F1 Fanatic round-up: 26/7/2010

Posted on

| Written by

It seems Keith spoke to soon in yesterday’s round-up. A year to the day since Felipe Massa’s horrific accident in Hungary, he came close to scoring his first victory since the crash. But the controversial circumstances of the race made for a subdued podium ceremony.

Read our full German Grand Prix analysis.

Here’s today’s round-up:

Links

Ferrari, Red Bull wings get all-clear (Autosport)

"The FIA has given the front wing designs of Red Bull Racing and Ferrari the all-clear in post German Grand Prix inspections, following a flexi-parts row in the build-up to the race.

"Photographs taken of the two cars over the course of the Hockenheim event appeared to indicate that their front wings were flexing in such a way that the endplates were able to run much lower to the ground – which would give the two teams a downforce advantage in high-speed corners."

Eddie Irvine claims Michael Schumacher’s comeback has ‘backfired’ (The Mirror)

"After describing him on Friday as a ‘spare pr**k at a wedding’ over his occasional appearances on the pit wall for Ferrari last year, the Ulsterman launched into his former team-mate once again yesterday.

"The German, who has won a record seven world titles, qualified with a lowly 11th position on the grid in Hockenheim and, with his performances on the slide, Mercedes are already turning their attention to 2011. Team-mate Nico Rosberg, 25, outgunned him for the ninth time in 11 races.

"’Michael took his gamble, and it’s backfired a bit,’ said Irvine."

Ferrari and Fernando Alonso backed by Schumacher. What does that tell you? (The Telegraph)

"Here’s an easy way to decide debates about sporting morality. 1. See which side Michael Schumacher’s on. 2. Take the other side. Rarely will you be in the wrong.

"And so it proved again at the German Grand Prix, when Schumacher immediately defended Ferrari’s blatant and cack-handed team orders. Well, at least he’s not a hypocrite."

Hamilton – McLaren have to go back to drawing board (BBC)

"Lewis Hamilton said McLaren needed to go back to the drawing board after being out-paced by both Ferrari and Red Bull in the German Prix.

"Although Hamilton finished fourth and team-mate Jenson Button fifth, there is growing concern the British team is being left behind by their rivals."

Williams expected to keep driver line-up in 2011 (ESPN)

"Williams looks set to keep the same driver line-up in 2011.

"Team figures indicated recently that the extension of Rubens Barrichello’s contract is a mere formality. The Brazilian veteran’s current team-mate is the reigning GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg, who said recently he was worried about losing his seat for 2011."

Comment of the day

MouseNightshirt on the 2010 German Grand Prix:

Bleurgh.

My dad isn’t a F1 follower, but he was visiting today so watched the race with me.

After the race, he says to me, "No point in following this sport son. It’s always rigged – it’s always on the news, one thing or other about this infernal sport."

This is exactly the reaction we should expect from lay-watchers and also the reason Ferrari needs a good slap, a DQ and a big fine. This behaviour alienates people.

I voted 6 because the race itself had a few moments. 1 is a fair vote, but I’m voting on the race itself.

MouseNightshirt

From the forum

What’s happened to Felipe Massa?

From the archives

Team orders were banned in Formula 1 after Ferrari’s actions during the 2002 season. It seems appropriate to remind ourselves why, with F1’s unwritten rules: team orders edition.

Happy birthday!

No F1 Fanatic birthdays today. If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

The 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix was held on this day in 2009. The race was won by then reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, who had started from fourth on the grid. This was his first podium position of the season and the first win for a KERS-powered car.

Kimi Raikkonen – the only Ferrari in the race following Felipe Massa’s crash – and Mark Webber came second and third respectively.

Jaime Alguersuari made his Formula One debut with Toro Rosso, becoming the youngest F1 driver in history at the age of 19 years and 125 days.

The 1987 and 1992 German and the 1998 Austrian Grands Prix were also held on this date.

80 comments on “F1 Fanatic round-up: 26/7/2010”

  1. MouseNightshirt’s comment illustrates perfectly how F1 has managed to shoot itself in the foot once again. Week in, week out, there is some kind of controversy that detracts from the racing – but the only reason this happens is because the various teacup-storms and molehill-peaks that make up day-to-day life in F1 are splashed across the media, all the time, for the sake of scoring a few political points or promoting a particular agenda.

    No other sport is so adept at airing its dirty laundry in public. I suppose it’s the flip side of the unprecedented access F1 media folk tend to have to the inner workings of the sport.

    1. Are you seriously implying what Ferrari did today is no big deal?

      1. My view is that it is no worse than what happened at China ’08, Hockenheim ’08, Silverstone ’08, Canada ’08, and many other races. Just that the reaction to it is different, and I honestly still can’t fathom why.

        1. What Ferrari did is EXACTLY the reason why this rule has been introduced.

          Saying that team mates should always fight each other to the death until the flag drops or otherwise it’s team orders is just complete nonsense.

          Besides, it’s clear that it’s team orders and it’s also clear that they are lying about it. On a massive scale.

          McLaren was threatened with a multiple race exclusion for lying over giving a place back or not in Australia 2009.

          1. McLaren lied in order to get an opponent given a penalty. That’s not just dishonest, it’s vindictive.

            The four examples I mentioned all involved a driver ceding position to his teammate. What Ferrari did yesterday is no worse than any of those incidents and it’s hypocritical to say otherwise.

            The no team orders rule was in place in 2008, as well.

        2. Maybe this was covered in one of the other articles, I think you are referring to Heidfeld letting Kubica through a Canada 2008 but what happened at Silverstone 2008, Hockenheim 2008 and China 2008?

          1. China 2008 Kimi cruised down the straight and let Massa past

            Hockenheim and Silverston 2008 Heikki effectively waved Lewis past

            Canada 2008 Heidfeld gave Kubica the victory to secure a 1-2 for the team

            All technically illegal depending on how you interpret the rules, but all just plain common sense and I don’t see anything wrong with them. People seem to forget its a team sport.

          2. Oh yeah I forgot about China. I have seen people argue both ways on Hockenhiem 2008 but I could well believe that Kovalainen didn’t put up much of a fight against Hamilton, however I don’t think he let Hamilton through at Silverstone that year.

    2. I agree with Andy and Ads. I still think what happened was wrong of course but it’s been a problem for years.

  2. OK, I’m going to avoid Hockenheimgate for a moment…

    Did anyone watch the Laguna Seca Moto GP race tonight? What a great circuit! It really does seem as though it’s situated halfway up a mountain, and the desert surrounding, while a bit drab, give it a unique character.

    Unfortunately, it’s unlikely to ever get a GP. It’s very short, run off is lacking in places, there aren’t enough grandstands, the facilities are nowhere near F1 standards etc. Shame, because it would be the perfect home for F1 in America. Better than any Tilkedrome, that’s for sure…

    So, what other modern day circuits can people think of that would be great for F1, but will realistically never get a Grand Prix?

    1. Yep I watched it. Damn you Pedrosa, why did you have to crash.

    2. That was one of the things I talked to the Populous guys about. They were saying the restrictions on gradient are so strict you couldn’t build anything remotely like the Corkscrew on a modern circuit. Shame.

      1. Yeah, it was a good race, apart from that it probobly is true the gradient of “Corkscrew” is beyond the regulations (unless we fancy seeing a jump in an F1 Track :D) but its an interesting thought.

      2. With all the downforce that F1 cars have though, wouldn’t they actually be able to handle extreme gradients better than similarly powered cars that lack the downforce of F1?

        As for Laguna Seca, it almost got the USGP in ’89, when Pheonix won out after it was decided Laguna was too remote. Too bad, as Pheonix was a flash in the pan and Laguna could’ve become a classic that would have lasted and spared us the Indy races.

      3. Laguna Seca would be brilliant for a Grand Prix. Just a shame F1 prefers nice big luxurious paddock complexes to great race curcuits

      4. Looking forward to your article on it Keith.

    3. UneedAFinn2Win
      26th July 2010, 8:07

      Pau.

      It’s too similar to Monaco and really narrow and bumpy, but it’d produce some nice looking footage.
      I suppose Macau has the same issues.

      Twin Ring Motegi, if they’d combine the oval similarly to the indy f1 track.

    4. Ned Flanders
      26th July 2010, 11:21

      To answer my own question, I really like Brno in the Czech Republic. Probably wouldn’t take that much investment to get up to F1 standard’s, but I doubt there is enough money in the Czech Republic right now to fund a GP

      1. I’d like to go back to A1-Ring in Austria, It is the most beautiful setting on a sunny day for an F1 race. It was fast, a personal fave of mine. They need to do it up to F1 standard though it has been upgraded to DTM spec. The owner also owns RBR, and indeed the whole Redbull Drinks Co, so if they wanted to upgrade it, money would be no object.

  3. Hey Keith, I’m sorry but I couldn’t help noticing this comment by you in the “Unwritten rules” article

    “Keith Collantine says:
    October 3, 2008 at 11:38 am

    I think the Piquet crash was just what it was – a crash. No denying it was convenient for his team mate, but there are less dangerous ways than that to bring the safety car out.”

    :D

    1. Yeah I know!

    2. I think we all got confused about how incompetent Piquet really was.

      In hindsight (knowing that he tried to crash on purpose) it’s obvious that he tried to put it in the outer wall. Like they do in Canada (Wall of Champions) a lot.

      Somehow he got it all wrong, crossed the track and obliterated his car on the opposing side of the track.

      He turned a simple crash into a huge accident.

      1. “In hindsight (knowing that he tried to crash on purpose) it’s obvious that he tried to put it in the outer wall. Like they do in Canada (Wall of Champions) a lot.”

        The intention was to create a lot of debry, he excecuted the move perfectly. Also I think Piquet gets a hard time (understandably for what happened) but he’s a better driver than most will give him credit for. And frankly if you were given a choice, crash deliberately or get the sack when all of your life has been working towards reaching F1. I don’t think it would have been as easy to say no as people think

      2. In hindsight (knowing that he tried to crash on purpose) it’s obvious that he tried to put it in the outer wall. Like they do in Canada (Wall of Champions) a lot.

        I don’t agree – if you’re crashing on purpose you don’t want to go in forwards, too much risk of something coming up and hitting you in the face. Best to go in backwards, surely?

        1. I’d agree with that logic Keith. However, I think safety was taken for granted, Piquet could have messed it up in many ways and if he goes forward into a wall he has more control. He can see what’s happenening and drivers like to eb in control esp when they’re crashing I imagine.

  4. That comment of the day says a lot. This incident definately hasn’t help increase Forumla One’s fan base.

    It’s just like the FIFA World Cup final, with the Dutch playing dirty. How can you expect to sell a sport to casual fans, when the people within play dirty tricks.

    1. Your completely right there. I’m Dutch and i was sorry they were not able to win. But playing the way they did, it would have been a disgrace if they would have won it over Spain.

  5. I agree with Mouse’s comments. That’s exactly why people don’t want to see those types of team orders. Amazingly after the race the BBC team were suggesting that, if you do try to do team orders, try and hoodwink the public more effectively. There is no morality in this sport? ‘Lie, but don’t get caught’.

    The amount of perceived lying after the race was atrocious. Hamilton lied in Melbourne, and look what happened to him.

    Fernando called the race manipulated not so long ago, and now it is.
    RedBull faced fury on the basis they were favouring one driver over another.
    Hamilton looked in much the same mood as Felipe in Turkey. After he believed the team way playing the result.

    The fans are going to believe that they’re not in for honest racing anymore from Ferrari. It’s swinging back to the sickening spell of the Schumacher era.

    F1 as a product will loose value and fans for this, how much and how many is yet to be seen.

  6. Mclaren out-paced by Mclaren?

    Hamilton – McLaren have to go back to drawing board (BBC)

    “Lewis Hamilton said McLaren needed to go back to the drawing board after being out-paced by both Ferrari and McLaren in the German Prix.

    btw,who is Cari Jones? how come you are helping Keith?

    1. Looks like that error was originally in the text of the BBC article and has now been corrected. Have amended it above.

      Cari is running the Monday round-ups for me at the moment (particularly useful on Grand Prix weekends when I’m very busy on Sundays!) and will be doing some more work on the site in the future.

    2. i thought it said carl jones…keep up the good work carl! :)

    3. Thanks for the heads up chris!

      Also, hello. I hope you enjoyed the round-up.

      1. Seems the F1Fanatic is growing all the time!

        From all those great articles here, it’s easy to see Keith needs to have a bit of sleep on Monday morning!
        Nice to see you, great job helping out Cari. Makes for an even better blog.

        1. Thank you BasCB – Keith’s been working incredibly hard, I’m sure he appreciates your support.

  7. Just looked at some brazilian headlines in case you are interested
    Cronospeed: Massa eo mal necessário (Massa and the necessary evil) and
    Terra Brasil: Ferrari culpa pneus por “derrota” de Massa (Ferrari blames tyres for Massas ‘defeat’)
    Revista Racing: Horner: “Ordem da Ferrari foi clara” (the order in the Ferrari team is clear .. or .. Ferrari team order clear (I’m german so I’m not 100% sure))
    globesporte.com: Massa evita polêmica, mas ironiza: ‘Não preciso dizer nada sobre isso’ (Massa avoids controverse but says ironically ‘i don’t have to say anything, do i?!’)

    And just by the way: blaming Schumacher for what he said is rather stupid. Had he said he is against it, they would have blamed him for denying his past, this way they blame him for being pro-cheating.

    1. Yeah, that question was a bit of a no-win situation for Schumacher. He should have just declined to comment.

  8. Felipe Ever Ready to Rollover for Alonso’s Race Improvement?

    Actually, I’m already bored of the Ferrari non-sense. Lets move on?

    1. Fernando Eventually Ruins Race And Racing’s Image

    2. I didn’t realise what you were doing at first – I get it now!

    3. fair-weather enthusiasts’ rosy recollection, and reality invades

      for every raging race, a reason invisible

  9. ……..Score! :)

  10. If you didn’t have a chance to see Top Gear’s 10 minute Ayrton Senna doc yesterday, do yourself a service and seek it out.

    On a day with controversy in F1 and IRL, the piece was an excellent short discussion on the legend of one man.

    1. yer i was amazed it was actually really good. Its the first really good feature they’ve done on Top Gear in a long time

      my heart still rules my head and I think that Villeneuve was the greatest driver ever but Senna was an absolutely sensational driver

      1. Agreed. There’s something about Senna that just doesn’t click with me. I’m a Prost man myself.

  11. I think Hamilton is right as he is leading the championship so the team do need to back him up with a good car so that he can get his third WC.

    1. Hamilton getting his third WC? Uh… how’s he gonna do that?

      1. My mistake it will be second WC.

      2. Maybe it’s part DeLorean so he can go back to China 07 and pit a bit sooner for tyres.

  12. I Think at the race start every car should dó one lap and then pit whilst Alonso drives around for 70 laps that way hé Will have no trafic no back markers ,no one to overtake , no one to complane about. Then the rest Can restart and have a proper race.
    The man is a shiner and dont have any place in f1
    The object is to overtake when Will hé learn that

  13. Andrew Benson has written a very good piece for the BBC and I have to say I thoroughly agree with most of his points. Sometimes I get the feeling that this is a bigger deal than it should be because Alonso is involved… http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/07/team_orders_rule_ties_f1_in_kn.html

    1. I thought that article was absolutely brilliant. He’s one of the few journalists who’ve managed to keep and cool head and right a genuinely thoughtful analysis. Even James Allen who wrote a very good article couldn’t resist using a picture of Alonso in grumpy pose.

      But credit to the whole BBC F1 team yesterday who I thought handled it very well and the excellent contrast between EJ and DC + Martin perfectly summed up the debate for me.

      As for it being worse because its Alonso I’m convinced Alonso has now completed his transition from boy wonder to Schumacher esque hate figure in the eyes of the British media, and its all the more convenient that he now drives for Ferrari.

      1. Although I agree with the Telegraph article about how the BBC guys completely fluffed the interview with Stefano.

        1. I enjoyed the discussion as well, it was good to have many points of view put across about the whole team orders question.
          I think that since F1 is a team sport, and the cars wouldn’t even get to the garages on a race weekend without somebody being in control, and giving ‘team orders’, there is a big requirement for a shakeup of the rulebook (as DC was saying).
          However, once the cars are through Practice and are set up for Qualifying, then it should be down to the individual drivers and engineers to determine strategy and pit stops. Of course there will be input from the team bosses who want the Constructors Championship too, but on the whole, the point of the race is to have one winner at the end, and the points scored are almost a secondary consideration.
          As I see it, there are two solutions to this:
          1. Don’t have a Constructors Championship, but have a secondary competition for the most efficient engine at each race, and over the season – this would tie in with the real world of motoring and maybe attract more engine suppliers.
          2. Allow each driver and pit crew to have their own Pit Box, and effectively be a ‘team within a team’ and have a straight fight with their team mate – this would also free up every driver to have their own sponsorship, their car in different colours, and would allow for the Constructors Championship to continue, but with much less influence on the race results.

      2. I agree with Benson to an extent. For me, there’s two separate issues and they are firstly the sport and secondly the title.

        It was completely wrong for the sport and the fans. I thought Saward has been a bit OTT especially on Alonso on some of hisn posts but he did remind me of the sport on his blog.

        “There are two ways of winning: one can win in a functional sense and one can win in style…The hard-bitten F1 folks would argue that losing with grace is still losing, but they miss the point that one can win in defeat and lose in victory”

        http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/some-thoughts-before-hitting-the-road/

        Ferrari got what they wanted but not in the way they did. It wasn’t right but it had to be done from their view. It’s made worse by that it’s them, they have that history with Schumi, Felipe is a very human driver, it’s Alonso, Ferrari weren’t subtle they may as well have taken a bazuka to Felipe’s car and it was a year after Ferrari were wodnering whether their Brazilian driver would ever race for them again.

        If I thought any team would be any different I’d support them but they aren’t. There’s team orders everywhere. Give so and so his wing or this upgrade, hold stations, save fuel, someone is quicker, you have this strategy and he’ll have that. It’s all uncomfortable but it’s never going to go.

        As a Ferrari fan I was hugely uncomfortable when Kimi won in 2007 because of Massa and deprived Hamilton of that chance but I also hated seeing Kovy let Hamilton through in 2008 when my guy was fighting for the title that year too and I didn’t like Kimi having to slow in China.

        I accept Saward’s argument of function vs style. I think all those in the F1 world in that position would probably go for function while us fans who are watching want the style and I’m glad he reminded me there is a bit more to winning sometimes.

        Finally, if Ferrari do get more punished I want them to look at all team orders. Ferrari said after Silverstone that if they were punished then they hope all punishments would be as harsh in the future and I hope that is the case this time.

        1. Nice analyses there Steph. I agree with you on Benson and the part of the Joe Saward blog you quote seem to get the issue quite well.

          Also I am convinced, that for the FIA to be taken on face value by the fans and F1 insiders, Todt will now have to do some serious work in the WMC to get Ferrari punished with a hefty fine and maybe some sort of (condtional) point / raceban penalty.
          But to take away further doubt about stewarding and keeping the rules in F1 he will have to change the rule/amend it to be usable and he will have to do far more to look into most if not all such cases from now on.
          Just have a standard FIA investigation in any suspicious situation from now on (Turkey RBR and McLaren for example, who would mind it being cleared to take away
          any doubt, except the teams themselves).

          But i am not as pessimistic as you are on the teams all doing cheating (as opposed to going very far indeed to find space in the rules).
          I really hope that RBR will be treating its drivers as equals after the team owner stepped in (he knows that style is in for better brand value) and said his team will have its drivers compete, even if they crash out of the championship battling.
          And I do believe that McLaren are doing as much as possible to have both drivers competing on par right now (this year).
          So all hope is not lost, Ferrari might realize it when Massa wins the next race by a mile after Alonso gets shoved off by Vettel at the start :-D

  14. Frankly, I’m disgusted that Ferrari can complain about “fixed results” and such, then go on to do this. They have no heart and no soul left. Which is sad when considering their long and storied history. I don’t know how they could have done this in good conscience when they were probably fully aware of the date and how much that win would have meant to Massa. They would have known how crushing it would be to him. At some point, I would HOPE Stefano allowed this to cross his mind and feel at least MILDLY bad for what he was about to do. If not, he must be one cold-hearted miser.

    Moreso, if Alonso wants to prove himself to be the better driver, then he damn well better do it and actually pass his teammate legitimately. Until then, to me he seems Schumacher-esque in that his success is partly handed to him by his team and not actually achieved through his own talent.

  15. I am not here to defend Ferrari or what they did yesterday but some of the comments yesterday were way over the top. It may have been 1 year since Massa had his crash but would Domenicali have asked Alonso to let Massa pass if the positions were reversed just because of the date? It has spoiled what would have been an excellent day for the team and please don’t think they have been let off lightly by the media in Italy. Massa is a very popular driver here and while the main focus of the team is Alonso it is seen that Massa had his ‘big’ chance in 08. Two weeks ago everyone was shouting foul over the RBR situation and before that it was one team or another. My point is that true fans do not enjoy these episodes but F1 has been built on them and thrives out of them. We romantically look back at stories of teams sneaking into other garages during the night to acquire parts to enable them to race, do we now all condone stealing? What happened yesterday was ugly and Ferrari will be punished for it. I can’t see any more than an increased fine and a suspended race ban because that is all it really deserves in light of passed infringements.

    1. Ned Flanders
      26th July 2010, 11:27

      I think a ban on the constructor’s points Ferrari won yesterday would be a fair decision. It would show the FIA were clamping down on such behaviour, without having a major effect on the championship positions.

      As much as I dislike Alonso, I agree it wouldn’t be particularly fair to punish him for his team’s decision, even if he tried to influence it

      1. “As much as I dislike Alonso, I agree it wouldn’t be particularly fair to punish him for his team’s decision, even if he tried to influence it”

        That’s true. I don’t think Alonso can or maybe even should lose the win. I didn’t hear if he tried to influence it though so I’m just assuming he didn’t. If they’re punishing anyone it’ll probably be Ferrari and sadly Massa. I don’t think they’ll go with the latter just for the stickn it would get them though and Ferrari losing WCC points may be right but I’m still unsure whether they’ll actually do it because Ferrari are back in with a shout at the title.

        I hope/wonder if Ferrari are punished further if it’ll mean a look at all coded team orders. If they’re all banned or all allowed and that this isn’t just a one off because Ferrari executed it rather badly.

      2. Ferrari’s goal was to give Alonso those 7 points extra in their bid for WDC.

        The FIA really cannot let Alonso keep those points.

    2. I think you are perfectly right there Rampante.

      The better result for Ferrari as a company and team would have been to let Massa take the great win exactly a year after Hungary. And Alonso would still have made a good houl of points in the WDC.
      It would have helped Ferrari’s image/brand and car sales alike.

    3. Think rampante are right on the penalty i expect big fine suspended race ban and perhaps being docked constructors points I think those would be reasonable.

      I do hope though that this re-opens the practicality of a ban on team orders. This will always be a team sport and there will always be times where one driver has to give way to another and everyone in F1 knows it. If you most people in the paddock including the BBC punidits there wasnt an awful lot wrong with what they did in principle, but the way they did it was crazy and bound to get them in trouble. It would be far better if F1 just dropped the charade and admitted its a team sport and allow team orders again.

  16. I am spanish, Williams fan (since FW12) and Alonso fan.

    Given my crendentials :-D …

    Today I feel embarrassed for what happened. I don’t want to see people winning like this, and things like what happened at Valencia, or the tricks Mclaren did stopping Ham. car to escape for penalty for not having fuel, or team orders about changing car’s parts at Red Bull (this was team orders too), things like “save fuel… ok, there’s no need to save fuel anymore”, etc.

    I think we will see this controversies again, because this produces news, news attracts attention to F1, attention attracts money, and money it’s all this is about. Not sport.

    No one fights in F1 for anything different than the money, titles give money, points give money, so pilots and teams only look for money.

    Focusing in money gives us this consecuences, we are seeing businessmen fighting for dollars.

    (Sorry for my english, I’m trying to improve it, I hope I explained myself clear)

  17. Rather than just commenting on sites like this, I would think complaining to Ferrari’s sponsors would have more effect on their morality and sporting ethics.

    For anyone that wants to here are some contact links:

    Shell
    http://www.shell.com/home/content/motorsport/ferrari/contact_us/
    Vodaphone
    http://www.vodafone.com/start/responsibility/investor_contacts0.html
    Santander
    https://secure.santander.com/formularios/Corporativo/contacto_en.jsp

    1. Don’t know why I put Vodaphones contact details up…. just getting old I guess

    2. Hi Jim.

      Actually, what I was trying to say with my rudimentary english is that is a shame for Ferrari, today, but all the teams have embarassing episodes.

      I think the complaints must go to Bernie. If teams earn money basically by the amount of points they take, then they will do things like this to take them. There is no moral in million-dollars businesses, you take points or die.

      I think sponsors really care for themselves about it’s investments, so they really want to see their sponsored teams at the top-3 photos.

      I can only remember ING for stopping it’s sponsorship to Renault for the crash-gate, but I think this was a perfect opportunity for them, because of the finantial crisis, I think morality took 2% on the decisition.

    3. Point made. I think we don’t have to call the sponsors, they will hear about it from their marketing men when presented with their brands suddenly loosing worth over the weekend.

      Joe Saward explaines it as it is here: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/some-thoughts-before-hitting-the-road/

  18. Did anyone here see the Indycar race at Edmunton. Seemed they had their own controversial race result there (http://www.gpupdate.net/en/indycar-series-news/239766/dixon-wins-amid-controversy-at-edmonton/ ). It seems Castroneves was demoted to tenth for illegal blocking,

    during the drivers’ briefing all were reminded that blocking – holding the inside line when defending – is against the sporting regulations of the championship.

    Look at the Video below the article. First of all, it takes the edge of talking about a “furious” Alonso in Valencia when compared to Helio.
    It also shows the move. After talking about stupid rules to help overtaking in F1, i actually think this one is pretty bad as well, not allowing the driver to actually defend his position!

    1. I thought Helio was quite reasonable considering how rediculous the penalty was. In F1 your not allowed to race your team mate in Indy Car you’re not allowed to race at all.

      (I know Helio was racing his team mate but point is it would have been the same penalty if it’d been anyone)

      1. It shocked me honestly, seeing them telling us these guys are actually forbidden to make it tough on the passing car! I was always unsure about push to pass things, but this is rediculous.
        It does mean they don’t need team orders, but at what a price.

  19. After Jean Todt visited a NASCAR race, now Ron Dennis went to look at Montoya starting from pole at the Brickyard 400.
    He also saw an opportunity to kick the dead body of USF1, but what he says about several GP projects in the USA being in development is interesting.
    http://adamcooperf1.com/2010/07/25/dennis-visits-indy-nascar-slams-us-f1/

    1. nascar is about to switch to fuel injection, and mclaren electronics is believed to be the favorite to provide the spec system.

      1. Thanks for the information F1yankee. Seems McLaren are really working on the company worldwide.
        What do you make of Dennis’ comments on GPs in the US?

  20. Just curious, who’s Cari Jones?

    1. Chris already asked that. Scroll up…

    2. Hi Chua – I’m just helping Keith out at the moment, running the Monday round-up. What can I tell you about myself?

  21. “Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, should immediately assemble all the commissions, councils and empowered people required to cancel regulation 39.1 which prohibits team orders. It is unworkable and largely not policeable.”

    National treasure and all round wise man of BBCF1 Martin Brundle on his blog

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8856345.stm

    1. I don’t agree. If Formula 1 wishes to portray itself as a sport it needs this rule, whether the teams like it or not.

    2. Brundle said earlier in the eyar if Webber had let Vet through at Turkey he may as well have gone home or something to that effect. He does change his mind a bit although I guess Felipe was behind on points :P I do agree with Martin to some extent though.

      1. Quite a change from Turkey it is. Maybe the hearing from most insiders to what extent team orders exist everywhere (Coulthard, Gascoyne, …) changed his mind?

        But i would have loved it if Massa had actually ignored the order, had won the race and made a fairytale out of it. I think he might have instantly become a Brazillian superhero!

Comments are closed.