MARCH 14, 2014

Ferrari warns FIA about team trickery in 2014

Ferrari has warned F1's governing body to be ready to pounce on cheating as the revolutionary V6 era begins in 2014.

In an open letter, team president Luca di Montezemolo said the vastly different rules has opened up "some grey areas" in the subject of "fuel, software" and "consumption".

"In these I am fully expecting the FIA to be vigilant - as I'm sure they will be ± to avoid any trickery, which has also taken place in the recent past but must not happen anymore for the good of this sport," he wrote.

Interestingly, Ferrari has been at the centre of one of the first technical controversies of the season.

Engine rivals Mercedes and Renault are unhappy that the Maranello marque entered 2014 without a safety shield to cover its new turbo unit in the event of a dangerous failure.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that Ferrari successfully argued to the FIA that its turbo is safe enough to be used without a heavy cover, but Mercedes and Renault continued to resist.

So "Ferrari is apparently voluntarily designing a protective casing," the magazine reported from Melbourne, "but there will be a few races delay before it is ready."

(GMM)