From:-
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=31906Paul Stoddart has revealed that Ferrari are subsidised by the other nine teams on the grid.
The Minardi boss made the dramatic disclosure in an interview that appears in the latest edition of F1 Racing magazine.
Asked if he thought the FIA were under the thumb of Ferrari, Stoddart replied: “No, I just think... Ferrari are special.
“Why do all the other teams pay money, real chequebook-out money, to Ferrari every year, under the Concorde Agreement?
“Why on earth, with our tight finances, do Minardi, for example, have to pay money to Ferrari every year? There’s no good reason for it.
"The answer we’re given is that it’s ‘in recognition of their historical contribution to the sport’.”
Stoddart is also unhappy with the influence that the world champions have over the sport’s regulations.
He said: “There’s talk, and I can’t say if it’s true or not, that the 2005 regulations were written by, among others, 18 people from Ferrari.
"It’s only paddock talk, of course – but then again, Max has openly conceded that the FIA consulted Ferrari, hasn’t he?
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Ferrari, particularly for Michael (Schumacher), but if a team are totally dominating the championship, and have done for years and will do so for the next few years, then it adds insult to injury to let these people write the rules because it’s fairly obvious they’ll write them in a way that suits them.
“Believe me, Ferrari are going to win the 2005 and 2006 titles, and there’s nothing any of us can do about it.”
For the full explosive interview with Stoddart, check out the February edition of F1 Racing magazine - on sale tomorrow.
Id like to see the interview - Ill check it in the newsagent tommorow
Comments
BTW: Gotta love Stoddy
I believe that this goes back to when Enzo was still alive.
One of the problems in being a fan of F1, and the journo's have this problem as well, is that the terms ( meaning amount of total $$ given to the teams as a whole, $$ allocation from positions #1 thru #10 in Constructors championship, and travel funds..... just to name a few examples) by which the teams recieve $$$ from Bernie is a secret and nobody is talking........
[Edited on 17/1/2005 by Murph]
Sorry...... when Stoddy or Bernie or Uncle Ron or any of the Piranahs come out with amounts of $$$$ that are distributed...then somebody is talking. It has been known for sometime that Ferrari has gotten a little larger piece of the pie. Nobody is talking about just how much that pie is worth and the value of the various slices....when someone does...then, and only then is someone talking.
[Edited on 17/1/2005 by Murph]
If he says he does not agree with it, I can understand him!!!
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=23304
What will Stoddart have to say about this?
I guess he'll say some 4-letter words.
http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view.asp?cid=1&nid=104449
Ecclestone may face bumpy ride over Ferrari deal
By Kevin Eason
BERNIE ECCLESTONE has handed an ultimatum to Formula One teams to fall into line behind Ferrari or lose out on their share of a multimillion-pound payout. The ultimatum is a clear sign that Ecclestone, Formula One’s all-powerful impresario, believes he now has the upper hand after winning a commitment from Ferrari to join his fold against the rebel group of carmakers trying to start a rival series.
Rumblings of discontent grew louder yesterday as team principals digested details of the deal between Ecclestone and the richest and most powerful team in the sport. The feeling that all nine teams — five with their headquarters in Britain — had been outflanked by Ecclestone and Ferrari refused to die down. Add to that the widespread animosity towards Ferrari and the recipe for revolt is being stirred.
Ecclestone and Max Mosley, president of the FIA, the sport’s governing body, had to make a deal with Ferrari to head off the planned breakaway, which would have seen a new series run by the GPWC — led by Renault, BMW, Mercedes and originally Ferrari — starting in 2008 at the end of the Concorde Agreement, the contract that binds all ten teams on sporting and commercial deals.
Capturing Ferrari to sign a five-year extension to the Concorde Agreement effectively shattered the prospects of GPWC starting an Ecclestone-free revolution. But there are signs that the other nine teams will not lie down without a fight in the face of Ecclestone’s demand that they sign up, like Ferrari, before the end of February or forfeit their share of a $500 million (£267 million) sweetener on the table, or even risk falling out of Formula One altogether. The dealing will start at what could be a stormy meeting of the team principals at a Heathrow hotel next week.
Paul Stoddart, the Minardi owner, has been elected shop steward for the nine teams to present to Mosley later today, a 22-page dossier detailing claims of how Ferrari have cashed in on the alleged bias shown by Formula One’s authorities.
While not making allegations of outright cheating, the nine teams believe that a blind eye has sometimes been shown to Ferrari, while the Italian team have flouted the spirit of the sport.
The unilateral deal with Ecclestone, signed without reference to any other team and thought to have netted Ferrari a one-off payment of $100 million, has only deepened the belief that the Italian team’s success has turned to arrogance and that there is one law for them and another for the rest.
Ferrari appear happy to stand apart from their rivals, even in a sport in which there are only ten teams. But Stoddart raised the question of what happened if the nine remaining teams refused to bow down to Ecclestone’s demands and sign an extension to the Concorde Agreement. “It is not done yet. Ferrari might have signed an extension but nobody else has and what happens then?” he said.