Hondo
18th September 2009, 17:41
I really think way too much is being made of these "F1 scandals". Especially when the conditions of the competition are a factor in their cause. When you force each team to field 2 drivers, sooner or later that internal competition is going to cause problems. I also don't think anbody involved with team management should also be allowed to act as an active driver's agent. By active driver I mean one currently racing in F1 or one seeking a seat in F1. Too much conflict there.
I have been told teams have to field 2 cars because there is not enough paddock space at most venues for 20 or more teams to set up and run cars from. Maybe so, I don't know. F1 always comes back to the teams. The team provides the hardware, the teams for the most part hustle up the sponsors, and the teams decide who drives and why they drive. Bernie sells the product the teams produce to TV and venues and Max and the FIA fine the teams when they need "walkin around money". The Constructor's Championship is the only thing that matters to the profitability of the team and I don't have any problem with the teams manipulating events within their teams to obtain a result that is better for the team. If I had a driver that was capable of chasing the down the field caught behind my other driver that was slower, but not easy to pass, I'd order the slower guy to allow the pass immediately. Don't like it? Drive faster.
I don't see the Renault incident as race fixing. To me, race fixing would be an act that guarantees a certain outcome. Renault's ploy improved Alonso's position immediately but there was still a whole lot of race left and we have all seen many "sure things" go wrong in a very short period of time in F1. Although a one car accident is kind of expensive and extreme, it has probably been done before by men that would honor a deal and keep their mouths shut. I have a feeling when Rubens finally retires, he is going to write a hell of a book.
Maybe instead of getting flared up over these silly incidences, the FIA should do a better job of closing loopholes within their rules, write better rules for things like safety car periods, and quit throwing gasoline on fires they started like "no team orders" on the situations they created, that require a team order from time to time.
Maybe the best solution is to acknowledge F1 as a team sport and make the Driver's Championship a split award, bestowed equally upon the drivers of the team that won the Constructors Championship.
I have been told teams have to field 2 cars because there is not enough paddock space at most venues for 20 or more teams to set up and run cars from. Maybe so, I don't know. F1 always comes back to the teams. The team provides the hardware, the teams for the most part hustle up the sponsors, and the teams decide who drives and why they drive. Bernie sells the product the teams produce to TV and venues and Max and the FIA fine the teams when they need "walkin around money". The Constructor's Championship is the only thing that matters to the profitability of the team and I don't have any problem with the teams manipulating events within their teams to obtain a result that is better for the team. If I had a driver that was capable of chasing the down the field caught behind my other driver that was slower, but not easy to pass, I'd order the slower guy to allow the pass immediately. Don't like it? Drive faster.
I don't see the Renault incident as race fixing. To me, race fixing would be an act that guarantees a certain outcome. Renault's ploy improved Alonso's position immediately but there was still a whole lot of race left and we have all seen many "sure things" go wrong in a very short period of time in F1. Although a one car accident is kind of expensive and extreme, it has probably been done before by men that would honor a deal and keep their mouths shut. I have a feeling when Rubens finally retires, he is going to write a hell of a book.
Maybe instead of getting flared up over these silly incidences, the FIA should do a better job of closing loopholes within their rules, write better rules for things like safety car periods, and quit throwing gasoline on fires they started like "no team orders" on the situations they created, that require a team order from time to time.
Maybe the best solution is to acknowledge F1 as a team sport and make the Driver's Championship a split award, bestowed equally upon the drivers of the team that won the Constructors Championship.