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F1ASCO - Mad Max Strikes Again
Posted by Mark 15 September 2007
There hasn't been so much damage done to the public image of F1 since the fiasco of the USA Grand Prix in 2005, and it is all down to the same key player, FIA President Max Mosley. Formula One needs rapid decisions to be made, a Stewards' Enquiry during a race should affect the outcome if a driver has breached the rules, but it must be a correct decision. Any other kind of enquiry can take longer, but it is still critical that the correct decision is made, the urge to make a quick decision just for the sake of appearance has to be resisted.
A careful reading of the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) finding is littered with conclusions being jumped to and much ignorance being feigned. They on the one hand assert they were mislead by MacLaren regarding Coughlan's role on the team - when many fans know the names, if not the faces, of most of the leading technical people - and later confidently assert that someone in his position would have had significant influence over design work. It is not conceivable they don't know who all the key players are, and what they do on each team.
The Council is comprised of people who have an intimate and lengthy involvement in the sport, as one would hope for and expect. Indeed Mosley went on TV to say how much he trusted Ron Dennis whom he had known for forty years when he said he believed there was nothing untoward going on at MacLaren. The point he was making appeared to be that he, Mosley, had been mislead by Dennis.
At the centre of that particular point is what happened between Dennis and Fernando Alonso on the morning of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Mosley states that Dennis had phoned him to report that Alonso had just been to see him to make certain demands or he would send unspecified information about the team to the FIA. The implication being that Alonso knew something illegal was going on and he would report it. Dennis assured Mosley that he knew here was nothing illegal going on at MacLaren.
Here we start to see some of the real action behind-the-scenes. The previous day Alonso had sabotaged Lewis Hamilton's qualification attempts by occupying the pit for several seconds longer than he should have done, with the intention of sabotaging Hamilton's race that Sunday. Alonso had been loudly complaining that the team was not giving him the support he deserved and the pre-race meeting was a crude and crass attempt at blackmail which failed.
Also going on behind the scenes is a track record over many years of bias in favour of Ferrari, the most notable example being at Indianapolis in 2005. Teams were not permitted to obtain track technical information before a race, they were only allowed to run their cars at one designated "home" track. Hence, in 2005 when the teams arrived for the American Grand Prix they were surprised and horrified to discover that the newly-relaid track, and in particular the diamond-cut pattern in the surface, severely degraded tyre performance. This was exacerbated by turn 13, a long, banked high-speed corner which imposed high loads on the tyres. There had been Formula One races at Indianpolis in previous years, so turn 13 was nothing new to the teams or the tyre manufacturers. But only Bridgestone also supplied Indy cars. They quickly found out about the problem and they ensured they had suitable tyres for the race.
When the Michelin-supplied teams arrived and also found out about the problem, Michelin wanted to bring in replacement tyres, but were forbidden. The teams wanted to install a chicane at the corner to reduce the tyre load, but were forbidden. Every suggestion that the teams came up with to run a safe race was vetoed by Mosley to the significant benefit of Ferrari who went on to complete a race in which only they and two lesser teams "competed", the rest having to withdraw on instructions from their tyre supplier. To add insult to injury, Mosley attempted to charge the teams with bringing the sport into disrepute.
Many other incidents over the years where the Ferrari team or Ferrari drivers have escaped censure for some of the most blatant transgressions means it is "reasonable to infer" a Ferrari bias. To paraphrase the WMSC's own words, such a bias, "if used or in any way taken into account, could confer a significant sporting advantage upon" Ferrari. Jean Todt knows how to play his cards very well, and he gets incredibly lucky very often. Of course he is biased in favour of his team, but does the racing establishment have to be as well? It seems the only one bending over backwards to be fair in this saga is Ron Dennis.
Alonso's reputation has also taken a battering. Although the WMSC granted him immunity for handing over his emails, it is plain that he first attempted to blackmail his team principal, made full use of the source of illegal information instead of reporting it to the FIA as he knew he should, and sabotaged his team mate when he deemed it necessary. Should he go on to win the drivers' championship it will be a tainted victory.
And Mosley? Formula One needs a clean sweep of the stables, Mad Max must go.
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