Formula 1 - getting too friendly

I was browsing around and bumped into this:

BUDDIES (LEFT TO RIGHT): David Coulthard, Michael Schumacher, Bernie Ecclestone (the commercial rights owner of Formula 1), Mika Hakkinen and Rubens Barichello.

This is a really old pic, but it's no wonder that Ferrari keeps getting great deals and preferential treatment from the FIA and Formula 1 administration.