More Clowning Around At The F1 Circus

Quite frankly, what is happening in Formula One this week can at best be described as a shit storm.

For those of you who’ve not heard, eight of the ten teams currently taking part in the sport last night announced that they’ve commenced preparations for a breakaway series in what could become the greatest upheaval in the sixty year history of Formula One. Unless a compromise is found between the FIA and the teams’ association FOTA, then it’s possible that Formula One will continue sans Ferrari, McLaren and many of the other teams which have contributed to the history of the greatest form of motorsport.

So how did we get here? Well, the starting point can be debated but this row hit its current zenith when Honda sensationally quit the sport towards the end of last year. Though they were saved and became what we now know as Brawn GP, this signalled a warning sign for the sport’s governing body. Costs needed to be slashed to ensure that grid levels didn’t fall below the current twenty, a move made more necessary and urgent by the recession. Discussions on how exactly to save money left to the proposal of a budget cap, something that many of the teams (especially Ferrari) are against. They accuse the FIA of poor governance, the FIA don’t back down and we’re now as close as ever to the ruination of Formula One.





There are other factors at work aside from the obvious monetary ones. For one, it’s clear that many team principals are unhappy with the stewardship of Max Mosley as President of the FIA. They claimed about him to the World Motorsport Council and a statement released by the FIA in the last few days showed contempt for Ferrari head Luca di Montezemolo. Another statement is due from the FIA this afternoon – I’d expect more of the same.




Today’s development is not unexpected and while my pal James claims that a breakaway series is viable, I have to disagree. Split championships mean split revenues. Is it really feasible for FOTA to organise a Championship on time for next year? Aside from the logistical problems that come with organising events, the teams will have to negotiate deals with tyre suppliers, fuel suppliers etc. Who would televise the deals and, more crucially, who will pay to televise them? Formula One’s main income is from broadcasters and this will not be matched for the FOTA crowd.

I suspect a deal will be reached. Common sense will apply, concessions will be made and Formula 1 will last. Max Mosley will almost certainly have to leave his post as FIA President for this to happen, but I feel he will. The sport’s reputation will be tarnished though. Fans want close racing and great action. Casual fans will be turned off if, when they tune in to Sunday’s race, discussion is dominated by politics. The sport did not need this, and unless a deal is struck soon (this evening's impending deadline for next year’s entry list means that is possible) then the sport could take a long time to recover from this.

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Update

The FIA statement has been released in the last few minutes and will do little to ease tensions. In the statement, which can be seen here, the governing body threaten legal action against FOTA over the breakaway series and again single out Ferrari for criticism. The statement also indicates that the aforementioned entry list will be delayed because of the legal proceedings, which hopefully is a tactic to buy more time to ensure that a deal is struck. The row rumbles on...

Say It Ain't So Lewis

Many sports require a world-wide star to thrive. Look at golf. As I’ve blogged about before, it is a sport that needs Tiger Woods and suffers dramatically without him. That was backed up by the US TV Ratings for the Bay Hill Invitational last week, won by Tiger Woods, which were the highest since last June’s U.S. Open, won by Tiger Woods. I also feel that it’s no co-incidence that the heydays of heavyweight boxing were the 1930s/1940s and the 1960s/1970s which were the eras of Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali.

Another sport which requires a star is Formula 1. More so than golf, boxing, tennis or perhaps any other sport, Formula 1 is personality driven due to the fact that there are so few competitors. From Senna to Schumacher to Hamilton, it is a sport that has been led by one man or another throughout my lifetime and for many years before that. There is no doubt, that in Western Europe at least, Lewis Hamilton is the sport’s most important figure. It is because of this that this week’s scandal has been of such major importance.

For those of you who’ve not been paying attention, Lewis Hamilton has been retrospectively disqualified from last week’s Australian Grand Prix for lying to stewards who were investigating a late-race overtaking manoeuvre which occurred under safety car conditions. Hamilton and McLaren sporting director Dave Ryan claimed that he had not been instructed to allow Toyota’s Jarno Trulli past, when the team’s radio clearly indicated that he had been. McLaren have suspended Ryan for his part in this debacle – whoop-de-doo. But where is the action against Hamilton?

The stewards have disqualified him but the team are, unsurprisingly, shying away from sanctioning the man who led them to a World Championship last year. Should they? Well, anyone who has listened to the team radio would clearly recognise that he was fully aware that he was told to allow Trulli past. Yet he claimed, in front of the sport’s governing bodies, that he was innocent. Disgraceful is not the word. Hamilton is a duplicitous little shit who has told a bare-faced lie. Now he wouldn’t be the first Formula 1 driver to cheat. He wouldn’t be the first World Champion. And this story, due to it’s technical nature, may have bypassed the vast majority of sports fans but within the sport his image has been tarnished. This writer has lost a lot of respect for a driver he once admired.

Fantastic F1 Finale In Store

Lewis v. Felipe.


McLaren v. Ferrari.


Tomorrow's Brazilian Grand Prix promises to be special. World Title deciders often fail to deliver but tomorrow's could be special. Today's Qualifying has thrown up a grid that should give us an interesting struggle for Hamilton, and the weather (80% chance of rain according to weather.com) will also give us another wild card to deal with.

I've been lucky this year to have attended two Grand Prix. Thanks to the fine people at Bridgestone for that one! I won't pretend that gives me an insight into the Championship battle, but I did on both occasions get to see Lewis up close. He is an affable guy, one who represents the sport well. In Barcelona he was good enough to show up and lend his support to the GP2 Series, while in Monza I personally witnessed him laugh at Italian fans who heckled him as he entered the paddock.

I'll still be pulling for Massa though. I've a bet on him.

Either way, most importantly and in all seriousness, my one true wish is for a good race, a tight battle and for a lack of controversy, something which has been all too prevident this season.

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Also, as a quick aside, tomorrow's race will be the last covered by ITV in the UK for the foreseeable future. From 2009, the contract returns to what many call the sport's spiritual home at the BBC. I, for one, was delighted when I heard the news but tomorrow will nonetheless be an era for fans of the sport. ITV are unlikely to have a grand farewell like the BBC did in 1996 (though I did like the montage before today's Qualifying session) but when tomorrow's race ends, I know I will not be the only Formula 1 fan from this part of the world thanking Mark, Ted, Martin, Steve and even James for their work over the past 12 seasons.