What was the outcome of the FIA's investigation a couple races back when Massa "suspiciously" had to pit riiiight at the end of the race to get fuel, handing the lead to Raikkonen? Have they installed watchers in the Ferrari pit to ensure that both drivers are on equal footing going forward?
Team orders? What about rumor that if Hamilton had won the WDC last week FA would not even have raced in Brazil! It's obvious with FA behavior that Mclaren would want LH to win the WDC, so let them. Fernando is gone next year anyway.
There are two thinks that amaze me when reading this. First, what the hell is FIA thinking? I mean where does it end? Second, and I expect to get flamed for this, but I can't believe that so many people started looking at Stepneygate from the the point of view of McCheaters team and said it was all Ferrari's fault. Yet no one is even entertaining the thought of what FIA may be thinking. Hey how about this? Maybe FIA don't give a flying rats a$$ about Alonshole or the fairness of the Brazilian GP. Maybe they are doing it to insure that LH wins over Alonshole if it comes to this. After some of their decisions this season I would not be surprised the slightest bit if Alonshole wins over the Hamster and FIA come with some weired a$$ decision that it was due to favoritism and just take it out of his hands and gives it to Hamilton. I do believe that there was a plan of some sort that got greatly compromised by some unexpected events, like the last race, hungary and some other unexpected tire trouble (even after being fished out of the kitty litter). I think that everyone is on Max but I have a feeling it is Burnie not willing to take chances with his "investment" Lewis&co. Anyway we have just over a week and find out for ourselfs how dumb they really think we are.
Me too, and remember how sad we were to see last year's season finish (with MS' last race, etc.)? This one can't be done with too quickly for me.
You have been repeating this nonsense repeatedly yet when asked to produce a single post supporting your statement, you have provided NONE. No one has said that this is all Ferrari's fault on this site. Provide an example supporting your statement or give it a rest.
Actually there were a few who attributed partial fault to Ferrari for not overseeing their employee better.
I absolutely think the FIA meddles with the WDC/WCC, but I don't think it's in favor of any given 'star', but rather to keep it interesting. They want every WDC to come down to the very last race. Bernie even said that he would love nothing more than a 4-way tie going into Brazil. I don't think it's a fluke that when someone is doing very well, they tend to attract more penalties. It's happened to Ferrari, and it was VERY apparent last 2 years with Renault (Mass damper fiasco, and questionable penalties that Alonso got). This year it's McLaren's turn. One could say it's a pro-Ferrari bias, but I think it will be Ferraris turn on the BS seat once they bounce back. I think this meddling with the WDC is something that's happened in the post-Schumacher era, and I bet we'll keep seeing similar BS as long as Max is in charge.
I agree 100%. All I am saying is that this season it affects Hamilton. this is why I said before it is a shame because maybe he could have done just as well on his own, but now in a way we have no way knowing it for sure. I don't think Bernie cares about Hamilton personally, but he would be the most convenient for Bernie driver to win as it would generate the biggest profit. I know how much money Bernie has and that he doesn't need more, but unfortunately there is a little sin called greed. Actually when I think about it.....isn't it one of the seven deadly sins?
I am not waisting time on providing you with anything. Find it for yourself if that was the most important thing you see in my post. Last time I provided some quotes (without the names on purpose) you disappeared for a couple of days from the thread. I wonder why. Either way, I don't want an argument, just to come here and have a discussion with like minded people who care about something more than just starting a fight.
To prevent favoritism to Hamilton??? More likely they're afraid that Ronco would be too obvious, and want LH to get the win without rubbing the TV audience's face in it. That pit-in DNF was awfully convenient for making the last race "interesting". I wonder if there's a payment due in Brazil. Kimi, Massa, Alonso, Hamilton --- from that potential, look at the yuckko season FIA produced. (Never have so many with so much produced so little ....)
my initial thought when I heard this was that the FIA want to guarantee that LH wins the WDC, so have put a minder in there to make sure Alonso doesn't do anything stupid. then my second thought was: who gives a f***. This season's screwed whichever way you look at it.
Fire Alonso; problem solved. Where was the FIA when it was Wurtz's and Speed's dismissals. Not their business on team strategies or choices.
+1 In addition I think there is a pro LH bias coming from Bernie: F1 needs a new star and Lewis fits the profile. They're not scripting the events, but crucial decisions will go in Lewis' favor. That's not to take away from his talent, but it is what it is. If Alonso would continue to win titles, F1 would become just as boring as it was when MS collected title after title and the FIA started to meddle with the tire rules. I'm still waiting for them to come up with rules that favor Kimi. "Each driver has to take a Vodka shot at every pitstop."
FIA wants the appearance of fairness. If they really wanted to police this they would have come in unannounced. No. They just want everyone to think that it's a fair race. This is just for show. I expect nothing will be done. Now McLiars can figiure out new ways not to get caught. They have plenty of warning. I suspect the FIA wants the Hamster to be WDC. Will be interesting to see what they do if Alonshole wins the WDC in Brazil.
LOL Then he will win for sure pretty much every race and the other "vikings" in F1 would be on the podium next to him. That is until the russians start racing.
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071012/FREE/310120001/1530/FREE Godspeed, Fernando Alonso -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By MAC MORRISON I'm not 100 percent sure where two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso will land next year, though his friends at Renault will welcome him home when he turns his back on McLaren--something you can bet he will do once the season concludes next weekend in Brazil. And it will happen regardless of whether Alonso or teammate Lewis Hamilton, his antagonist, takes the title. "I told Fernando that the moment he is free from McLaren, we would be pleased to have him back," Renault boss Flavio Briatore recently told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport. "It would be stupid to deny that." Actually, McLaren is more likely to turn its back on Alonso, despite holding a multi-year contract with the man who until this year was clearly F1's top gun. As comical, political and generally bemusing as F1 is, the events of the last few months should have even the most cynical of observers banging their heads against pit walls until they require 97 carbon fiber stitches at $1000 a pop. Wait, did I say months? Try the last few days. On Wednesday, McLaren took the unprecedented step of issuing a press release titled, "Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes Reinforces Equality For Season Finale." This masterstroke of public relations brilliance reads in part (with emphasis added): "Following suggestions that there might not be equal treatment for both Fernando and Lewis, the team wants to make it absolutely clear that its policy of treating both Fernando and Lewis with complete equality and fairness will continue for the final race in Brazil . . . Fernando and Lewis will enjoy the same opportunity to win in terms of equality of car, engine, tactics and use of resources." What McLaren boss Ron Dennis and McLaren's Mercedes-Benz guru Norbert Haug failed to mention-appearing magnanimous on the surface but telegraphing a direct strike-was that Alonso himself has done a great deal of the "suggesting." He wants No. 1 status such as Michael Schumacher used to enjoy at Ferrari. He wants preferential treatment. He wants the team and all of its resources behind him 100 percent and to hell with Lewis Hamilton. He believes, as double champ, that he deserves this. Normally, I would agree with him. Sadly for Alonso, Hamilton's performances have been a damn far sight from "normal." But Alonso's reaction to having a competitive (and shrewd, to be sure) teammate has not made him look good, and I doubt his whining has won over many fans. When someone asked him at the Chinese Grand Prix if McLaren was treating him fairly or if it was slowing his car to favor Hamilton, Alonso replied: "Difficult question . . . I will not answer." Dennis didn't appreciate the comment. "There are numerous equality clauses in our contracts, they are reciprocal," Dennis said. "We never have, never will and certainly are not favoring either driver at the moment. This is a straight fight and I'm obviously disappointed that someone who really has all the knowledge should not be more direct and open with the response." Ahhh, so maybe Alonso's real problem is that he needs a better contract lawyer or agent. Look, there's no doubt Hamilton is Dennis' golden boy, groomed by the team for years and certainly given equal equipment and perhaps even more psychological support from the team. Hamilton has also been lucky to have a dream season with only one DNF all year. But Alonso's credentials and obvious talent make me think he could have coped with all this differently. Perhaps he doesn't have the right people around him, someone who could have grabbed him early this year, calmed him down and said, "This guy Hamilton is for real, and you better bring it every week." Hell, maybe he should start bringing his dad along to every race, as Hamilton does. One thing he definitely should do in the future is read the terms of his contract as cited by Dennis. Think about it: If McLaren truly has favored Hamilton while purposely holding back Alonso, the results make it pretty hard to argue with the strategy. Ironically, Alonso thinks such a strategy is quite acceptable-it's just that he thinks he should be the beneficiary due to his past glory. That's weak at this point, and it was weak months ago when all of this started bubbling to the surface. If Alonso wanted and felt he deserved clear No. 1 status, he should have used his leverage as world champion to get Dennis to give him that in writing when he signed his deal. That's what Schumacher used to do. Don't sign a contract that makes it clear you'll have to earn top billing, then point fingers when the other guy does just as well as you. Quite why Alonso seems so taken aback at McLaren's equality policy baffles me. He's the one who signed the damn contract. But here's the most bizarre twist: Now comes word that the FIA-yeah, F1's governing body-has assigned a dedicated official to McLaren for Brazil. Why? To ensure both drivers are treated equally. Are you #&@$^%! KIDDING ME? "Yes, it's true that the FIA will have a steward making sure that nothing wrong happens to Fernando, especially in qualifying, which is where there have been more complaints or strange situations in the last few Grands Prix," said Spanish motorsport federation boss Carlos Garcia in an interview with Spanish newspaper AS. This situation has treaded into territory previously known only to Sly Stallone and his crew of lobotomy-afflicted writers on the night they stuck hot pokers into each other's brains and sat down to craft Driven. The FIA is policing the behavior of a team as it battles for the title with . . . itself? The FIA monitoring a team's strategy for its own drivers is one of the most asinine things I've ever heard of in sports. I mean, can you imagine the NBA sending an official to observe, say, Miami Heat games, and then the guy gets to pop into the huddle to tell Pat Riley that Antoine Walker must play the same amount of minutes and take as many shots as Dwayne Wade? This is the kind of thing that goes on in Little League rec games to make sure every kid feels good about themselves. But at the highest level of professional sports? Shoot me in the eye. The whole thing makes Alonso and F1 as a whole look ridiculous. Yep, Alonso's only solution at this point is to leave McLaren, return to Renault and its preferential treatment, and battle Hamilton as true No. 1s from different teams. I don't know what Alonso will do if he loses then-other than blame his car. But at least McLaren won't fill my inbox with laugh-out-loud press releases, and the FIA observer can go back to mowing Bernie's lawn or typing-up Max's daily schedule. Yet if anyone still hoped that F1 would one day again resemble "sport," those dreams have suffered a serious blow. Maybe it doesn't matter, though. Because while no one knows exactly how this is going to shake out, the one thing I can guarantee absolutely is that I'll be glued to the screen for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Hmmm, talk about conspiracy theories: Could Bernie, Flavio, Ron, Lewis and Fernando be sitting in a dark room, laughing hysterically all the way to several Swiss banks? At this point in a season that has jumped the shark at least five times, anything seems possible.
+1. Agree with Lucky_13_2002 post regarding Bernie's LH investment ... LH will win the WDC no matter who wins the race because Bernie will see to it. No need to watch the Brazil race . Pete
I would still watch the Brasil race, just for the 1 in a million chance of seeing Alonshole take out the Hamster and basically tell McCheaters to go swivel in the worst possible way in the last race of the season. And even more so the 1 in 100 000 000 chance that if it happens it would give Bernie a heart attack.
