Ferrari president, Luca di Montezemolo, has joined several other figures within the Italian team criticising the FIA’s handling of the events in Valencia.
Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa both lost places after obeying the regulations which state that drivers mustn’t overtake the safety car unless signalled to do so.
However, Lewis Hamilton hesitated as he came alongside the safety car as it left the pits to join the track, which led to the McLaren driver passing it after the SC line. Had he not hesitated, he wouldn’t have later been penalised with a drive-through.
The FIA’s decision to hand the Brit with a penalty was the right decision, however it came quite late after the incident, which allowed Hamilton to open up a large enough gap – meaning he re-joined in the same position.
This is the part which has angered Ferrari and its fans.
“The result of yesterday’s race was misrepresentative,” said Di Montezemolo. “Ferrari, which showed itself to be competitive in the European Grand Prix, paid a price that was too high for respecting the rules.
“Meanwhile those who didn’t follow the rules [Hamilton] were penalised by the race officials in a way that was less severe than the damage suffered by those who did respect them. That is a very serious and unacceptable event that creates dangerous precedents, throwing a shadow over the credibility of Formula One.
“We are sure that the FIA will fully analyse what happened, taking the consequent necessary decisions. Ferrari will watch this with interest.”
