Ferrari deserves what it gets as far as "preferential treatment", they have invested a ton into F1, hell, its their main business!
A lot of history of F1 is those red cars, or the people that beat them through blood, sweat, and tears. Yeah, the Tifosi zeal can get annoying, but the Tifosi, collectively, put a lot of money into the sport, allowing us to see these awesome races.
What would F1 be without the red cars on track? A pale shadow of its former self like Indycar? A stupid spectacle like NASCAR? A defunct racing league like CART?