MARANELLO, Italy, 27 August 2003 — Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo, has warned he will not tolerate a repeat of the debacle at the Hungarian Grand Prix where Rubens Barrichello crashed out and Michael Schumacher finished eighth.
“Performances and occurrences like we saw in Budapest should not be repeated,” Montezemolo told yesterday’s Gazzetta dello Sport, adding that he wanted to see “a team that wins everything” at the next Formula One race at Monza on Sept. 14.
“We can do it because with Schumacher, we’ve got the best in the world,” said Montezemolo.
Renault’s Fernando Alonso won Sunday’s race at the Hungaroring, lapping five-time world champion Schumacher in the process, but more importantly, McLaren Mercedes’ Kimi Raikkonen finished second and BMW-Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya came in third. The result makes the race for the championship even closer, with just two points now covering the top three drivers.
The German still leads the standings with 72 points, one ahead of Montoya and two ahead of Raikkonen with the Italian GP at Monza, the US GP at Indianapolis (Sept. 28) and the Japanese GP at Suzuka (Oct. 12) still to come.
Meanwhile, Ferrari team boss Jean Todt refused to blame tire manufacturer Bridgestone for the poor performance even though the top seven places were occupied by teams using rivals Michelin.
“It’s not only the tires that are to blame,” said Todt. “We’ve got a raft of improvements planned.”
Todt indicated that before Monza, Ferrari would also be looking to improve performance in the areas of aerodynamics, electronics and traction.
“At Monza I want to once again see the highly successful Ferrari Bridgestone team that has won seven titles and 45 races since 1999,” said Todt. Ferrari’s recent poor performances have impacted on ticket sales for Monza with 10,000 still available.
Brazil’s de Ferran to Retire at End of IRL Season
In Reading, Pennsylvania, Brazil’s Gil de Ferran, the 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner and a two-time Championship Auto Racing Teams champion, will retire at the end of the Indy Racing League season, his Penske team announced Monday.
“My experience with Marlboro Team Penske is, without question, the pinnacle of my career,” de Ferran said in a statement released by Penske. “During my four years with the team, we won two CART championships and the Indy 500.
“Plus we are in the midst of a tremendous fight for this year’s Indy Racing League Championship. I felt it was important for me to stop while I was at my best and still enjoying what I do.”
Marlboro Team Penske hired Sam Hornish to replace de Ferran. “I thought it was very important for me to tell the team as soon as possible so that they would be free to hire the best possible driver,” de Ferran said. “I feel they have done so with Sam Hornish.”
