Ferrari hits back at team order criticism ‘hypocrisy’

As the Hockenheim team orders furore continues, Ferrari team president Luca di Montezemolo has cried “enough of this hypocrisy”.

Leading figures of the top rival McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes teams have lashed out at the famous Italian marque after Felipe Massa was ordered aside for Fernando Alonso for victory at Sunday’s German grand prix.

“We all have to obey the rules,” said Mercedes GP chief executive Nick Fry.

Red Bull’s Christian Horner added: “It’s a great shame that the race was manipulated to give one driver a victory over the other.”

And McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh, also chairman of the F1 teams union FOTA, said: “We do desperately want to win but it’s about how you win.”

The Briton also said he would speak “privately” about the issue to Ferrari.

While hitting back at what he describes as “polemics”, Montezemolo at least seemed to steer away from the team’s earlier denial that Massa was given a team order.

“These things have happened since the days of Nuvolari and I experienced it myself when I was sporting director, in the days of Niki Lauda and not just then,” said Montezemolo.

“The polemics are of no interest to me,” added the Italian.

“Enough of this hypocrisy, even if I can well believe that some people might have liked to see our two drivers eliminate one another, but that is definitely not the case for me or indeed for our fans,” he said.

© RIF | GMM