Luca di Montezemolo, Ex-Ferrari F1 premier, was “disgusted” by Ferrari’s fans behavior with Lewis Hamilton at Italian Grand Prix.
Di Montezemolo headed Ferrari between 1991 and 2014, and was disappointed from derogatory response to the leading championship driver.
He said, “Lewis is a fantastic champion, has always been very correct, and he made a fantastic race. Full stop.
“What happened was very, very bad and I am really upset.”
Hamilton didn’t let the boos and whistling jeopardize the celebration of an astonishing victory at Italian Grand Prix. He said, “I have harnessed it and turn it from negative to positive”.
Di Montezemolo rejected the idea of playing Valtteri Bottas, to aid his team mate Lewis Hamilton to increase his advantage over Kimi Raikkonen, as a foul play.
He said that Ferrari had also utilized such strategies to gain advantage over their competitors.
“I can tell you we won a few championships [this way] when I was the chairman and CEO – with Kimi and Felipe Massa, with Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher, with Michael and Eddie Irvine,” he said.
“So this is part of the history. And Bottas did not make anything incorrect or a foul. He made his race.
“When I have heard somebody make criticism… This is normal. In life it is difficult to win, but it is more difficult to accept when you don’t win. So, yesterday I was not happy for what I have seen, from the public.
“Mercedes made its job. If I was in charge of Ferrari in the same condition as Mercedes, I would make exactly the same choice. So, finito.”
Ferrari driver for 2019
Montezemolo enriched Ferrari’s F1 career with the golden era of Michael Schumacher. He also over-seen the last victory that Ferrari managed to win in 2007.
He insisted that Ferrari shall announce on its decision which driver will accompany the title contender Sebastian Vettel for the next season.
“When I was in Ferrari, I did not like to have people from the grandstand tell me what to do, so I don’t want to do the same,” Di Montezemolo said.
“But what I can say is that, in my opinion, at a certain point of the season – traditionally it was Monza – it is good to announce… who [will drive next year] because it is possible to avoid psychological attitude of the drivers.”
