Oct 22, 2007

Formula One has Another Dust-up

It has been with great pleasure and no small amount of amusement that I have written about and commented on Formula One racing for nearly a decade in this space, but at no time has writing about F1 been more amusing than this year. It is a branch of motorsport that has always had more than its share of behind-the-scenes drama, but this year really takes the Sacher-Torte. Of course, the big brouhaha was the McLaren-Ferrari cheating scandal that resulted in McLaren having its knuckles smacked with a ruler, but the more recent imbroglio was the decision by the ruling body of the sport to appoint an overseer of the McLaren team during the last race of the season.

The overseer was not appointed to make certain that McLaren sinned no more by trying to steal additional documents from competitive teams. Instead, the "scrutineer" was appointed in an attempt to make certain that McLaren didn't favor Lewis Hamilton over Fernando Alonso, and, presumably vice versa, during the race that decided the Driver's Championship. Banish from your brain the fact that since they both drive for a team convicted of cheating (in a rather heinous way) this season, neither Alonso, the reigning champion, nor Hamilton, the charismatic up-and-comer, should have been allowed to win the championship in the first place. That they knew about the cheating is yet another reason to disqualify them, of course. But forget that.

What is almost unfathomable is the fact that FIA suddenly decided to meddle in the management of one of its racing teams. If one thinks that individual drivers on two-driver F1 teams get "fair and equal" treatment from their own teams during the season, one has been watching Formula One racing with his eyes and ears closed for decades. 

FIA President Max Mosley, who seems to love to rub salt in McLaren's wounds, released a statement on the issue that read in part, "It is the role of the FIA to ensure that the rules of the sport are respected and that fairness is applied consistently for all competitors."

Hey, we're a bigger supporter of the rules and of fairness than FIA seems to be, based upon the fact the esteemed sanctioning committee allowed two drivers on a team that cheated blatantly this year to win its most prestigious title, but suddenly wading into team management is a whole different story. To use a stick-and-ball sport analogy, should the National Football League weigh in on the Rex Grossman-Brian Griese quarterback controversy? Should the NFL appoint a team scrutineer to make certain Chicago Bear coaches didn't favor one over the other?

No less an authority than Sir Jackie Stewart scoffed at the effort by FIA to meddle in what he considered team affairs.

"It's a dangerous precedent," he told BBC Sport. "The FIA is paid to govern the sport, not manage the teams."

To which we say, "Amen."