Ferrari Chief: Tyre Row was Inevitable

The president, however, refused to blame Michelin for the Indianapolis fiasco.

In an interview with Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport, di Montezemolo once again hit out at the single-tyre rule, claiming tyres are likely to decide the outcome of the Championship.

"I have too much respect for Michelin, with whom we won plenty in the past too, to pass judgment and fail to understand the delicate situation in which it's finding itself," said di Montezemolo.

"Besides, in a championship I've long been defining as 'of tyres', sooner or later the exasperation and the risks of the most extreme innovations were almost inevitable.

"The fact that tyres can't be changed during a race is against nature, so when there are some problems they tend to be magnified, resulting in what unfortunately happened in Indianapolis.

"There the most damaged party was without a doubt the public, but Formula One lived one of its darkest moments."

Di Montezemolo defended Ferrari for their decision not to support the construction of a chicane, and said the Italian squad did the right thing and respected the rules.

"First of all I want to highlight that Ferrari are the only team who, since 51 years ago, have always participated in racing with sporting spirit and respect for the regulations," he added.

"And we've done it this time too, by giving life to a real race among our two drivers and not just going on a stroll, as the television audience demonstrated to enjoy through some notable ratings.

"I repeat that we have the utmost respect for the competitors and most of all for the regulations, which in the last three years have been changed as many times in order to make life hard for Ferrari. But we've always done our best to adapt, including the single tyre which has inevitably given us some problems.

"After the suggestions rightly given by Michelin, it would have been enough to go slower in that part of the track to reduce the problems, as we already did in the past with the Bridgestones."

The Italian also praised the FIA's decision of not allowing the insertion of a temporary chicane.

"The Federation showed to be very responsible by not surrendering to demagogies and to the rightful expectations of the public for which, unfortunately, a fine figure was not cut," di Montezemolo said. "The idea of an improvised chicane at the last minute was absolutely absurd, this is not the circus.

"It's like a soccer team missing its top scorers pretends to have the goal posts moved to shrink or enlarge the goals. What a joke. Many regulations introduced in the last years were not always agreed with by Ferrari, but we've always respected them.

"In the F1 world Ferrari are always Ferrari, by respecting three values which are the passion for the sport, the fair challenges and our fans. What Ferrari did in Indianapolis was perfectly in line with our history."