I REALLY REALLY hope that Ferrari will get their asses kicked for this...you can't be more open about breaking the rules. But I fear that the FIA will just ignore this once more. If McLaren had done this, they'd probably have gotten disqualified during the race already, banned for two more races and fined with €50 million...I'm exaggerating of course, but you just know that there's no way any other team would get away with something like that, while it's hard to imagine Ferrari getting into trouble...they'll probably get fined €100,000 or something like that... If this result stands, I'm through with the FIA...seriously this favoritism is too much to take...in 1998, McLaren's braking system was outlawed because they were too fast with it, in 1999 when Ferrari broke the rules, all of a sudden there was some wiggle room and they were allowed to continue driving with their illegal flaps...and it has been like that forever. Just this year, Schumacher was penalized for an entirely legal passing maneuver... I'm angry...
WTF...I can't ********ing believe it...Ferrari actually got a mere $100,000 penalty...they must be ********ing kidding right? And here's me thinking I was exaggerating with my last post... Even Ferrari got a $1,000,000 penalty in 2002 when Barichello had to make way for Schumacher when it wasn't illegal...Now it is illegal and they get a tenth of that? They should be disqualified at the very least. This is a travesty. Thankfully, some others have already said they would protest in case Ferrari would get off lightly. But if this decision stands, I'm through with F1...seriously. I've had enough of this ********ing bullshit. The FIA once again makes fools out of themselves. What good is a law if you won't enforce it. And the way Ferrari went about it is the icing on the cake. They didn't even try to conceal what happened. It's a ********ing slap in the face of every honest fan.
Nope, it's against the letter of the law. It was introduced after the 2002 incident when Ferrari made Barichello let Schumacher pass. A little trivia: Back then Ferrari got a $1,000,000 penalty even though it wasn't against the letter of the law. Now it is and they get what? A tenth of that? They must be ********ing kidding me...wait, who's president of the FIA again? Jean Todt? And what was his last job? Head of the Ferrari F1 team...oh yeah, now I remember...
That's the thing. And other teams which are playing the "holier than thou" attitude are quite hypocritical...How many "Don't forget to look after your tyres, fuel, etc" occurrences on the radio that helped them have the result they wanted ? It's actually more the fashion than what happened that's shocking. I think that Alonso closing on Massa and pulling a move at the hairpin with the Brazilian not resisting would have been more in the spirit. Anyway, Felipe made it as obvious as he could and strangely even the Ferrari management's behaviour seemed to indicate that they wanted to make a point there... And well, even Schumi recognised that this move was more understandable than the one in 2002 since only Alonso can reasonably fight for the championship. But still, all of this leaves an unnecessary bad taste for the viewers and even the victors... F1 has always been a drama queen and despite all what the media will say, they love that, don't they ?
I understand they want them to race. I get that. And if I'm being completely honest, I'd probably be perturbed if it was Button scooting over for Hamilton. But Alonso's my guy, so I'm not really put off by. But at the same time, if you're going to have a constructor's championship along side the individual driver's championship, there's going to be competing interests. And in my opinion, since Massa was the slower driver, you let your teammate by for the win and hold off the rest of the field. This should especially be the case if your teammate has a realistic shot at the title. In this case, all parties win. On one level, it's unsporting. But after what happened to Webber and Vettle, it's completely understandable.
It doesn't matter whether it's understandable or not. We could have a long argument about whether or not to allow team orders. But the fact is that they're illegal. We could also have a long discussion about the benefits of the offside rule, but as long as the rule is in place, you'll get punished for being offside.
Well, again, I ask did Ferrari explicitly tell Massa to let Alonso pass? That's where the "letter" versus the "spirit" of the violation lies. Now, if Massa, on his own, let Alonso by, would people then assume that clearly a directive from Team Ferrari was passed down prior to the race?
The whole story behind this incident can be traced to FIA meaning: Ferrari International Assistance The fine is well deserved but it is way to low, even by their own FIA standards. The whole incident wouldn't be so offensive if it hadn't happened so shortly after the pace car incident when Alonso and Ferrari's demands were just short of asking for the whole race to stop and give them a minute head start...
Well, as with everything illegal, you don't need 100% proof. Most court cases are decided by evidence. So what's the evidence here? 1st: radio communication Alonso to Ferrari (driving behind Massa): "This is ridiculous" Ferrari to Massa: "Fernando is faster than you, did you understand that message?" Masse lets Alonso pass in the most obvious manner Ferrari to Massa: "OK, good lad. Just stick with him now. Sorry mate." 2nd: Telemetric data Massa clearly didn't hit the throttle at the point Alonso took over, you could see the revs being very low. Also, the lap where Alonso passed Massa was the slowest lap by Massa (at least in the second half of the race). FIA has access to all the telemetric data, so they know that there were no problems, no fuel shortage, nothing. So knowing all that, we're at 99% proof, which is enough in most courts. And it was also enough for FIA, they did punish Ferrari after all, it's just that the punishment is ridiculous, basically rendering the rule meaningless...and I'm 100% sure that if McLaren (or any other team) did anything like this, they would have gotten disqualified AT THE VERY LEAST! The FIA is just a club of crooks. They've killed the excitement of F1 already when they banned refueling, now they've killed any kind of integrity that was left. This is a disgrace.
I'm not saying it wasn't clear that he let him pass. I'm not saying that Team Ferrari didn't let imply that he should let him pass. I'm saying they didn't explicitly say move over. But I will admit that the additional radio chatter is a bit more damning. Now, if Alonso was pressing to pass and Massa eventually conceded the position knowing that he wasn't faster, would you still be pissed if he knew that fighting to hold on would probably result in another Red Bull incident? Would you be pissed if prior to the race, there was some agreement between the drivers and team principal that they would concede position to the faster car in order to avoid such accidents? Or is this just really sticking in your craw because it appears that Ferrari has gotten away with something?
If I were Massa, I wouldn't have gone to the podium. He was cheated out of his chance to win the race by his team. If Alonso was that much faster than Massa, race him and pass him. It didn't matter in the constructor's points, Ferrari was still going to finish 1-2. This was his team blatantly hanging him out to dry. And yet another finish outside the points for my Williams boys. It's sad really to see a program with this much history rendered to an afterthought. Makes you wonder if Sir Frank is going to eventually say "screw it" and pull the plug.
No, they didn't explicitly say that Massa should move over, but they don't need to in order to be found out. We actually wouldn't even need the radio chatter. All we need is the telemetrical data which clearly proves whether driver A let driver B pass or not. And I would feel the same way if there was an agreement prior to the race, because it's against the rules. Just as I would be pissed if a ref is not calling any fouls by team A, but is nit-picky with everyone else. It doesn't matter whether he comes out and openly says: I'm not calling anything on team A, or whether he does it without saying anything. It would be a disgrace either way and I would be angry either way. And the fact that Ferrari broke the rules so openly shows that they know ********ing well that they have the FIA in their pocket. It's a big ******** you to all honest fans. It's not just handling the ball on the goal line, it's purposely handling the ball on the goal line, knowing you get away with it, because you have the ref in your pocket. How can you not be insulted by that kind of behavior?
Personally, I'm not buying the whole FIA conspiracy stuff ; some persons have a very selective memory as Ferrari has lost a shitload of points in the two last races where they felt they were undone by the federation to the point that some did think that a conspiracy was going the other way round. It's always like that. And Mac Laren has had many calls going their way with year with 'reprimands' instead of hard sanctions. Thre's really not that much substance behind this conspiracy theory except maybe that the FIA would like a 3 way battle for the championship. That's actually irrelevant, a driver can let his teammate (or anyone else for that matter) pass for whatever reason he wants. What is forbidden are team orders, not team play. So it goes back to square one and Ferrari giving the order and exploiting a grey area. Something that - once again - happened in other teams since 2002, except in more subtle way. Once again, personally, it's the ruthless cynical way it was done that bothers me as it kind of shows a certain contempt for the race, the fans, etc. Not the first time that you can feel that those guys in the business really live in a bubble and aren't really able to grasp how things will be perceived outside which in return speaks volume about them. They even seem surprised by the controversy it has caused... But let's make no mistake, if the championship is on the line, it will happen again in a way or another at Ferrari or elsewhere.
Williams can be proud to be the best Cosworth team. Sir frank has already given the keys to Adam Parr as far as being the actual director is concerned. The long term strategy of the team is still to survive and wait for an exclusive partnership with a manufacturer which may happen with the next generation of F1 engines. By now, it's certainly difficult to break the top 5 teams to enter the points even if Williams has made a lot of progress lately. Unfortunately for them, Force India or Sauber can be as strong here and there...
agree with most of that. and let's not forget that it's not the end of the matter yet. Ferrari could still be disqualified for that. there will be a hearing later on. but I've got to say, I find that a pretty stupid rule to begin with. it's a bit like outlawing weed. quite pointless, and introduced on the back of a rather hysterical reaction. if I'd be team principle I'd probably not regard weed as being illegal either...
I only watched the beginning of the season, but Vettel seems like a worthy champion from what I read so far on the news.
Well, Webber seems to be in a strong position but just like Button at the end of last year, he seems to be "banking" on his mattress of points. One DNF or one bad result and it looks like he will be vulnerable. Alonso's resurgence is impressive and if Ferrari fail to win the championship, they will reflect on all the errors that occurred earlier in the season. That said the Red Bull-Renault RB6 is still the car to beat and it is their championship to lose. As far as Mc Laren are concerned, the long straights of the Korean track may suit them ; like Button seems to think, it's win or Game Over there. Yet, on the whole, it feels like they'd really need to pull a rabbit out of their hat and a lot of luck for one of their drivers to claim the title at this point... Anyway, thanks to Kamui Kobayashi, the "Parisian" Japanese driver for the entertainment. He's taking the torch once carried by Sato and Alesi.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23pHhQv3T14"]YouTube - Kobayashi shouts leeroy jenkins pass Heidfeld, Japan Grand prix F1[/ame] And context... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU"]YouTube - Leeroy Jenkins[/ame]
The Kobayashi vid was already blocked by the FOM -damn you, you evil greedy dwarf ! - but thanks for the second video. Since it's likely to be another net meme, I'll get it next time !
I was told it's at least four years old. That's what I get for not being into WoW. Oh well, that's the beauty of the internet. It's nice to know I can still be surprised or entertained by something out there.
Japanese fans, gotta love them ! Featuring Takuma Sato back from the Indycar championship for the occasion.