That is a very interesting read. When you combine this with Alonso refusing to give the illegal pass on RK back you can't not but wonder if Ferrari think the rules of F1 apply to them at all. This is just page one of 5. Very damming indeed...read the rest if you think you can handle it... "It seems that the Scuderia still thinks that FIA stands for 'Ferrari's Internal Agency', Why else would it have so blatantly broken the rule about team orders. It was an act of arrogance which showed contempt for the rules, the sport and the fans. In retrospect, some people are bleating that banning team orders is a bad rule. If it was a bad rule in Germany, it was a bad rule, period. There have been plenty of opportunities to make that point, and to lobby against the rule. I do not recall criticism of the rule until after Ferrari flouted it. It was not a hot topic on Internet fora. Maybe Alonso was faster, but he didn't prove it. You show that you are faster by ov-er-ta-king. It needs spelling out. The point of motor racing is to be the fastest with a given car on a given track and if there is a slower car ahead, your job is to overtake. It is why Ferrari pays you millions. At the end of the German GP, we were treated to a load of bull**** about the result being for the good of the team. If Felipe had led a Ferrari 1-2, the team would have still taken 43 points in the Constructors' Championship and, correct me if I am wrong, that is the title that teams contest. All the talk about the team, the good of the team, motor racing being a team sport, etc., is hog wash. Ferrari set out to manipulate the Drivers' Championship. Alonso would have been higher up the standings had he not acted like a big girl's blouse in the previous two races. I hope that the meeting of the WMSC in September excludes both cars from the results. Alonso complained about Massa over the radio because he could not pass and if you cannot pass at Hockenheim, you should be in another line of work, like flower arranging. Massa could have refused to allow Alonso to pass on the grounds that it contravened the rules. He would have been on firm ground. He also would not have dragged the name of Ferrari into the mud and the vast crowd in Germany would not have been short-changed as were we watching at home. There was supposed to be a race, not a cynical demonstration."
A friend of mine that is a huge Ferrari fan and was even in the Ferrari pits with MS during one of the races at Indy thinks Ferrari could be fined $50M over this.
I did not write it but I will tell you what he wrote. The drivers championship is not a team but an individual event and Ferrari have manipulated it. Did that help?
Maybe D, MS switching positions on the line was a insult to the paying fans, but yes its a team sport, but from a stand point of fairness it should be every man for himself, if it's not then have 1 driver per team, job done.
My prediction: Alonso will be given a time penalty which will result in Massa being declared the winner, with Alonso second, as if the team orders had not been given, with no further loss in driver points. But the team will be stripped of all constructor points for the race.
Team orders, you are either for them or not. Fair enough, but I can't really get my ahead around those that think this was "just too blatant". As if subtle, wink wink is OK. What difference does that make if you know it occurred. Some people assume they are a more sophisticated fan and the poor average slob needs to at least be given the impression that fairness occurred. Total BS. So if Alonso wins this year he is not a real champ like Kimi because Masa's surrender move was more subtle?
cheating ? bastard ? stolen car ? Explain yourself or give up insulting gratuitously. I am no Hamilton fan, but I don't think he deserve your scorn either ...
Not in the least. Excuse my being blunt (too much time on the Aussi threads?) but in that there is no way in heck that any individual could compete without a huge team behind him it makes no sense to call F1 an individual effort. In fact the argument can be made that if its not a team sport its not a sport at all.
Here is my take on it. There are two parallel competitions in F1 the WDC and the WCC. The WCC is a team competition and the WDC is an individual competition. I am having trouble seeing how Alonso and Massa swapping positions in volition of the rules helped the team with their quest to win the WCC.
That does complicate things doesn't it? I'll admit to being a WCC guy and that shades my opinion. Drivers come and go but the team is the constant. In fact I'd say that what separates the casual fan from the sophisticated one (in any sport) is a sense of historical perspective. This is a Ferrari site not an Alonso or a Massa one so I assume that we're team fans first.
Golf and tennis are individual sports. Auto racing is a team sport--a team builds the car, a team executes pit stops and a team manages the race. The driver is one component of this team, albeit it a critical one. When someone other than the participant can impact the outcome (botched wheel change, mid-race strategy change, etc.), it's a team sport.
It didnt it was merely the subservience of a 'team' to the ego of its most expensive driver. Kimi was a pure let down for the team. Over paid and under performing and not leading. They hired the Diva to lead and are ensuring he is not in the mindset he was with LH. FA is incredibly delicate. One race with Massa leading and he is on the radio like a 2 yr old. Frankly he is anything but inspiring.
With all due respect your friend lacks any sense of reality in this regard. Also remember if Ferrari gets pushed too hard into a corner they play the "we're out of here card" at which point everybody realizes that the F in F1 stands for Ferrari. No Ferrari, no F1.
I never said I thought he was correct and I thought it seemed a bit much but I thought McLaren's $100M fine was more than a bit much. What is Ferrari without F1? What is F1 without Ferrari? They both need each other but could both survive without the other. I am not sure who would suffer the most in a divorce.
You are certainly correct in those statements. However the principals in F1 are very greedy and short sighted individuals. If they are forced to face a loss of Ferrari in F1 vs leaving Alonso (who barely has a chance in this year's WDC anyway) with a few additional points, I know what they will choose. And lets not be so blue eyed as to believe the FIA is above all the financial ramifications and a truly independent authority. Puuleezzze.
Does Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa personally lease the car (F10) they drive in the races? If not, I don't see what the issue is here and the WMSC will not do anything about it either.
IMO, BE wants at least 3 if not 4 of SV, FA, MW & LH all within reach of the title going into the last race so will not want any sanction for Ferrari or FA....................... As far as all of this bleating goes, lets not forget that subtle and not so subtle manipulation goes on all the time, witness the late 1990's Hakkinen/ Coulthard arrangement which is politely forgotten by some british sporting media when they bag Ferrari for what they did. As for Mike Lawrence and his latest on PitPass what a load of turgid, patriochal nonsense, of course Williams is the greatest F1 team ever and isnt it great that Frank is hollier than god............................................. Go Ferrari
