The FIA Godfather Trial: Ferrari Aquitted

In the immediate aftermath of the FIA announcement that wins would decide the F1 driver champion for 2009, I was struck by the reaction of Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo; he was definitely not in favor of the change.

Many had supposed that the new rule had been put in place at the behest of Ferrari, as a reaction to their driver Felipe Massa losing out to Lewis Hamilton in the 2008 title battle by one miserable point, despite having won more races. We have read many times, not least here on Bleacher, that the Ferrari leaders are so influential within F1's governing body that the sport is effectively run for their benefit.

Last year it was a popular joke that FIA actually stood for Ferrari International Assistance, and how we laughed.

Every steward's decision and FIA ruling of the past few seasons that has seemed to benefit Ferrari while disadvantaging McLaren has been attributed to the hidden hand of the Marinello mob. Their evil tentacles seemed to be everywhere, making sure Massa won in Valencia, robbing Hamilton of victory at Spa; the catalogue of their crimes had the bulk of a telephone directory.

But now we have absolute proof that the suavely menacing di Montezemolo is not the sinister godfather pulling the FIA's strings.

In addition to opposing the championship-by-wins rule, di Montezemolo has spoken out against the proposed budget caps for F1 teams in 2010. Hardly surprising, given that his team pays one driver more per annum than the FIA deem an entire team to need.

It is simply not conceivable that the FIA would issue a raft of edicts going against Ferrari's interests if that team had the influence attributed to it; no jury would believe it.

Therefore you may step down, Don di Montezemolo, and leave this court without a stain on your character.

Nobody should suppose, however, that the FIA is an independent body making impartial decisions for the benefit of Formula One as a whole. That would be a big mistake, for there is a hand pulling the strings, animating the stuffed shirts and writing their script.

Up until now, we have been pursuing the wrong suspect, chasing a scarlet herring.

Our new person of interest is a small elderly man of undistinguished appearance, whom we believe may be motivated by his own failures as a racing driver, and by his all-consuming love of money.