But where's the motive?...Settling an old score?
An entire post detailing the Ferrari vs. McLaren saga:
1966: McLaren enters Grand Prix racing as a constructor. Ferrari could have won the Constructor's Cup, but they sacked John Surtees in a bout of internal squabbling based on who would drive when during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Mike Parkes drafted in, not to win races or offer technical expertise, but so Scuderia Ferrari would have a big man to play center for their basketball team.
1967: McLaren picks up pace. Is it the BRM engines or the switch to red paint? Ferrari complains it's not permitted, vows to change to a brighter shade of red in the next 30 years.
1968: McLaren changes to their papaya-orange hue, becomes faster than Ferrari, and wins more races than the Prancing Horse team. Enzo gets angry, since home-improvement stores are all out of orange, since Bruce and Denny have painted their Can-Am sports cars the same color.
1969: McLaren slumping somewhat, but Ferrari is slumpier.
Garagistes win all the races, Ferrari reduced to running one car in some events due to school bus driver's and/or pipefitter's strike; possible 312B in the works.
1970: McLaren team in the doldrums; Bruce dies in testing at Goodwood. Ferrari wakes up in mid-season and dominates second-half of year with Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni. Tragic year, not worth joking about.
1971: Ferrari's calendar off by six months; celebrates successes of half of last year and this season by taking rest of season off. Stewart and Tyrrell now
garagiste of ire, and McLaren sorts out cars that aren't competitive, or break when they are leading races.
1972: McLaren and Ferrari both play second fiddle to Tyrrell and Lotus. Ken Tyrrell makes fun of Colin Champan's hat. What a bunch of lightweights.
1973: Canadian GP Pace Car and Williams team leads more laps than Ferrari does. 'Nuff said.
1974-1975: It took 8 years, but finally McLaren and Ferrari go head-to-head for the driver's and constructor's titles.
1976: At the Spanish GP, Hunt's McLaren is faster than Lauda's Ferrari, but the car is 3 centimeters too wide. McLaren is initially disqualified, Ferrari wins, but decision is eventually overtuned. At the British GP, both Ferraris take each other out in the first start, damaging Hunt's McLaren in the process. hunt jumps into the spare car, both Ferraris repaired. Hunt wins the race, but is disqualified; decision not overturned, Lauda declared race winner. At Italian GP McLaren is discovered to be using potentially illegal fuel; 105 octane isn't readily available for public road use. Ferrari uses this excuse to push the McLarens back to the back row. It works brilliantly, although Ferrari still manages to lose the race to Peterson's March.
1977: McLaren's M23 is old, but still competitive. Their M26 isn't quite as quick. Ferrari's old 312T3 is fast in Lauda and Reutemann's hands; Niki and carlos aren't the best of friends, too busy one-upping each other to worry about James Hunt punching a corner marshal at the Canadian GP, when both McLarens collided.
1980: McLaren and Ferrari both dreadful. Now they try to get each other disqualified so they can occupy the 12th row of the grid.
1982: FISA-FOCA wars. Ferrari has their own problems.
1983: McLaren 1-2 at Long Beach GP after qualifying 22-23. The very next race at Monaco they qualify 21-22, which results in a DNQ-DNQ. Ferrari sitting pretty for once, but Porsche engine development about to render Ferrari's two titles obsolete.
1984-1987: Reliable Porsche, followed by even more reliable Honda power, makes Pancing Horse cry. Ferrari couldn't find anything wrong with McLaren to complain to the FIA about, still deciphering Ron-Speak and busy firing Rene Arnoux for daytime soap opera antics.
1988: McLaren wins 15 races; Ferrari manages to win home race at Italy, whereby Senna bumps into a backmarker named Jean-Louis Schlesser. Ferrari swear they have nothing to do with it. Later, check from Bank of Modena appears Martin Brundle's account.
1989: Ferrari has unreliable semi-automatic transmssion, although it proves to operate fine in reverse gear. McLaren has dominant car and engines, personality clash between drivers. McLaren and Ferrari snicker at each other, although Ferrari wins the barbecue contest at Imola.
1990: Senna hates Prost, Senna hates Mansell, and vice-versa. Mansell dislikes Prost. Berger probably dislikes Mansell. Berger and Senna involved in pranking each other. Mansell whining about car, team, teammate, and vows to take Pluto away from planetary status upon retirement at end of year. Prost and Senna make up, it lasts two races. McLaren and Ferrari can't find anything to bitch about with each other, too busy putting PR departments in wind tunnels.
1991: Prost asks Ferrari to sack Cesere Fiorio, then Ferrari sacks Prost. Buisness as usual at Ferrari while McLaren trots off to another championship.
1992: Ferrari creates twin-floor cars, They fail miserably, both in speed and aerodynamics. McLaren loses title for first time in 4 years, too busy producting elevators for double-floor Ferraris.
1993: McLaren introduces the barge board. I just thought you should know when these ugly things first appeared on grand prix cars.
1994: McLaren and Ferrari have contests to see who can blow up more engines. McLaren has advantage, 30 engines to 20, but also has ability to choose a different engine supplier for following year.
1995: Ferrari fuel sample declared illegal at Brazilian GP, overturned. Not satisfied with outcome, McLaren tries to disqualify Ferrari for having two drivers on the #27 car during the slow-down lap, but loses the paperwork for filing disqualification.
1996: This time, Ferrari wins engine failure contest, 50 to 10. Ferrari even manages to have engine blow up on pace lap on one occasion, something not seen since the 1960s. But they still managed to win 3 races, McLaren: Nil.
1997: Ferrari paints car day-glo red, keeping 30-year-old promise to McLaren, but still manages to lose the title by bad sportsmanship. McLaren loses many engines, and destroys Mika Hakkinen's plastic turtle in retaliation.
1998-99: Poor turtle is a symbolic sacrifice for McLaren's success despite Ferrari's innate ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
2000-2004: Schumacher II reign begins. Mercedes kicks themselves for training driver in sports-car leagues only to have him defect to team that beats them in return. Extraneous tire testing here and there.
2005: McLaren has best car, worst reliability. Ferrari has the most red of all cars in field, next-worst reliability. But Ferrari wins every race that has less than 7 competitors in it.
2006: McLaren trades reliability for speed, Ferrari loses title due to self-inflicted implosion by acquiring Kimi Raikkonen, a McLaren driver.
2007: Ferrari technical wizard Nigel Stephany fired over coffee cremaer found in fuel tanks. Ferrari claims sabotage, McLaren admits they they visited Ferrari's pits. Official statement from Ferrari: "It was just a sleep-over party."
