They may be bitter rivals on the track, but Ferrari and McLaren are beginning to work together off it.
With the 'Stepney-gate' saga of 2007, in which McLaren were fined a record $100 million and stripped of all their constructors' points for being found in possession of secret Ferrari technical data, seemingly a thing of the past, the two teams have vowed to work together for the good of the sport.
Ferrari's media chief Luca Colajanni this week became the first contemporary employee of the Italian team to visit McLaren's Woking factory.
"It was definitely a strange feeling," Colajanni said of his visit.
"If you had told me a year ago that I would be doing this I would not have believed you," he added.
The backdrop of an economic crisis has meant that Formula One has been forced to cut costs, and the formation last July of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) to represent teams in talks with the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) and commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone, has meant that teams have been working together with a common interest in mind.
Ron Dennis believes that this co-operation through FOTA has had a great impact on the working relationships of the teams.
"The result of our co-operation, supported by all the other teams, has already been profound," he told the official F1 website
"FOTA has already achieved great things, and it will achieve even greater things in the weeks, months and years to come.
"We're not complacent; we're not reluctant to embrace radical change; we're not hidebound by on-track rivalries.
"Working together for the good of the future of F1, we'll continue to devise powerful strategies and innovations intended to improve our sport so as to make it more affordable, more environmentally friendly and more appealing to spectators and TV viewers," he added.
Source : Planet F1
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