Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has told Formula 1 fans that he has "no interest" in the debate that has been caused by his squad using team orders to help Fernando Alonso win the German Grand Prix.
With Ferrari's actions in covertly ordering Felipe Massa to sacrifice the lead for his teammate still dominating F1 talk, di Montezemolo has backed the way his team acted. Ferrari was fined $100,000 and faces an FIA World Motor Sport Council investigation into its breach of F1's team orders ban and for bringing the sport into disrepute.
Speaking on Ferrari's official website di Montezemolo said: "The polemics are of no interest to me. I simply reaffirm what I have always maintained, which is that our drivers are very well aware, and it is something they have to stick to, that if one races for Ferrari, then the interests of the team come before those of the individual. In any case, these things have happened since the days of Nuvolari and I experienced it myself when I was sporting director, in the days of Niki Lauda and not just then."
He added: "Therefore enough of this hypocrisy, even if I can well believe that some people might well have liked to see our two drivers eliminate one another, but that is definitely not the case for me or indeed for our fans."
Rather than being unhappy that Ferrari has stirred up huge controversy by breaking the rules, di Montezemolo is delighted with the fact his team won again.
"I am very happy for all our fans who finally, yesterday, saw two Ferraris lead from start to finish as they dominated the race," he explained. "The result is down to the efforts of all our people, who never give up. Now we have to continue working like this, to improve the car so that is competitive at all the circuits we will encounter. Alonso and Massa also did very well, giving their all throughout the weekend."