Former Formula 1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone claims efforts by the FIA and potentially even Mercedes have been made to help Ferrari more competitive for the good of the sport.
The issue of biased towards the Italian team was reignited following the United States Grand Prix when a controversial penalty was handed to Max Verstappen for going off track and gaining an advantage promoting Kimi Raikkonen back onto the podium.
Though Ecclestone would not comment on the incident in Austin, instead he spoke of wider efforts that have been made for the good of the Scuderia during his time in charge.
“F1 is Ferrari, and Ferrari is F1,” the Briton, who remains Chairman Emeritus, told Italian newspaper La Repubblica. “Helping Ferrari has always been the smartest thing to do. It was always done through the technical regulations.
“The teams are important to F1, but Ferrari is more than that. So many things have been done over the years that have helped Ferrari to win.”
2017 saw a sweeping change in regulations which surprisingly saw Ferrari as one of the main beneficiaries, becoming legitimate contenders to Mercedes after three years of domination.
What has been noticeable is, despite the increased aerodynamics this year, engines have remained the key performance indicator and to that end, Ecclestone suggested that perhaps the German manufacturer had helped improve their power unit.
“Certainly at one point they had help with this engine,” he stated. “It’s the same for Mercedes as it is for the others — a world championship win against Ferrari is always worth more. If Mercedes decided to transfer technology to Maranello, I say it was a good move.
“What is certain is that this friendly situation between the two teams is the best thing for Mercedes, it means Red Bull did not have the most powerful engines and Ferrari was competitive enough to be a credible rival to beat,” he added.
In other comments, however, another controversial F1 figure, former Benetton and Renault boss Flavio Briatore, thinks Ferrari isn’t helping itself by keeping one member of the team.
“Certainly it is very difficult to win the Constructors’ title with [Kimi] Raikkonen,” he said to Spanish daily Marca. “To win, you must have two drivers who are competitive and then you identify who should win the Drivers’ Championship.”
The flamboyant Italian, who remains linked with Fernando Alonso, also claims the Maranello outfit isn’t as strong as that in Brackley.
“You win and lose races but a championship is more like the Giro d’Italia,” he said. “Lewis and Mercedes have been the strongest, even if Ferrari did very well at the beginning but I think Mercedes did the better job in development.”
