Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen have added their weight to the row
over the 2010 budget cap by backing Ferrari’s decision to leave Formula One should the FIA press ahead with a two-tier system.
Ferrari issued an ultimatum to the FIA on Tuesday refusing to enter the 2010 world championship unless the decision to introduce an optional £40m budget cap – which would see some teams given more technical freedom than others – is reversed.
Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen have backed the move, despite their long-standing affiliation with the Italian outfit, not to mention the possibility of fighting for future world championships with the team.
“I understand the motivation, why the company got to this point,” Massa said in a statement. “The idea of having a Championship with two velocities, with cars, which for example are allowed to have flexible wings or an engine without a rev limiter, is absurd.”
“For a driver racing a Ferrari in Formula 1 is a dream and I made mine come true. Since I was a child Ferrari has been the synonym for racing for me; that’s why I’m convinced that even if the Scuderia is forced to leave Formula 1, there will be other competitions, where it will be possible to admire the Reds on the track.”
Raikkonen, who is widely tipped to leave Formula One at the end of the year anyway after appearing to lose interest in the sport since winning the world championship in 2007, said:
“I always thought of Formula 1 as the pinnacle of motor sports, in terms of competition and technology,” the Finn added. “I can’t imagine drivers racing each other on the track with cars built according to different rules; that wouldn’t be good for the sport itself or for the fans.”
“If that should happen, it would be too bad and I understand that a company like Ferrari is thinking about racing somewhere else,” Raikkonen concluded.
