| BERLIN: At a press conference to celebrate their latest victory, the Ferrari Formula One Racing Team announced that they would be sponsoring a child through World Vision.
Ferrari's head of corporate relations Fritz Heinrich was clearly ecstatic while announcing the news. "After each race we used to think about all the poor dying children, but we'd say to ourselves, we're only one Formula One Motor Racing Team, what difference can we make? Well, now we can make a difference." "Just think, over the course of a year millions of people pay hundreds of dollars each to come and watch us race around a track. It is our dream that our actions will one day influence others. It is our hope that one day each of the eleven formula one racing teams will find a spare $1 a day from their budget to sponsor a hungry child." Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher who earns $US40 million a year, put his weight behind the cause and offered to donate twenty cents a day towards the tally, generously leaving only 80 cents a day for the remaining drivers and crew to find between them. Although the sponsorship deal has just been announced it has already had an influence on those in the Ferrari camp. Rumour has it that the deal has influenced new technological breakthroughs from within Team Ferrari, which may one day help them in their selfless fight against the McLarens and Williams of this world. Engineers have modified Ferrari's on-board computer system to calculate, not only average lap speeds, rpm, oil usage and petrol consumption, but how many children would have been saved if the money spent on the lap had been donated to world vision. "We now have something to race for, we can now dedicate each lap to the 22 000 children that died so Ferrari, and our valuable partner Bridgestone tyres, could race on to victory." Not ones to rest on their altruistic laurels, Ferrari, as always, are striving to do better, "Our ultimate aim, through the more efficient use of our resources is to get that figure down to 20 000 dead African babies a lap." Early signs show that this humanitarianism may be having some side effects on at least one member of the Ferrari team - Fritz Heinrich. "The figures do make me a bit down sometimes, but then I look up into the stands and the corporate hospitality tents and see the smiles on the faces of all the white rich people, and it all seems worth it. Those children didn't die for nothing."  Car. |
| Ferrari to sponsor African Child |
Tuesday, 01 May 2001 12:00
