‘Engine loophole a victory for Ferrari’

Editor

Sergio Marchionne has hailed the loophole in the engine rules that will allow teams to continue developing their units as a "victory."

Last year, when the 1.6-litre V6 units made their debut, Ferrari quickly discovered that they were well off the mark set by Mercedes.

While the Brackley team romped away with the Championship titles, Ferrari failed to score even a single grand prix win.

Sorely lacking compared to the Mercedes unit, both Ferrari and Renault pushed to have engine freeze lifted.

The duo have been handed a possible way back into the fight with news that a loophole in the regulations, which failed to set a cut-off date for post-season changes, will allow them to develop their engines throughout the 2015 season.

And that, Marchionne says, is a victory for Ferrari, one he hopes is just the first of the season.

"I would like to say to the tifosi, let us work," James Allen reports the Ferrari president as having said at the Detroit Motor Show.

"I will go to a few races this year, but we have a team boss and it will be for him to take care of the day to day running of the team.

"However, we are starting from behind; I'm focused on finding a way to get back to the top as soon as possible and get Ferrari winning again.

"It will be a tough year, but the important thing is to keep our heads down.

"We already have had a good result, being able to modify the engines during the season, when it looked like everything had to remain frozen. I consider that a first victory.

"Let's hope some others follow."