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Italy slams Ferrari for Barcelona 'news blackout'

Published on 28 Feb 2017 17:31
5
By: Fergal Walsh

Media outlets in Italy have slammed Ferrari due to them keeing a blanket over themselves at winter testing, not giving anything away about their new car. Ferrari decided to adopt this strategy after creating lots of hype for 2016, before plummeting to third in the constructors championship, winless.

Although the first two days have looked quite promising for the Italian squad, Sebastian Vettel was banned from talking to the media on Monday: "Ferrari do not speak," insider Leo Turrini said. "But they are happy with the outcome of the first day of testing."

However this 'blackout' has not been met kindly with journalists in Italy, who claim that fans deserve to know what is going on: "Low profile is acceptable," said La Gazzetta dello Sport's Luigi Perna, "but not complete silence.

"Journalists are like engineers," he told the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti. "We should be able to give feedback to the fans, who have the right to hear the drivers."

Turrini said the decision was made by president Marchionne himself, triggering a furious reaction from the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

"Starting the season with a news blackout is absurd. After the sad living nativity scene of the car launch comes this meaningless news blackout. A low profile asked by Marchionne is one thing, but this carelessness is quite another."

The only comments that have been made about Ferrari's 2017 challenger has come from their rivals such as Red Bull's Adrian Newey.

He said on Monday: "The Mercedes looks very sophisticated. As for Ferrari, I do not quite understand the area of the sidepods, which look very complicated to me."

Toro Rosso technical boss James Key agrees: "The Ferrari looks really interesting -- it is not like the other cars."

And former F1 driver Marc Surer said in Barcelona: "The Ferrari makes a good impression on me. You can see they've done a good job in the winter.

"From the (engine) sound, the Ferrari is in no way inferior to Mercedes," the pundit told Bild newspaper. "Now we'll have to see if that is synonymous with performance."

Fergal Walsh

F1 News Ferrari

Replies (5)

mclarenfan1968

Posts: 1,027
Wow am I reading this right!? Ferrari FINALLY learning from the error of their ways and kicking the a55hole gutter Italian press in the gonads?!? Good going!! Just what the doctored.

If there was a big game reserve were you could hunt with impunity, its these pos journalists from Italy we can fill the game reserve with and shoot the heads off them to one' heart's content. Not a single F*** would be given.

Just look at these idiots, 'journalists are like engineers' ROFLMAO, they are so full of themselves like they know everything about the sport and the technical complexities involved.

By any luck Ferrari might actually do well starting this year in which case all power to them.
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- Feb 28 2017 - 17:51
mcbhargav

Posts: 1,332
Ferrari doing something sensible finally!
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- Feb 28 2017 - 17:58
calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
If the Italian media want to publish news, they'd better start publishing legit news, instead of gossip, made up rumours and twisted references.
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- Feb 28 2017 - 18:13
f1fan0101

Posts: 1,804
There are 9 other teams to report on?
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- Feb 28 2017 - 18:15
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Not according to the Italian press.
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  Mar 1 2017 - 06:01