LONDON: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone blasted the controversy surrounding world champion Sebastian Vettel’s Brazilian Grand Prix overtaking manoeuvre as a ‘joke’.
Ferrari had contacted the FIA concerning the move by the Red Bull driver during last weekend’s season-ending race that won him a third successive title. There had been speculation that the manoeuvre could have been illegal and, if so, Vettel could have been sanctioned and thereby stripped of his title in favour of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who missed out on the championship by just three points.
But Formula One ringmaster Ecclestone said it was a shame that the climax to the season had been overshadowed by the row.
“It’s a shame because everything had gone so well,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “It was a super race, a super championship. Now everyone is talking about this. The problem is that no-one knows what is going on. “They (Ferrari) missed that time. Then there is the fact that a green flag was shown, which nobody seems to dispute. It’s a complete joke. What they are saying in that letter is wrong. I don’t think there needs to be any action taken. It’s completely and utterly wrong.”
Ferrari said they had wanted the FIA to clarify the rules.
Vettel’s victory had already been overshadowed by claims from Ferrari that Alonso should have been crowned champion, pointing to controversial races in Belgium and Japan to support their argument.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2012.
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