Ferrari

[SL]

I have just seen that Ferrari have treatened to pull out of F1 because the Max and Bernie tag team are thinking about slowing MS down with 1kg bricks or random drivers etc etc.

Now given that the other major area's are CART / Indy or Sportscars (I cannot see Ferrari doing touring cars somehow) what do you think or would like them to do ? Build a LMP900 or 675 or back the 360 / 550's already there. I have a vision of 3 Audi, 3 Bentley team against 6 gleaming and screaming red Ferrari V12's in June 2003. If Porsche also arrive in 2004......Well I can dream.

On a more realistic note, Enzo used to threaten to withdraw every so often from F1 and Sportscars if a new rule that he did not like be introduced, but never did in F1. So it is nice to see the tradition continued

Simon

[JAG]

No chance of Ferrari pulling out of F1. However the 360s are already works built cars for cutomers.

Ferrari are also masterminding the new Masarati Enzo GTS car for 2004. Some say Ferrari may be involved in something else as well?

[Lee Janotta]

Ferrari's not going anywhere, there's just a lot of hot air blowing around in F1... It's an old bluff Enzo used _many_ times to get his way, often against the interests of the sport.

ANYWAYS.... The rumors I've heard are semi-works involvement with a GTS Ferrari Enzo, and a Maserati LMP900.

[JAG]

The Masarati Enzo is confirmed. They are just waithing for the carbon chassis regs to be confirmed.

Others continue to say Ferrari have some interest in some other sportscar GTS, LMP900, LMGTP who knows.

Can anything be read into the fact that the 2004 regs have been delayed from PLM to the end of the year. They 'MAY' give the Carbon GTS cars some performance breaks to let them have an outside chance of victory.

[rdjones]

How I would love to see a works Ferrari prototype back at Le Mans - but some how I can not see it happening for many many years.

[JAG]

But we can see a top class Masarati. Ferrari have took over control of Masarati and hope to increaes sales greatly in the coming years. They see Ferrari in F1 and Masarati in Sportscars, with the exception of the 360.

[SFonseca]

Originally posted by JAG
with the exception of the 360.

...and 550 Maranello!!

[Aysedasi]

Originally posted by rdjones
How I would love to see a works Ferrari prototype back at Le Mans - but some how I can not see it happening for many many years.

Likewise rd.

Somehow I don't think Ferrari will ever cotton on to the fact that a lot fewer people care about F1 these days than used to - and they and TGF are largely to blame.

[AllonFS]

Don't even get me started on F1! I have made my feelings very clear on that forum. What I find really frustrating is the blind devotion of some Ferrari fans, however low the team stoops these fans will defend them.

The real pity is that the Ferrari team of today is so far way from the Ferrari of the 50s, 60s and early 70s. Ferrari then valued F1, sportscars, endurance etc. It was part of motorsport as a whole, now it only thinks of F1 and the values of team bear no relation to those of Enzo. I would love to see them come back to Le Mans, but I doubt they will. If they do, then based on the way they approach F1 they will get the rules changed to suit them, devalue the whole event and then probably b*gger off quicker than BMW after 99. The thought of a Ferrari/Porsche battle is a good one though, I could finally get to experience what those late 60s early 70s battles were like.

[Osella]

Ferrari could always do another 333. One of the things that made it viable was old F1 engines being available to be recycled as sportscar motors- that hasn't changed. Michelotto still make Ferrari racecars- the 360 GT-N and GT-S cars and I bet Lola or Dallara could come up with a bespoke chassis pretty quickly. They could do it and do it well (as they did before) sell plenty of cars and maybe even show a profit!
{ps if anyone has up-to-date photographs of what the inside of a factory making Ferrari racecars in 2002 actually looks like, I'm sure we'd all love to see 'em, and not just Ferraris either)

[JAG]

The 360 project started by Michelloto is now an official Ferrari backed program suppling customer cars. The 550s are totally independant. The Prodrive and Italtechnica cars were evaluated by Ferrari for works support but this was stopped by Montezemolo. However recently Ferrari did officisly help Alliots 550 when he was having engine troubles.

Ferrari are now running Masarati and are masterminding the new Enzo based Masarati GTS car (Probably the reason why the 550s were not officialiy backed).

There are some teams who have indicated a wish to race Ferrari Enzos in the futre, BMS being one of them. The rules were changed in FIA GT so that cars could be built without factory blesseing. Plus the new supercars should be easier to convert to GTS spec as they are more suitable for racing than say a Viper or 550.

Its also worth remembering that at the 2004 LMP rules discussions Ferrari and another manufactuer were pushing ahead for 4 Litre V8s such as the Judd and other racing engines like the Zytec as the only engines to be used in the LMP900s. Maybe they still have some interest in LMPs together with the Masarati Enzo GTS and 360 GT?

[AllonFS]

I didn't realise Ferrari had been pushing for one engine type for Le Mans prototypes. That would have been a disaster, we can all see how great F1 is now with all cars having those horrible V10s. What's with this push to iron out differences and innovation, how many people prefer F1 today to that of the 60s and 70s when V8s, V12s and V16s lined up together?

Le Mans this year was great with Panoz V8s and screaming Judds competing. I would hate to see that go for identikit prototypes of Ferrari cast-off parts. If Ferrari are serious about Le Mans, (and I do hope they are), then come back with a factory supported prototype V12, that will be popular whether they win or lose. Probably get more positive news story from competing at Le Mans again than winning another F1 season like this one.