Ferrari avoid additional sanction over team orders
Angelo Sticchi Damiani, president of Italy's CAI Motorsport Federation, said a meeting of the FIA's world motorsport council agreed unanimously not to impose a further punishment. Race stewards handed the $100,000 fine to Ferrari after the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in July when the team was found to have ordered Felipe Massa to allow Fernando Alonso to win.
The verdict would have come as a huge relief for Alonso, whose title hopes could have been ended if FIA had opted to punish the Spaniard who lies fifth in the standings and 41 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren. Ferrari, who would have had a one-two finish at Hockenheim even without the banned team orders being invoked, are third overall and 80 points adrift of leaders Red Bull.
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Hide AdThey will be able to compete in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza, their home race. The hearing was as much about the very nature of the sport as one single offence and the outcome will be controversial. There are those who argue that team orders should be legalised since they have been part of Formula 1 since the championship started in 1950 and have never really gone away. Others say rules must be respected and to encourage overt manipulation of results would be a betrayal of the spirit of fair competition.
Formula 1's governing body has also ruled out the possibility of a new team joining the grid in 2011. In March the FIA invited parties interested in becoming the sport's 13th team to come forward, but the governing body has deemed none of the expressions of interest to be strong enough to warrant inclusion on the entry list. The sport was left with a void to fill following the collapse of the fledgling US F1 team prior to the start of this season. A joint venture involving 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve and Italian constructor Durango, and an application from Epsilon Euskadi had been among the front-running candidates to be awarded the slot.
"Following the press release of 19 March 2010 calling for expressions of interest to participate in the 2011 and 2012 seasons of the FIA Formula One World Championship, a number of interested parties expressed their interest," an FIA statement read. "It was considered that none of the candidates met the requirements to be granted an entry into the Championship.Consequently, the allocation of the 13th team will not be granted."
The decision was taken at a meeting of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) in Paris today, which was called to discuss whether or not Ferrari should face any further punishment over the German Grand Prix team orders saga.
Driver conduct was also on the WMSC's agenda, with the council announcing new guidelines which could see drivers stripped of their super licence - the document which permits individuals to race in F1 - should they be convicted of a road traffic offence. The announcement comes just days after Lewis Hamilton was fined just under 300 in an Australian court after being found guilty of performing boy racer stunts on a public road on the eve of the grand prix in Melbourne in March. The statement added: "Competitors at FIA events must act as ambassadors for the sport, be aware their conduct on the road must be exemplary and respect road safety rules. A proposal to amend the international sporting code will be submitted to the FIA General Assembly to clarify that any holder of an International Super Licence must also be in possession of a current road driving licence.
"Additionally, the Code will be amended to clarify that if an International Super Licence holder is involved in a serious road traffic offence recognised by a national police authority, the FIA, depending on the severity of the case, may issue a warning or refer the matter to the International Disciplinary Tribunal."
Meanwhile, the WMSC confirmed the F1 calendar for next season, which runs to a record 20 races and features a new grand prix at Delhi in India, although it remains subject to final FIA approval. The 2011 season will be a gruelling one for the F1 fraternity, with the opening race held in Bahrain on 13 March and the finale in Brazil on 27 November - eight and a half months later.