- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
It's more likely that he's calling Luca di Montezemolo's bluff. Luca isn't happy with the state of the sport, and has been dropping anvils - "hints" implies subtlety, and subtle it is not - that Ferrari might join the World Endurance Championship, and that if they do, then they might leave Formula 1. He loves doing it because he knows he can manipulate public sentiment into agreeing with him.Translation:
GIVE ME MORE MONEY!
I suspect that this is Bernie saying "if Ferrari doesn't need Formula 1, then Formula 1 doesn't need Italy". It's escalation, using Luca's own tactics as a double-edged sword against him. If Ferrari were to withdraw, then Bernie could abandon Monza and blame it on Luca, and Luca would have no response.
Ironically, Bernie and Luca agree on the state of the sport. But Bernie lost a lot of influence with the teams when he first opposed and then failed to stop the new engine regulations. Luca knows he can't do anything about the engines, and so has stepped up the rhetoric on sporting regulations. This is just Bernie trying to shoehorn him back into place. If there's going to be a backlash over the sport, it's going to be on Bernie's terms. But between the engine regulations and the bribery charges, Luca is searching for an opening.