A few days ago, Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo stated in an interview that he isn’t too happy with Formula 1 these days. He specifically stated that the elite racing series "isn’t working" and is "declining because the FIA have forgotten that people watch the racing for the excitement. Nobody watches racing for the efficiency, come on." Montezemolo, obviously, was specifically referring to this year’s new turbocharged V6 engines, which, if you’ve watched any of the races on TV, don’t exactly sound like much of anything.
FIA didn’t respond to the Ferrari chief’s comments, but his message was made clear. He also complained about new rules that don’t allow for engine development during the season. Ferrari is currently in third place this season, and not being allowed to improve the engine is obviously very frustrating. Several media sources took Montezemolo’s words as a sign that Ferrari could soon exit F1 entirely and focus instead on endurance races, such as Le Mans. In fact, Montezemolo said that Ferrari could possibly even return to La Sarthe by as early as 2020. It left Le Mans in 1972.
After the Montezemolo interview, however, Ferrari PR officials quickly stated that an F1 exit would be taking it "to extremes" and that the chairman's words were nothing but speculation. But if the FIA doesn’t make some major changes in the near future, Ferrari may just follow through on its threat. "No one wants to watch a driver save gas or tires. They want to see them push from here to there. It's sport, yes, but also a show," Montezemolo concluded.
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