Sauber-Ferrari and the Ferrari blocking orders at Jerez 1997

[FourWheelDrift]

Hmmmm Ferrari ask Sauber-Ferrari driver Norberto Fontana to block Jacques Villeneuve at the title deciding Jerez race in 1997. Check out the video here to see what you think - www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8rv23q9sZM

Fontana's allegation:

GP.com said:

Nine years after the World Championship showdown at Jerez in 1997, the then Sauber driver Norberto Fontana has decided to tell the story of what happened to him during that highly-charged weekend. In an interview with the Argentine magazine Ol?, Fontana claims that three or four hours before the race Jean Todt visited the Sauber motorhome and told the Swiss team, which used Ferrari engines at the time, that the Saubers must block Jacques Villeneuve if they were in a position to do so in order to help Michael Schumacher win the World Championship.

Fontana said that he blocked Villeneuve for only three or four corners but that it cost the French-Canadian around three seconds. In the end Villeneuve challenged Schumacher for the lead and the two cars collided. Schumacher went off into a gravel trap and was unable to rejoin. Villeneuve won the World Championship and Michael Schumacher was later punished for deliberately driving Villeneuve off the track.

Fontana said that the action had hurt his career but that Todt and Schumacher never thanked him for what he had done.

While this is all ancient history now, there is a certain irony in that after the same race there were claims that Williams and McLaren colluded to rig the result of the race. That claim was rejected by the FIA World Council although it was never clear why the allegations ever got as far as the World Council.

Remember this was also the race when Coulthard clearly pulled over and let Hakkinen pass him to win his first ever grand prix. Also memorable for the qualifying result when Villeneuve, M Schumacher and Frentzen all set exactly the same time down to the 1000th of a second. Positions decided on who did it first.

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Wednesday 20th September 00:48

[CiderwithCerbie]

Juicy!
But now I am in a quandry. As an Anglo-Finn supporting Kimi at McLaren was easy. What am I going to do next year?


OK well there's always Crazy Dave!!!

[Mr_Thyroid]

That's was so blatant. But the collusion between Williams and McLaren was pretty blatant too, particularly when you see the transcript of Jock Clear saying 'we discussed this situation' to Jacques over the radio in the last couple of laps.

I'm in a similar boat for next year as a Kimi fan Ferarri hater.

[flemke]

Mr_Thyroid said:

I'm in a similar boat for next year as a Kimi fan Ferarri hater.

Sadly, and quite surprisingly, the guy misled both his employer and the public at large for a year. He must have used that year to glean information about next year's McLaren race car, whilst tying McLaren's hands for the whole time.
How much have Renault kept Alonso in the picture after he did the honourable thing and told the people who sign his cheques that he would not be returning? Nada.

It's tough to respect a man who repeatedly and purposefully deceives in order to improve his competitive position - no matter how talented he might be.

Who knows how hard Raikkonen's tried since he was in effect eliminated from the Driver's Championship early this year?

[Murdock]

Regardless of whether I respect him as individual (and to be honest I don't), I certainly respect his talent. I honestly believe he was the best driver the year Fernando won the championship. Next year will be the litmus test.

[Murdock]

Woops, just after realising how way O/T that reply was - I do apologise.

[Derek Smith]

I remember that, when I saw the blocking, I was so irritated that I got up off my chair and turned the TV off. If I'd known of Todt's involvement I probably would have left it off. It was about as blatent as it got. All in all that race was shameful, an insult to the great days of F1. MS' dreadful behaviour later in the race overshadowed the blocking but looking back on it now, it still has the power to enfuriate.

[rubystone]

flemke said:

Sadly, and quite surprisingly, the guy misled both his employer and the public at large for a year.

Flemke, do you have inside information about that then? Ron Dennis isn't stupid....and he is a good friend of Alan Henry's.....

[TonyToniTone]

flemke said:

Mr_Thyroid said:

I'm in a similar boat for next year as a Kimi fan Ferarri hater.

Sadly, and quite surprisingly, the guy misled both his employer and the public at large for a year. He must have used that year to glean information about next year's McLaren race car, whilst tying McLaren's hands for the whole time.

I very much doubt that Ron Dennis has been kept in the dark for a year and what information is Kimi going to pass to Ferrari about next years car?

Ferrari may not be trusted by a lot in F1 but Peter Suaber is and he totally refutes the accusastions and why would they surface now after all this time..

[flemke]

TonyToniTone said:

I very much doubt that Ron Dennis has been kept in the dark for a year and what information is Kimi going to pass to Ferrari about next years car?

on a previous thread I said:

Thursday 14th September
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the current Autosport (an interesting issue, btw), there is some detail about what happened in Raikkonen's move to Ferrari.
As our own Rubystone and a few others have been saying on PH, and Alan Henry and a few other journalists have been writing, it seems that Raikkonen signed a full contract (not just an 'option') with Ferrari a long time ago:

Robertson also revealed that although the Ferrari switch was agreed more than a year ago, it was done on a condition of absolute secrecy between all parties...

Todt added, "We never had any kind of pre-contract, we had a signed sontract, that's all."


What had some credulous people (such as I) persuaded that Raikkonen had not committed to Ferrari long ago is illuminated by what McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh had to say:

(Whitmarsh) claims that moves to keep Raikkonen continued until a few weeks ago. "His management assured us that they hadn't signed anything and there was still a possibility for him to stay. Being trusting individuals, we believe what we're told."

Unless Ron is keeping secrets from Martin Whitmarsh...
I can assure you that the guys on the team believed until very recently that he had not signed.
Even Robertson admits that the deal was agreed on the condition of absolute secrecy.


As to your question, in Raikkonen's case it may be moot, owing to his aloofness and apparent lack of interest in his car's development, but do you really think that the totally committed and involved drivers, such as a Schumacher or Alonso, have no idea about what is happening on the technical side?
You're running an F1 team. You're trying to hold onto a driver who is being wooed for next season by a rival. You're trying to persuade him that your next year's car will be a winner, etc., because that's all he really cares about - having the car and team to take him to the Championship.
What do you say to him about your car that would be the basis for his next season? You tell him anything and everything that shows promise but has not yet been integrated into your current package: airbox "antler" winglets, a mass damper idea, no keel, and so on.

Raikkonen obviously is driven to win, which is a good thing. But once he was out of the Championship, or out of contention in a given race, how do we know that he was playing with a straight bat?

I'll tell you this. The guys at McL. were convinced that Monza would be their worse race of the year, because of the MP4-21's characteristics. So when Kimi goes to his new "home circuit" and puts the car on pole, might that not make you wonder where he's been this year?

[deevlash]

I'll be interested to see if the reliability of kimis car next season will be as good as ferrari have had in recent years. Kimis cars do seem to go bang, or fall apart an awful lot which I put down to bad luck but it does seem to follow the guy about an awful lot. Curiously I wonder if this has been his game plan all along after all he started in F1 with Sauber and their ferrari engines.

[flemke]

deevlash said:

I'll be interested to see if the reliability of kimis car next season will be as good as ferrari have had in recent years. Kimis cars do seem to go bang, or fall apart an awful lot which I put down to bad luck but it does seem to follow the guy about an awful lot. Curiously I wonder if this has been his game plan all along after all he started in F1 with Sauber and their ferrari engines.

He has been quoted in the last fortnight as saying, "I have always wanted to be a Ferrari driver".
As much as I hate to see the man leave McLaren (although it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise), I had hoped that he could do better than to trot out that trite pre-pubescent mindlessness: "Uh, I always dreamed of driving for Ferrari since I was a kid and had a poster of the Miami Vice Testarossa on my bedroom wall, between the poster of John Travolta and the one of Axel Rose."

[deevlash]

I think it could be for the best as if Kimi really hasnt had his heart in it then, at least they'll have Alonso who wont be aiming for a move and will be concentrating on validating his championship and possibly Lewis Hamilton who seems to be about as devoted to the team as can be. Seems a better line up than a Finn who wants away and a fat man who likes driving in circles in a banger

[flemke]

deevlash said:

I think it could be for the best as if Kimi really hasnt had his heart in it then, at least they'll have Alonso who wont be aiming for a move and will be concentrating on validating his championship and possibly Lewis Hamilton who seems to be about as devoted to the team as can be. Seems a better line up than a Finn who wants away and a fat man who likes driving in circles in a banger

Not to mention freeing up something like $25M that now can be spent on the car.

[Mr_Thyroid]

It's been widely reported for about a year that Kimi was going to Ferarri. I've been expecting him to go; it can't have been a suprise to McLaren.

[TonyToniTone]

McLaren have known that Kimi had not renewed his contract they may have told Kimi whatever but I doubt he had access next years development parts (usually tested by test drivers first).. and from what I have heard he isnt that good a development driver which is one of Ferraris worries..

I guess we have opposite views on the situation..

[flemke]

Mr_Thyroid said:

It's been widely reported for about a year that Kimi was going to Ferarri. I've been expecting him to go; it can't have been a suprise to McLaren.

You could have a look at the other thread, which addresses this issue.

Whitmarsh said that it was in October '05 that they started to be concerned that KR might leave.
By that time the speculation had been coming out of Italy for several months, but considering that it was coming out of Italy, it did not exactly have total credibility.
Anyhow, he went on to say that McL. had been reguarly reassured by the Robertsons from last autumn until a few weeks ago that KR had made no other commitments and was still open to the possibility of re-signing with them.
Also, Raikkonen frequently said to the media throughout this first 3/4 of this season that he had not committed to where he would be driving next year.

Yes, McL. and everyone else knew that KR might, or even that he was likely to, drive for F. next year. The point is that it was KR and his advisors who misled everyone into believing that he was still available to McL. That act of misleading was calculated for the sole purpose of advantaging Ferrari. It was not illegal but, like much that Ferrari do, it was dubious and unseemly.

[anonymous-user]

from the video, sauber moves to the right to let JV through, JV doesnt have enough speed, sauber doesnt have to slow down, Sauber moves back to the eft and JV is still behind...... end of.

[Leithen]

flemke said:

It was not illegal but, like much that Ferrari do, it was dubious and unseemly.

Dastardly foreigners, always been the baddies - Mclaren need to get Gulf sponsorship, a guy in a stupid sun hat to run it all and a drivers who knows how to flick the V's properly....

[FourWheelDrift]

pablo said:

from the video, sauber moves to the right to let JV through, JV doesnt have enough speed, sauber doesnt have to slow down, Sauber moves back to the eft and JV is still behind...... end of.

No he doesn't. He lets Schumacher through by slowing down, then speeds up and retakes the racing line in front of Villeneuve and keeps the racing line all the way to the back straight and then pulls over at the end and lets Villeneuve past, poor driving from someone being lapped.