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FIA to Discuss Ferrari Team Orders on September 8

Ferrari's team order case will be discussed by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) on September 8. The information was confirmed by the FIA late yesterday, after initial rumors suggested that such a meeting will go down in Como, Italy, on September 10.

That would have clashed with the Friday action of the Italian Grand Prix however, so the FIA decided to hold the meeting a couple of days earlier. Additionally, the council will not meet in Italy, but in Paris, in order to avoid further complications (after all, an Italian team will be on trial for breaching the sporting regulations).

Ferrari are currently accused of issuing team orders to their driver Felipe Massa in the German Grand Prix, at Hockenheim, something that is prohibited by the sporting regulations through article 39.1. The Scuderia is also believed to have broken the general guideline about disrepute, and were already handed a $100,000 penalty by the FIA stewards after the German race.

According to reports, FIA president Jean Todt will not be attending the meeting, as his past regarding team orders is well-known within the racing world. It was in fact one of his team orders in the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, issued to Rubens Barrichello when he was head of Ferrari, that led the FIA to ban such tactics from the sport.

Instead, the WMSC meeting will be attended by deputy president for sport, Graham Stoker.

In the meantime, Ferrari don't seem too worried about the whole team orders saga, with president Luca di Montezemolo admitting his excitement that his team has finally stepped into the title fight this season.

But we must look ahead and believe in the fact that today, we are in the fight for the championship. This is the Ferrari I like to see and the one our fans want to see; a team that can fight and deliver the results,” said the Ferrari boss.
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