As two new F1 teams struggle, Ferrari have criticised former FIA president Max Mosley for waging a "holy war" on manufacturers.
Website column blames former FIA president as new teams struggle
Ferrari have launched a fresh attack on Max Mosley, this time criticising the former FIA president for waging a "holy war" on manufacturers.
The past 15 months have seen three manufacturers - Honda, BMW and Toyota - withdraw from Formula One and while Renault remains, the French manufacturer sold 75 per cent of its team to investment firm Genii Capital late last year.
As part of a plan for a more cost-effective F1, the FIA announced last year that it was increasing the grid from 20 to 26 cars, with four new teams eventually gaining entries for 2010.
However, two of them, US F1 and Campos Meta, are currently struggling to make the season opener in Bahrain on March 14.
With less than three weeks to go to the start of the season, Ferrari have blamed Mosley for the situation and what they see as a deliberate plan to replace manufacturers with independent teams.
In a column on their official website called 'The Horse Whisperer', the Maranello marque lament the fact only 11 of the 13 teams scheduled to enter this season's World Championship have so far tested.
It adds: "As for the 12th team, Campos Meta, its shareholder and management structure has been transformed...with a sudden cash injection from a munificent white knight [referring to supremo Bernie Ecclestone], well used to this sort of last-minute rescue deal.
"However, the beneficiaries of this generosity might find the knight in question expects them to fulfil the role of loyal vassal.
"All this means, it is hard to imagine the Dallara-designed car showing its face at the Catalunya Circuit [in Barcelona this week for testing], with Sakhir a more likely venue to witness the return of the Senna name [driver Bruno] to a Formula One session.
"The 13th team, USF1, appears to have gone into hiding in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the dismay of those like the Argentinian [driver Jose Maria] Lopez, who thought he had found his way into the Formula One paddock and now has to start all over again.
"Amazingly, they still have the impudence to claim that everything is hunky-dory under the starry, stripy sky."
Blame
As part of the FIA's attempts to cut costs, which increased markedly during the manufacturer era, Mosley last year sought to introduce a £40 million budget cap.
The move almost led to a manufacturer-led breakaway series although, in the event, Mosley backed down and teams instead agreed to reduce costs on their own terms.
The column nevertheless points the finger of blame for the current situation squarely at Mosley, adding: "This is the legacy of the holy war waged by the former FIA president.
"The cause in question was to allow smaller teams to get into Formula One.
"This is the outcome: two teams will limp into the start of the Championship, a third is being pushed into the ring by an invisible hand, and as for the fourth, well, you would do better to call on Missing Persons to locate it.
"In the meantime, we have lost two constructors along the way, in the shape of BMW and Toyota, while at Renault, there's not much left other than the name. Was it all worth it?"
