Formula One news

Ferrari confirms current driver equality

Jean Todt has revealed that Ferrari is not going to favour either Felipe Massa or Kimi Raikkonen in the championship race "at the moment". Whilst rival McLaren struggles to placate the fierce competition between its two drivers, the Ferrari team principal took the opportunity to boast that his two drivers are getting along fine at Maranello.

"I'm just happy that both are competitive, both are fitting very well in the team," Todt said.

A few years ago it was Ferrari that caused controversy by its blatant preferential treatment of Michael Schumacher, which climaxed at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2002 when Rubens Barrichello gifted the win to the team's number one driver. The team was criticised for bringing the sport into disrepute through its unsporting tactics but on Saturday it was McLaren, which was punished for its "prejudicial actions" by the FIA following the qualifying fracas.

Todt claims that during the Schumacher era it was always a case of whoever is higher in the points standings got the favoured treatment.

Todt said: "With Michael it was always agreed that if his teammate was in a stronger position for the championship, then Michael would have accepted that and we would have put no more effort because it was the same effort but if we would have to do some specific choice for strategy or whatever, that would have been in favour of the teammate."

Todt added that the current situation - Raikkonen on 60 points to Massa's 59 - does not warrant a number one driver and therefore equality will remain. However, with only six races left and with both drivers trailing Hamilton by at least 20 points, Todt hinted that this could soon change if one driver was to establish a clear lead over the other in the championship.

Todt added: "At the moment, there's one point difference between the two drivers and there is no way we will make any kind of strategy with them at the moment."

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