"plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose"

[deadslow]

From JA on F1:

http://allenonf1.wordpress.com/

"One of my Swiss colleagues has pointed out to me that Ferrari has been in F1 for 60 years, but in that time it has not taken part in every race..... But the funniest bit is that they missed the first ever race, the 1950 British Grand Prix, because they weren’t happy with the start money! So in a way nothing has really changed."

[FourWheelDrift]

Ian Phillips of Force India told a similar story, they were due to race at Brands Hatch (can't remember if it was a non-championship Grand Prix or other) but said they were having problems getting their trucks across, the race organisers duly dropped them £10,000 and shortly after their trucks had arrived.

[heebeegeetee]

Through the '50's til '70's, Ferrari used to threaten to withdraw on a regular basis.

And what was the story behind john Surtees securing his championship in a blue and white ferrari?

[stifler]

Austria '76. After Lauda's accident.

[FourWheelDrift]

heebeegeetee said:

And what was the story behind john Surtees securing his championship in a blue and white ferrari?

This :-

"At his championship-winning race we had the peculiar spectacle of Ferraris not running in their usual scarlet colours. This was yet another occasion of Ferrari politics. So what happened that the works Ferraris turned out at Watkins Glen and Mexico in the white and blue colours of the North American Racing Team? An argument with the Italian Automobile Federation was the root of all this. Subject was the disputed homologation of the 250LM sportscar over which a huge row broke out between the two parties, since the Italian federation refused to back Ferrari's case against the FIA - a case which wasn't one, actually, since Ferrari built not nearly enough 250LMs to reach the homologation level of 100.

So the Old Man decided he would start one of his frenzied ravings. Someone was bound to pay attention in Ferrari-loving Italy. Well, maybe the press was, but the ACI wasn't.

Enzo Ferrari was to have none of it and angrily announced he would relinquish his Italian license and that his cars would never be painted red again. Ah, if that's the deal, then you can have it your way, the Italian federation must have thought, and it responded by allowing Ferrari to pull off his "gesture". So, as a result of this hot-blooded and counterproductive decision, the Ferrari cars appeared at Watkins Glen in the national American colours and were entered by Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team, Chinetti being the US Ferrari concessionnaire.

In fact, and forgotten by many, for the first race of the 1965 season at Kyalami the argument was still unresolved. Although the cars were back in their red livery they were entered by team manager Eugenio Dragoni, as Ferrari still hadn't got his entrants license back. At the start of March, just before the Race of Champions, the conflict was finally resolved. A year later Ferrari used the same ploy when it was entangled in a legal argument with Dunlop. Again in Mexico, Ferrari fielded a NART entry, this time for Rodriguez to drive the Firestone semi-slick tyres without breaking their regular tyre contract with Dunlop."

[Leithen]

Not a bad idea right now - were contractual reasons to force them to continue racing through to 2012 under a budget cap, some non-descript paint scheme might be just the ticket, whilst they head off to ALMS etc with cars painted Rosso Corsa.

[FourWheelDrift]

Leithen said:

Not a bad idea right now - were contractual reasons to force them to continue racing through to 2012 under a budget cap, some non-descript paint scheme might be just the ticket, whilst they head off to ALMS etc with cars painted Rosso Corsa.

Their cars have not been painted Rosso Corsa for 14 years, 1995 was the last year they were. Since 1996 it's been a brighter shade of orange/red to appease the main sponsor Marlboro.

[CWAC]

FourWheelDrift said:

Ian Phillips of Force India told a similar story, they were due to race at Brands Hatch (can't remember if it was a non-championship Grand Prix or other) but said they were having problems getting their trucks across, the race organisers duly dropped them £10,000 and shortly after their trucks had arrived.

Apparently the trucks were hidden up behind a hedge only a couple of miles away......