – especially in this hardest of
moments where this bitter taste will be felt inside
every one of us. I know that at Maranello everyone will
be working hard on the new car to try to be even more
competitive at the start of next year. I know that here
at Yas Marina the mechanics are again on track preparing
for a week of testing. I can’t wait to get back involved
on Friday when I’ll return to Abu Dhabi to try out the
new Pirelli tyres on Saturday. This is the spirit of our
people: they want to react straightaway, to work even
harder to chase victory. That has made me fall in love
with Ferrari even more today than ever."
