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Ferrari Frustrated with Scandalous European GP

Ferrari have openly criticized the organizers of last weekend's European Grand Prix at Valencia, after their drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were classified 8th and 11th on Sunday. The ambiguity of the safety car rules over the one and a half hour of action in Valencia caused a chaotic race, leading to no less than 10 penalties, a car passing the SC and several drivers breaking the pit lane rules under safety car.

While running in 3rd and 4th before the SC was deployed, Alonso and Massa dropped to 10th and 15th respectively after their pit stop, while 2nd placed Lewis Hamilton passed the safety car in order to arrive quicker in the pit lane and rejoin the field still in the runner-up spot. He was later handed a drive-through penalty by the officials, but by the time that happened, he already secured enough of a time margin from 3rd placed Kamui Kobayashi to retain his position.

Fernando Alonso fumed at the race officials for the chaotic race in Valencia, while Ferrari gave a public statement in which it condemns the European GP fiasco.

A scandal , that's the opinion of so many fans and employees who are all in agreement: there is no other way to describe what happened during the European Grand Prix. The way the race and the incidents during it were managed raise doubts that could see Formula 1 lose some credibility again, as it was seen around the world,” said Ferrari.

Additionally, Ferrari vice-president, Piero Ferrari, also admitted his disappointment over the events in Valencia.

I am incredulous and bitter, not just for Ferrari, but for the sport as a whole, as this is not the sort of thing one expects from professionals. For a long time now, I have also followed races in championships in the United States, where the appearance of the Safety Car is a frequent occurrence, but I have never seen anything similar to what happened today at the Valencia circuit,” said Ferrari.

If it raises some doubts over the actions that led to a false race, to me that would seem more than reasonable.”
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