Comments for The Checkered Flag

Comment on Opinion: Ferrari Team Orders – Why It Was Wrong by Dai Mccann

Dai Mccann — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:00:26 +0000

I think we’re in agreement, let’s get rid of the farcical rule and be done with it.

Ferrari have always led the way in issues of team orders, Collins is one of the prime examples as you rightly say. In an ironic twist though, the ‘old man’ always used to make sure that all of his drivers knew that if one of them had the lead, then the others could not attack him – I bet Felipe wishes Enzo had still been around on Sunday.

In other news, my first opinion piece looks like it has succeeded in provoking opinion – must be one of the most commented on on the site.

Comment on Travis Pastrana Pulls Out Of Best Trick Event by James Dunford

James Dunford — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:16:58 +0000

Gutted, can’t believe it! Real shame, at least he is still in another four events though.

Comment on Opinion: Ferrari Team Orders – Why It Was Wrong by Alasdair Lindsay

Alasdair Lindsay — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:10:55 +0000

Maybe I’m just sceptical, but businesses take shortcuts everywhere. Or at least, push the rules to the absolute limit, just as every team on the grid does.

In reality team orders have been around since the dawn of Formula One – especially in the 50s when for example Peter Collins gave up the championship to Ferrari team leader Juan Manuel Fangio when the latter’s car broke down at the 1956 Italian GP.

The way I see it, team orders in one form or another are impossible to ban completely, so just ditch Article 39.1. Teams will not let their drivers race against each other under any circumstances so it’s not like it changes anything.

Comment on Yamamoto to replace Chandhok in Hungary by Vince Pettit

Vince Pettit — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:38:56 +0000

My thoughts indeed!

Comment on Opinion: Ferrari Team Orders – Why It Was Wrong by Dai Mccann

Dai Mccann — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:37:44 +0000

“Tell that to a group of CEOs and they’ll just point and laugh at you. Unfortunately.”

I think you would be hard pushed to find anyone with the wherewithal to reach the upper echelons of business who would knowingly breach the laws which govern his industry.
Even if you did, the law surrounding corporate governance would see to it that he wasn’t a CEO for very long.

Comment on Opinion: Ferrari Team Orders – Why It Was Wrong by Alasdair Lindsay

Alasdair Lindsay — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:59:48 +0000

Tell that to a group of CEOs and they’ll just point and laugh at you. Unfortunately.

Article 39.1 is just impossible to enfore correctly every time because of they way it’s worded. The FIA need to hire some sort of Oxford Literacy Professor to proof-read the rules to make sure they’re iron-clad apparently!

Comment on Yamamoto to replace Chandhok in Hungary by Alasdair Lindsay

Alasdair Lindsay — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:52:43 +0000

Go home Colin Kolles.

Comment on Should number two drivers exist in Formula One? by vonstarhemberg

vonstarhemberg — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:42:08 +0000

People spend a lot of money to go to the races or to have a satellite or cable channel to watch them. A race which can be determined by a greedy manufacturer is not a race, it becomes a farce.
A crummy $ 100,000.- fine for Ferrary (the cost of a new set of doors for an F-40) is a joke and shows that the whole sport is rigged.
In the past few years we had more “spy scandals”, (Alonso and McLaren etc), lying (Hamilton), cheating (Senna), “creative management of a win” (Briatore and Alonso) etc. It makes one gag
(I also remember Max Mosley and his whores….)
Time for a brand new series with good people. See how well the Rolex Le Mans series is run, or the Le Mans race itself (still a private club….!).
I quit watching or writing about NASCAR when the organization started to sell tickets by allowing people like Edwards, Harvick, Kyle Busch etc. to practice attempted vehicular manslaughter.
It is time for us Formula 1 afficionados to demand some quality for our money or to get together and start thinking about a whole new series.
Cheers from Quebec!

Comment on Opinion: Ferrari Team Orders – Why It Was Wrong by Dai McCann

Dai McCann — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:11:12 +0000

I’ll stick to my narrow perspective, I’m not interested in some idealogically perfect series, neither do I want a say in the running of Formula One, I just want either clarification of, or more preferably, the banning of, article 39.1 of the FIA sporting regulations, and until that stage for people to adhere to it as it stands.

I’m not saying Ferrari are the only team that have ever done it, that McLaren or Red Bull have never done it – I’m just saying that these are the rules that the teams agreed to because of what happened in Austria 2002, and that they should abide by them, until such a time when they are changed, it’s not rocket science.

I agree about F1 turning into a business, but even in business, rules must be obeyed.

Comment on Opinion: Ferrari Team Orders – Why It Was Wrong by Alasdair Lindsay

Alasdair Lindsay — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:39:48 +0000

I don’t think people are looking at this whole incident from a wide enough perspective.

Yes, team orders are wrong in the sense there’s a (rather poorly worded) rule against it, but in the end Formula One has evolved from a sport into a business.

The only way the fans will ever get a say in Formula One again is if every single person that watches it boycotts the sport completely. Until that day comes, the teams will get their way.

Single car teams would solve this problem, but cause others.

You can come up with as many solutions as you like, but none will stop this from happening. If you want a series with cutting edge technology, complete driver parity, fan interaction and equal cars – find an alien race, cause you sure as hell won’t find such a thing here.

Bleak but true.