Formula One news

Montezemolo defends Ferrari's position

Luca di Montezemolo has smashed critics claiming that Ferrari was responsible for Sunday's scandalous race in Indianapolis. "We did not take the spectators for a ride. Formula 1 did not give itself a good image, but that is not our fault," the Ferrari president claimed in Maranello on Wednesday.

Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello only had to race against Jordan and Minardi in Indy. Seven other teams decided not to race, as tyre manufacturer Michelin could not guarantee the tyre's safety throughout the entire race.

"It would have been absurd to change the rules ahead of the race. That's as if you made a goal slimmer ahead of a football game, to help one of the teams," Montezemolo went on. "The rules are the same for everyone and have to be respected, even if they have been changed too often in the last three years to give us a disadvantage. We did not ask for a race to be cancelled either when it was going badly for us."

Ferrari hopes to be a serious title contender after the race, which Montezemolo thinks was a serious fight in between Schumacher and Barrichello. "Bridgestone was very important for our victory. We would have won if everyone else had raced also," claims the Italian. At the next race in France, he hopes to score another win - "with Michelin or without them."

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