Ferrari has moved to quell talk of poor sportsmanship after they had moved to clarify Sebastian Vettel’s status as 2012 world champion last week.
The Italian team had sought clarification from the FIA after Vettel had appeared to pass Jean-Eric Vergne while a yellow flag was up at the season-deciding Brazilian Grand Prix.
Vettel finished sixth in Brazil, with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso coming in second, seeing the German win the title from the Spaniard by just three points.
If Vettel had been punished for the pass, he would’ve dropped below Alonso on the standings, however the FIA confirmed the move was legal earlier this week.
Ferrari have since moved on talk they were sore losers, with a statement reading: “Congratulations go to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull because they won and we are happy to congratulate winners, hoping and wishing that next year we are on the receiving end of these compliments.”
Alonso added: “There were a lot of video clips on the Internet and we knew our fans were asking for an explanation and so it was right for Ferrari to turn to the Federation for a clarification.
“We got a reply and I think everything has now calmed down. I did not pay much attention to all the uproar this incident caused, but I felt we owed our fans an answer.”