Do I shed a tear when Ferrari loses, no!

Reading the article by Ferrari's Super Fan saying that Ferrari will always lead and
that without Ferrari Formula One would not have become what it is today has forced me to sit down and draft a reply.

His whole article tries to take the moral high ground. For him to say that there is something spiritual about the Ferrari cars and team is, in today's modern world of Formula One, somewhat arrogant. The same could be said of the Ferrari team with their go it alone stance that they have taken in response to recent moves by the other teams to make changes in Formula One.

Super Fan's view that Italy is the cultural and design hub of the world is again misplaced. Italy does not rank second behind the USA. The top country that people wish to visit is France followed by Spain. Italy is down in fourth. Apart from this simply because Ferrari is located in Italy does not give it the same cultural and design high ground. Today Ferrari is nothing more than another company that is involved in Formula One, a company that does not hold an exclusive position of cultural and artistic dominance.

Yes I agree that at one time Ferrari did embody a passion that made it unique, but today that passion is long gone as the team struggles to maintain their position of dominance in the sport. Do I shed a tear when Ferrari loses, no! From where I view things the sooner that it is made clear that Formula One is not simply Ferrari the better.

Ferrari's moves to continue their domination of the sport has even gone to the extent of, under their signing of a new Concorde Agreement, ensuring that they have the right of veto of any rule changes that they object to. Let's forget about the sport of Formula One and let's ensure that their position is maintained.

Ferrari has always taken the stance that Formula One needs them and that the sport would suffer if they were not present. I feel that it is time we put that theory to the test, and it looks like the other teams with their manufacturers support intend to do exactly that. Will Formula One fade away without the presence of Ferrari I seriously doubt that it would. But what will Ferrari do if they are left on the outer by the other teams?

Every team and their staff and supporters comes to Formula One with a passion to what they do and for who they support. What makes the achievements of the other teams any less significant than that of Ferrari, nothing. Every member of every team has a passion and commitment to their team and the sport of Formula One.

As for Ferrari having the support of a nation this is questionable given the venom with which the Italian media attacks the Ferrari team every time it fails. For me the supporters of Ferrari, even though may be more in number, do not have any greater passion towards the team that they support than I do in my support of the WilliamsF1 team. For me the Ferrari team today embodies all that is wrong in society today, the obsession with power, money, and of domination.

I look back over the history of Formula One and wonder where it all went wrong for Ferrari. Where did the passion for the sport get lost to be replaced by a need for dominance?