Hamilton Leads 'thanks to Ferrari'
Formula one: Luca di Montezemolo said the McLaren drivers should have been disqualified from the championship over the spying row.
Lewis Hamilton will owe his success to Ferrari if he wins the formula one world title in China this weekend, according to the Italian team's president, Luca di Montezemolo.
McLaren, Hamilton's team, were found guilty by the FIA last month of using Ferrari technical information and Di Montezemelo feels this will taint any triumph for Hamilton. The British team were fined and banned from the constructors' championship but their drivers escaped sanctions because the FIA had granted them an amnesty in exchange for evidence.
"I still think that in the spying affair it was a big mistake not to disqualify the McLaren drivers as well," Di Montezemolo said on the Gazzetta dello Sport website after Sunday's Japanese grand prix. "If Hamilton wins the championship he will also win it thanks to Ferrari because there is a lot of Ferrari in his car."
Hamilton, 22, can become the first rookie to take the championship, and the youngest world champion, if he wins Sunday's penultimate race of the season in Shanghai. The Briton leads his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, by 12 points.
His success has prompted a surge in ticket sales for next year's British grand prix. More than 10,000 fans have already booked seats for the race at Silver stone on July 6, double the number of sales for the 2007 grand prix at the same time in 2006. The managing director of Silver stone Circuits Ltd, Richard Phillips, said: "Thanks to Lewis Hamilton, F1 is cool again."
McLaren, Hamilton's team, were found guilty by the FIA last month of using Ferrari technical information and Di Montezemelo feels this will taint any triumph for Hamilton. The British team were fined and banned from the constructors' championship but their drivers escaped sanctions because the FIA had granted them an amnesty in exchange for evidence.
"I still think that in the spying affair it was a big mistake not to disqualify the McLaren drivers as well," Di Montezemolo said on the Gazzetta dello Sport website after Sunday's Japanese grand prix. "If Hamilton wins the championship he will also win it thanks to Ferrari because there is a lot of Ferrari in his car."
Hamilton, 22, can become the first rookie to take the championship, and the youngest world champion, if he wins Sunday's penultimate race of the season in Shanghai. The Briton leads his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, by 12 points.
His success has prompted a surge in ticket sales for next year's British grand prix. More than 10,000 fans have already booked seats for the race at Silver stone on July 6, double the number of sales for the 2007 grand prix at the same time in 2006. The managing director of Silver stone Circuits Ltd, Richard Phillips, said: "Thanks to Lewis Hamilton, F1 is cool again."
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