FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[McLaren Fan]

From F1 Live:

McLaren and Ferrari have demonstrated a new era of unity, co-staging a media dinner.

Within memory of the bitter espionage saga, the event followed Ferrari's usually Maranello-based spokesman Luca Colajanni spending most of Thursday at McLaren's Woking headquarters.

"If you had told me a year ago that I would be doing this I would not have believed you," he told reporters after meeting with Ron Dennis and other McLaren staff.

Dennis, McLaren Group CEO and still the Mercedes-powered team's boss, told F1's official website this week that his outfit and Ferrari have been "working extremely closely together" in the F1 teams' alliance FOTA.

The 61-year-old will step down as team principal on March 1, but he insists he will devote some of his extra time to "working alongside my colleague Luca di Montezemolo."

Ferrari President Montezemolo currently heads FOTA, the body set up by all Formula One teams for discussions with the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone about the sport's future.

"We're not complacent; we're not reluctant to embrace radical change; we're not hidebound by on-track rivalries," Dennis insists.

D.B. © CAPSIS International
Source: GMM

[texasmr2]

With this unity or should I say cooperation between F1's biggest players I'm feeeling rather good about the future.

[Gaz]

yeh defo

[madbrad]

They're probably gonna merge. Like Lotus and Pacific. Yeah, that's it.
Mercedes owned Chrysler and now Fiat owns 35% of Chrysler, so they have that in common.

[AKR]

That is an excellent idea. All of them being friends.

[darwin dali]

They're probably gonna merge. Like Lotus and Pacific. Yeah, that's it.
Mercedes owned Chrysler and now Fiat owns 35% of Chrysler, so they have that in common.

Mercedes still owns a minority share of Chrysler.
The above scenario only approaches any degree of likelihood IF Chrysler survives the current automaker crisis in the US

[Hanwombat]

[SarahB62]

Hopefully FOTA will stick together and not be distracted by team rivalry or legality of design issues with various cars. The teams need a united front to square up to some of Bernie and Max's mad ideas and FOTA is the first time the teams have united representation to fight back.

Rivalry on the track to the max but unification in FOTA

[8-ball]

Hopefully FOTA will stick together and not be distracted by team rivalry or legality of design issues with various cars. The teams need a united front to square up to some of Bernie and Max's mad ideas and FOTA is the first time the teams have united representation to fight back.

Rivalry on the track to the max but unification in FOTA

The FOTA partnership should be able to destroy Max and Bernie's dictatorship of F1 and finally take F1 back for the fans!

I am glad to see Mclaren and Ferrari uniting and realizing who the real enemy is in F1 but all this talk of them merging after one dinner?

[Frosty]

I'm sure if FOTA starts to become powerful and unity between teams Bernie will try to make them split over some issue carrying on his divide and rule method.

[nudge1964]

yes its a new era alright.

boss at ferrari, Stefano Domenicali....a really nice bloke
boss at mclaren, Martin Whitmarsh....a really nice bloke

boy that sucks....formula one just wont be the same without ferrari and mclaren being bitter, twisted and vindictive to each other

[EwanM]

Their unity won't last when the season kicks off, this is merely to keep the sport alive.
Wait till something suspicious happens, ie stewards decisions.

[7UpJordan]

yes its a new era alright.

boss at ferrari, Stefano Domenicali....a really nice bloke
boss at mclaren, Martin Whitmarsh....a really nice bloke

boy that sucks....formula one just wont be the same without ferrari and mclaren being bitter, twisted and vindictive to each other

Well they're not exactly big buddies with Flavio, Renault and Bernie, so they'll probably have arguments with them.

[McLaren Fan]

Their unity won't last when the season kicks off, this is merely to keep the sport alive.
Wait till something suspicious happens, ie stewards decisions.

If I were Mosley or Ecclestone, I'd have a few dodgy stewarding decisions or something along those lines made - divide et impera.

[texasmr2]

yes its a new era alright.

boss at ferrari, Stefano Domenicali....a really nice bloke
boss at mclaren, Martin Whitmarsh....a really nice bloke

boy that sucks....formula one just wont be the same without ferrari and mclaren being bitter, twisted and vindictive to each other

It's a sport not a personal relationship but I do understand that there are people who cannot make it through the day without some sort of conflict to make them feel alive.

Bob Dylan said it best 'the times are a changin'!