Ferrari to leave F1?

[nichosnz 0]

Ferrari boss Luda de Montezemelo has threatened to withdraw Ferrari from F1 if Moselys proposals are put into place, he said

"The proposals are the kind of stuff you

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Would be interesting to see them design a road car sedan and enter the WRC, wouldn't it?

Seriously though pretty much none of those proposals can be taken seriously, with the worst threat coming from weighing the cars down. But if Ferrari leaves, it does solve a few problems doesn't it? But they wont.

[DJC-Grafix 0]

personally i think and hope they wont,

its not there fault the other teams arent up to scratch, i think theyr jsut trying to get the FIA not to introduce these new stupid rules

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

That says it very well DJC, I dont think Ferrari would be ready to leave F1, imagine what the fan reaction could be..

Welcome to the forums btw!

[nichosnz 0]

They could well lost most of the viewers. It seems sometimes most people watch F1 to see Ferrari win or to see Ferrari get beaten.

[daz 0]

Exactly - to a large extent F1 is Ferrari. They are the only manufacturer to have being in the championship since it started in 1950, and have by far the largest fan base in the world. I don't blame Luca for threatening to leave and in fact I would even encourage him to do it if they do push those pathetic rules through. Then Max & Bernie can have their circus act to run as they please. I just don't think many people will be watching it anymore. I know I won't because I will be wherever my beloved Ferrari team move to...

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Imagine if Ferrari signed up Jos Verstappen, as he probably has the largest fan backing there is for a driver But nichos is right, I infact do watch the races to see Ferrari get beat, just that it hasn't happened for a long long time.

[nichosnz 0]

In foresight (I may be wrong) I think I would keep watching F1, but would probably give up before the first non-Ferrari season is over. I would however be more interested in where Ferrari ended up, right from the beginning of the season.

For years Ferrari purists have been trying to convince Ferrari to return to sportscar racing as in the beginning, Ferrari were there and in F1, but really made their name in image on the sportscar circuits. That then filtered to the F1 circu(it)s.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

It would be interesting to see a manufacturer backed Ferrari attack on the sportscar championships, it would be interesting to see how they could do on another battlefield. But leaving F1 wouldn't be the right thing to do, while I still say a Ferrari sedan in the WRC would be excellent

[Rohan 0]

my view even though i dislike the constant ferrari poduim.....but if Ferrari leaves F1 then u can take the "F" out!........ it'll be just "1 Racing"

and i seroisly dont think its gonna happen cause they will lose more than half their supporters......and the rules are really of a bad sportsman.....u cannot penalize someone for winning other teams should be dissapointed in themselves because the Ferrari have raised the "bar" they cant reach it!!!!!its their problem

[nichosnz 0]

The problem with the WRC Jens is Ferrari may feel they would be lowering their image to produce a sedan or hatch in order to go Rallying.

[Crash 0]

Ferrari would`nt leave. Just ferrari tactics. Enzo threatened similar things in the past, when he was alive...lol

As the other teams have said, they don`t want to beat a handicapped Ferrari. What sort of achievement would that be. A fairly hollow one, i think.

Cheers Crash

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

The whoole joy of winning is the knowledge that you were better than someone else, not lighter than them.

Nichos that is really the problem, as Ferrari traditionally is a sports car company. But at the same time, luxury sportscars. So maybe a single luxury sedan couldnt be an impossibility though I doubt it will ever happen. WRC is on a very steep up right now though, I wouldn't be surprised if they become as popular in the coming years as F1.

[nichosnz 0]

If Ferrari do leave F1, WRC would probably overtake F1 in popularity, with or without Ferrari.

And it would be a stretch to call most Ferraris luxury cars, they have almost no creature comforts at all. Until the mid 90's at least, even some since then are along similar lines. One for example has sliding side windows and the door itself is only panelwork (no trim) and there is a diagional wire running across the door, this is the internal door handle.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

OK true, there are a few that are quite conservative on the inside, such as a few of the 1984 models.. The Testarossa had several cosmetic problems in its time, but the newer cars such as the Maranello 550 is just astounding inside and out. There is a Ferrari dealership just north of San Francisco that we visited a few weeks ago to have a test drive (they charge you for it!), talk about a magnificent car!

A huge percentage of their cars are beautiful pieces of art on the outside, but the new FX and Enzo models dont really appeal to me at all, they look very very very odd.

Im thinking along the lines of a sporty sedan that they could introduce, or then a 2-door coupe thats still rallyable. To keep the Ferrari name what it is, stick a expensive and powerful engine in it and some real nice in-car features to keep the price up They can't make it cheap, as then everyone would have a Ferrari. Minimum of $150,000

[Rohan 0]

i wud love to see the ferrari's in the rally......but i think they wont make it since they are kinda delicate cars......on the other hand the LAMB's shud get into more racing they have a good machine....and more racing championships wud do them good......

but i think of the macs and the beamers can catch up...and even the renault's and some old companies comming back in increasing the grid from 22 cars to like 30 at max.....with Romeo's or Fords, Lambs, or any kind of company ( i mean not to come and compete witht the minardi's but with the top 4) wud give F1 a huge boost! and definately more races in the season

P.S i believe WRC can never catchup to F1 in popularity......because ppl rarely from everywhere in the world goto mountains and see multiple day stages....average ppl may not have enough time....but a F1 race is only like 1 day....so preferable!

[nichosnz 0]

A Ferrari 512M has trekked across the Saraha desert so ther are not to fraglie.

And a 30 car grid would involve at least 4 dnq's for each race. as grids can only be 26 cars.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Well, Ferrari's are sportscars, but its a whole different story if they were to enter the WRC. Their rally car wouldn't be fragile, its not like they are entering a stock car...

I think though that maybe there being more than 26 cars in the field would be interesting, as then drivers would be competing with each other, not just the 107%, at the bottom of the grid.

Also I am a bit confused, but could someone bring me up to date on what LAMB is?

[nichosnz 0]

I'm stumped on that one too Jens.

[DJC-Grafix 0]

LAMB <= Lamboghini ??eh

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Of course!

[nichosnz 0]

Oh yeah. They have tryed racing before including F1 but they sucked in all they tryed.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

Werent they in F1 in some form about a decade ago? I remember reading about something like this..

[nichosnz 0]

They entered as a team in their own right for the entire 1991 season, but failed to pre-qualify for most races starting only 6. They scored 0 points.

And as an engine supplier from 1989 to 1993, also suppling Larrousse, Ligier, Lotus and Minardi starting 80 races and scoring 20 points.

[TotalF1 Jens 0]

So they have indeed done something in F1.. Would be an interesting battle between two Italian sportscar companies at the front, Lamborghini's versus Ferrari's, and then throw in a few German and French manufacturer's as well and you have yourself one fun battle!