FIA president Jean Todt got a little punchy this week in a letter to the Formula 1 teams. Todt views the “gang of seven” teams who complained about the FIA’s handling of the Ferrari engine legality issue in 2019 and threatened further legal action as “injurious and defamatory” in nature.
‘Building on a totally inaccurate and biased fact pattern, not only do you challenge the decision of the FIA, you openly question the integrity of the Federation and its representatives, suggesting a fraudulent collusion between the FIA and Scuderia Ferrari.
‘Your attitude goes well beyond a legitimate request for further clarification, which would have been welcomed by the FIA. It is a source of damage to the FIA F1 World Championship by itself.
‘The FIA strongly rejects and denies your allegations. Teams thoughtlessly brought extremely serious charges against the FIA and key officials, notably the president, which are injurious and defamatory.’
The letter was a push back on the seven teams that have continued to ratchet up the war of words over the fIA’s handling of the investigation into the legality of the Ferrari power unit in 2019 and criticism that the FIA’s handling of the issue.
The initial statement referred to no further action and that a private agreement was made between Ferrari and the FIA. After serious criticism of this statement, the FIA offered further information which, effectively, suggested they did not believe they could gather enough information to prove Ferrari were contravening the regulations.
It’s race week and it will be interesting to see if any official complaints or calls for action happen with regards to the FIA, Ferrari’s 2019 power unit or even Mercedes and their 2020 DAS system.
Hat Tip: Daily Mail
