'Ferrari won't name and shame mechanic'

Wednesday 1st October 2008

Ferrari will stand by the mechanic that may have cost Felipe Massa the World title, according to Scuderia president Luca di Montezemolo.

Massa's chances of winning last weekend's Singapore GP came to an end when an over-eager mechanic jumped the gun on the pit stop lighting system, telling the Brazilian to leave the pits before the fuel hose was detached from his F2008.

The result was one mechanic lying on the ground injured and Massa having to stop at the end of the pit lane while waiting for his mechanics to come detach the fuel hose that he had driven off with.

The Championship contender also incurred a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release as he came within inches of colliding with Adrian Sutil.

He eventually finished the race second from last, falling seven points behind Championship rival Lewis Hamilton.

And although Ferrari were disappointed with the result, di Montezemolo insists they will stand by the mechanic.

"We have extraordinary mechanics who may make mistakes once in a while," the Italian told the Gazzetta Dello Sport newspaper.

"Obviously the one that did is the most displeased one now, but he deserves us to stay close to him like to everyone else, because at other times they have turned the result around.

"We are the World Champions, we are still able to win.

"Let's see if we don't do it with these exceptional people. You'll see a great reaction at the next race."

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Your Comments

rukdng

"To the folks that tend to use loose loosely, the word is lose not loose... as in Ferrari may lose their way or even worse Ferrari has lost their way. Loose could be taken to mean they are flopping around but haven't quite let go as yet as in external exhaust outlets and what not but I think you really mean they lost a serious shot at the championship this year... whatever ;>)"

EndlessCT9A

"Felipe drove SO WELL this year and it's a shame that he's not going to get a decent shot at the title. With that being said, seems like Ferrari suffers from a systemic set of failures on Sundays. Whether it's pitwork, engine reliability (multiple blown engines) or component reliability (recall Kimi's exhaust pipe hanging off the car?), it's going to take a far better effort to win the title. "

sjlyons50

"R mawerickin's point: the principles in the Stepneygate saga were never 'planted', Stepney was a 'valued' Ferrari employee for several years, the other guy was employed by McLaran for several years. In the Renault case they employed an ex-McLaren employee. No one was planted anywhere at any time. Unless, of course, Stepney was a long term sleeper agent! "

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