New Rules a Mistake, Says Ferrari President

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has criticised the new rules that will come into play in Formula One racing next season.

"The new rules are an error that won't last long, even though Ferrari will of course respect them," di Montezemolo told Gazzetta dello Sport. "It's much ado about nothing. We now have new rules, which aren't even that interesting."

"For example, the difference in points between first and second place is too small, and it will become obvious that it's wrong."

With the revised rules, approved by the Formula One Commission at the end of last month, Formula One drivers next year will compete under a revised system awarding points to the top eight finishers in a sequence of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 rather than just the leading six with the current 10-6-4-3-2-1 format.

The smaller points gap from the winner to the second placed driver means that the race winner will not benefit as much as before. Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher scored 11 wins in the 2002 season, finishing a massive 67 points ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello in the standings.

Di Montezemolo, however, believes that changes to the rules were sensible compared to the ideas of FIA president Max Mosley, who proposed a rule by which a driver would switch teams during a season.

"There's someone who thinks it is right to modify the situation of the front runners," he added. "In this respect, the teams have shown great spirit of cooperation, good sense of responsibility, and strong nerves.

"Because revolutionising Formula One would have been a big mistake. A mistake that we would not have been accepted."