This thread is not so much about Max and how much he needs "zee punishment". I don't agree with Pup that Max simply wants to belittle Ferrari and their blue blooded leader.
It could be a "name and shame" exercise to make people aware how much Ferrari have manipulated F1 for their own particular interests in the past and that there is danger that they will continue to do so. And I think that Max could be the sword in Jean Todt's hand as they are playing "good cop, bad cop".
We have a huge decision coming up very soon how F1 will continue with a new formula. And again it appears as if Ferrari are the opposition to the FiA proposal of a down scaled high efficiency engine with integrated KERS and HERS (GRE). This engine will open F1 again to main stream car manufacturers and will isolate Ferrari as a super sports car manufacturer who has no common marketing objectives with the rest of the world.
Main stream manufacturers will face a lowering of the average fleet CO2 emission limits from 135 g/km now to 30 g/km in 2040. To meet those standards they will need to drastically embrace fuel efficiency by light weight cars, high efficient combustion and energy recovery. But they cannot expect to come anywhere near the target without ever increasing percentages of fully electric vehicles. By 2050 the
German government expects 70% of the total automotive traffic in Germany to be equipped with fully electric propulsion. The target for 2020 is 2%. It is obvious that such legislation and market conditions will have a strong impact on the consumer choices and the manufacturers offerings.
The FiA is aware of what goes on. They are willing to have F1 follow the trends in the automotive industry to keep F1 politically viable and involve the manufacturers again. In my view F1 needs the participation of brands like Audi, Porsche, Aston Martin and Peugeot as much as Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren. F1 needs the continuation of the excitement and spectacle but it also needs to be seen in line with the environmental policies that people will encounter in the next decade. We are living post oil peak and on a planet that is heating up due to excessive use of fossil fuels and nothing will change this fact.
In this world Ferrari cannot be allowed to make F1 their personal kingdom with exclusive rights to shield them from competition and third cars to keep out other teams. If there is a sentence that applies nicely it must be: Stop Ferrari!