Hey everyone, this is my first ever post, so please be gentle! But just thought I'd get my opinion across.
Was just wondering what other Formula 1 fans (not just Ferrari fans) thought of Massa's extremely soft penalty at last weekend's race. Not taking anything away from the guy, he drove brilliantly and deserved to win.
I can't help but feel that if it was Hamilton (or any other non-Ferrari driver for that matter) the punishment would have been much more severe.
I mean if any of you saw the GP2 feature race, you will have seen two drivers (sorry cant remember who they were now) receive drive through penalties for their dangerous release from the pits, no worse than Massa's example in question. Yet he received "just" a £10.000 fine for the same offence.
I just can't help but feel that the FIA are extremely biased towards Ferrari, and them wanting them to win both championships.
Take Hungary last year for example, with the whole Alonso-Hamilton qualifying fiasco. If it had been two Ferrari drivers, would they really have lost all their constructors points for the weekend!?
More recently this year, the blocking punishment on McLaren in Malaysia, and Hamilton's rather harsh drive-through penalty in France!? These events together with last weekend in Valencia made me think.
I'm sorry but I can't help but feel there's a pro-Ferrari/anti-McLaren conspiracy going on in the comically run FIA. So many decisions seem to go just one way, the way of the prancing horse!
Anyone agree with me?
Or do you think I'm talking rubbish and being paranoid?
Opinions please..............
Thank you.
35 comments Last one added 8 months ago — Leave a Comment
Saraswathi Siriginia 10 months ago
looks like it, doesn't it?
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Paul 10 months ago
No, I do not agree whatsoever. The fact is that McLaren have been helped by the FIA more than any other team. Where were the sanctions when they were caught with a cheating tire? How did they escape last years fiasco, with little more than a slap on the hand a fine? Why was nothing said about hamilton's team mate, letting him pass, after a conversation with Dennis (interesting that Heikki signed a new deal a week later)? The English media and hamilton/McLaren fans have lost all objectivity. The FIA are not to blame here, it is silly ramblings of the aforementioned group!
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Anne Doe 10 months ago
I agree with some points there Paul. Mclaren got of fairly lightly last year, yes they were thrown out of the c. championship and given a fine, but the FIA allowed their drivers to keep going and let them have a shot at the WDC, and they have not been thrown out of this years c. championship which probably would have happened in the olden days.
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Ryan Wood 10 months ago
Quote; 'How did they escape last years fiasco, with little more than a slap on the hand (and) a fine?'
Ok so stripping a Team of all its Points (Drivers points are not the teams points, they are their own, so these are not included), and then slapping them with a $100 million fine, the largest sporting fine to ever be awarded, for simply having an employee who was GIVEN (note: not stolen, given) Ferrari data by a FERRARI EMPLOYEE, and then maybe looking at it, and using small parts of it. This isn't cheating, its more like borrowing, and anyway using other teams designs is rife in Formula One and has always been.
Silly little narrow-minded Tifosi!
P.S. Congrats on winning 'Most Controversial Writer' you thoroughly deserved it.
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Paul 10 months ago
Ryan, you need to read the sporting regulations for F1! It is very much against the rules to use any other teams intellectual property. The laws that govern the sport treat those properties as a patent and as such can run foul of the courts. One more thing, I have noticed that twice on this one article you have resorted to personal attacks, my suggestion, shut you mouth! Never mind you having a go at me, I can handle it, but leave Jane alone, she is a quality member, who does nothing to anybody here, so back off!
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baz 82 10 months ago
I agree 100% Paul. If anything, the FIA are NOT biased to Ferrari - but rather to making the sport exciting for spectators. That's why McLaren's drivers could continue in the Drivers Championship last year, and that's why Massa (who I don't entirely believe should have been penalised anway) excaped without sanction.
You bring up two very interesting points about the English media/ Hamilton fans and Heikki playing second fiddle to Hamilton - no wonder there was so much TEAM HARMONY in Hungary when Lewis won the pole and the race (poor Massa).
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mark andrew 10 months ago
Paul , Ryans post was aimed at you , he never mentioned Jane anywhere so cut out the macho " im sticking up for a woman" out ,
Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan are the two criminals in last years Spygate scandal , no one else , Ron Dennis reported it to the FIA himself and you know it Paul yet you keep banging on about how bloody hard done by Ferrari have been .
Ferrari have had MANY more let offs than Mclaren 110% , 100 million dollar fine is NOT a let off , thats 4 times the teams yearly budget , id call that unfair severe punishment , then Mclaren were on for the constructors and they got stripped of that , even more cash lost .
Ferrari got unfair treatment at magny cours , valencia , canada , in the spy gate scandal , all in which mclaren were unfairly penalised , plus 4 other instances of unfair treatment to merc , ferrari always got their own way in schumi's era too .
I cant believe your so blind Paul , Ferrari International Assistance = FIA .
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Paul 10 months ago
Mark, you know I can guess exactly what you are going to say, before I even read your comments. As usual uninformed statements, driven by the drivel that comes from the English media. Don't they say that Fish and Chips were invented to find a good use for an English newspaper?
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Glen Holloway 10 months ago
Alright, cheers for commenting. I agree with what you say with the way Hamilton and McLaren are portrayed in the british media, and the way the general public has jumped on the formula 1 bandwagon. However ive been an F1 fan for 15 years (and im on 20) and yes, il admit i am a McLaren fan, but not so much a Hamilton one. I think he is a quality driver and will definately be a multiple world champion, but he has atrcacted the wrong sort of atention to F1 with almost imediate sucess. I for one was one of the few British McLaren fans that didnt want him to win the title last year.
Above all im an F1 and a motorsport fan rather than McLaren and Hamilton fan, and just want the sport I love to be ran fairly by trustworthy people. Politics are bound to effect a sport like ours, but i think over recent seasons they have taken to much of the focus away from the on track action. All i want is for the governing bodies to be as fair as possible and put the focus back on the sport, not the politics. But im sure im not alone with that one.
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Ryan Wood 10 months ago
How was my comment a personal attack, all i said was see above for Ferrari fans views. Paul how dare you tell me to shut up, I have never insulted you, just disagreed with you. Read my comment again, and you should realise ther was no personal attacks behind it at all, I apologise if you've read it that way! I honestly didn't mean to insult anybody, and never would, all I said was see above for Ferrari fans views on this subject!
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Anne Doe 10 months ago
All the debates on bleachers seem to go on when i'm out for a meal...
I'm going to only eat at internet cafes now.
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Paul 10 months ago
Ryan, my comments were a direct response to your attack on Jane, as I said You can say what you like about me!.........................................................................................
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Glen, thanks for your comments, I do appreciate your perspective, while I do not agree that the FIA are targeting McLaren. The reality is the way the system works, the FIA does not control the stewards. They are drawn by a lottery for each race, the stewards put into the draw are those with a special license and not of the same nationality as event being drawn for!
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Long John Silver 10 months ago
yeah - very good first article
but - there are somethings in life - that are just gonna hap independent of where you like it or not, whether its fair or not ...
so yeah - just take it on the chin and get on with it glen
cheers -
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Long John Silver 10 months ago
btw - very good first effort
so am giving you 5 starz mate
cheers
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Anne Doe 10 months ago
Welcome to Bleachers.
Like LJ says, good first effort, but I can tell you support McLaren, correct me if i'm wrong.
The malaysia penalties were just, Kovy and Hamilton were on the racing line. As for France, he kept the advantage by going onto the run off area, he should have just given it back and attempted to overtake him again. Ferrari have not made many mistakes like this, therefore they have not been penalized and rightly so.
If there is an anti-Mclaren policy in the FIA, why do the FIA allow Mclaren to be the sole provider of the ECU's? The Mclaren is the car that is the most compliant with the ECU's, giving them an unfair advantage.
But this particular penalty concerns Ferrari and Force India, Mclaren were not involved. People say 'What if it where McLaren' but the fact of the matter is, it wasn't. The FIA have served Ferrari with penalties this season, many people seem to forget that because they are not as widely publicised.
I don't believe that the FIA are absolutely unbiased, as long as ferrari are the oldest team in the sport, they will always have a little leniency, thats applies in any sport, but the FIA are fairer than the media make them out to be.
Oh and 5 stars, if any article makes me write a comment this long then its a gotta be a good one.
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Ryan Wood 10 months ago
Nice first article Glen,
I totally agree, the FIA are extremely biased towards Ferrari. I know every single Ferrari fan (see above for 2 examples) will deny this, and of course they are going to, but sometimes they seem a little blind to FIA decisions. On numerous occasions Ferrari have gotten off lightly, start of 2007 season Ferrari ran illegal flooring on the cars in Australia, they won the race, and got to keep the points even though the FIA rules stated the moveable flooring was illegal. I can name many more cases, but we don't have all day...
There was an article in the newspaper yesterday written by Sir Jackie Stewart, who on numerous occasions has suggested the FIA being biased toward Ferrari. Also many more ex-drivers (martin brundle, Damon Hill etc have also said the same, so it can't just be Mclaren fans claiming it).
5 stars! Well done.
P.S. FIA = Ferrari International Assistance.
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Anne Doe 10 months ago
Ryan don't you dare resort to a personal attack by calling me silly!
There is no 'I' in team, and it is the duty of all team members not to accept any kind of information, had they reported it instead of accepting it I think that Ferrari should have instead been served with the fine. But it is the responsibilty of everyone in the team to abide by the rules, and if an individual from that team breaks them, then the team go down with them.
In response to the moveable floors in 07, yes they were illegal, but so were the mass dampers used by Renault in 2005 and 2006, yet they were not stripped of their trophies. Ferrari would have had every right to complain if they were stripped of their points.
Sir Jackie Stewart was one of the first people to call for Max Mosleys resignation. Why? Because it is fairly widely known that he does not get along with Max or the FIA. Martin Brundle was an ex Mclaren driver, and Damon Hill is a self-confessed Mclaren fan.
I did not deny in my comment that I feel that Ferrari do have a little leniency, perhaps you should read it again before you call me narrow minded!!!
P.S Everytime you write Ferrari International Assistance, I will write Mclaren = McCheaters at the end of my comments to see how much it frustrates you.
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Ryan Wood 10 months ago
I never said anyone was silly, just a little oblivious!
And none of my comments were aimed at you jane!!!
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Ryan Wood 10 months ago
...and secondly, how was my comment a personal attack on anybody, its simply saying see above for a ferrari fans view on this subject,.
I apologise if you've read it that way, and mean no harm in my comment.
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Anne Doe 10 months ago
I wasn't bothered about the see above for examples bit. It was this part:
"Silly little narrow-minded Tifosi!"
That bit does include me, I don't believe you are refering to all ferrari fans, however your comment implies that we are all narrow minded and silly. Thats how I took it offensively. Sorry that I was angry at what now seems like such an insignificant comment.
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Ryan Wood 10 months ago
Sorry Jane, that comment, i kind of regretted writing after I posted, It wasn't aimed at yourself, it was aimed at Paul, as I really believe he can't see the bias towards Ferrari, it was a little harsh (sorry Paul), but definitely not aimed at you Jane - you justified your comment, and explained why you thought what you did, paul rarely does this, and just states that Mclaren are in the wrong all the time, thats why i called him narrow-minded.
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Ryan Wood 10 months ago
oh, my comment should of said tifoso! not tifosi!
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L.J. Burgess 10 months ago
I was under the impression that Ferrari had purchased a controlling majority in F1 years ago?
I need to get out more often.
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Ryan Wood 10 months ago
You know what, it wouldn't surprise me if they had, and would explain a lot.
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Ted Voulgaris 10 months ago
Fans tend to see what they want to see and to explain things as they want them to be. It's very difficult to be objective when you are a fan of a particular team. GP2 drivers get away with incredibly aggressive driving that is simply not allowed in F1, so it's difficult to compare penalties between the two series. My own view is that there are many close calls during pit exit and the drivers virtually always sort them out with no contact. I think that no contact/no penalty is reasonable--just as it virtually always is on track. Since passing is so difficult on track (hopefully that will change in 09 with the changes) drivers are not going to play "after you" with their competition while trying to make the "pass" in the pits.
All things considered, I don't think the FIA favors any one team. The biggest problem with penalties is that there is not (last I knew) a permanent team of stewards that moves from race to race but, rather, new local stewards at every race. If this is still true, it's probably the basis for much of the controversy over this penalty vs. that penalty. And, as I said, fans tend to see what they want to see in various controversies.
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Paul 10 months ago
Ted, regarding stewards, there is a system that has been in place for some time. There are three Stewards for each event. They work under the jurisprudence of Race Director Charlie Whiting. They examine reports submitted by officials then as in a court case, have a trail and when a conclusion is drawn, they decide on the sanctions. These three stewards, are not the same for each event in order to protect the rights of the teams (this is approved by the teams). The stewards are nominated by the FIA from amongst holders of the Stewards' super license. The third Steward is designated by the National Sporting Authority of the country in which GP is taking place. The Stewards appointed by the FIA are never from the same country as the event being held. Their powers are quite strong, they can impose sanctions, as set out in the ISC, they can even have the team and or driver to be summoned before the World Motor Sport Council.
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baz 82 10 months ago
I'm not sure if anyone ever reads sub-comments, so I'll post this again.
I agree 100% Paul. If anything, the FIA are NOT biased to Ferrari - but rather to making the sport exciting for spectators. That's why McLaren's drivers could continue in the Drivers Championship last year, and that's why Massa (who I don't entirely believe should have been penalised anway) excaped without sanction.
Paul, you also bring up two very interesting points about the English media/ Hamilton fans and Heikki playing second fiddle to Hamilton - no wonder there was so much TEAM HARMONY in Hungary when Lewis won the pole and the race (poor Massa).
Oh and Jane, Mclaren = McCheaters........ lol! Love it! I could come up with some harsher ones and more fitting, like McUpTheirOwnBritishArses for one........ But hey. F1 is a business just as much as it is a sport. It has it's heroes and villians and that's why we watch it - heck, it ain't for the passing :)
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Ben Auty 10 months ago
Ha ha ha ... Great first article ... If you where 1 week earlier this would have been killer in the amount of posts you would have got for it ... Check out my last article and you will see what I think about this ...
Now before I answer here this is a note for anyone who fancies a go at my post, I am not interested in kicking off the debate again, this is merely MY "OPINION" ... MY opinion ... So you guys need to respect that, I agree that there are arguments both ways and I can get on board for both parties ... For my side on things in depth you can see my last article ...
But for now ... The FIA LOVE FERRARI ... McLaren wont win shit with FIA at the controls loving the red cars!
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Paul 10 months ago
I see you are preparing your excuses, for when hamilton does not take the title!
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Ben Auty 10 months ago
No need for excuses when he does though mate !
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Billy Sexton 10 months ago
wow... nice first article.
its obvious FIA favour ferrari over mclaren and i don't give two flying f***s what any tifosi has to say about it. we all know that if hamilton was in massa's position on sunday he woulda got a drive through staright away, but massa gets a fine because his favourite colour is red.
kovy gets penilised for "impeding" mark webber and some other dude (forgot who sorry) despite webber and the other guy getting through the round of qualifying.
fia have it in for MM. end of.
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Glen Holloway 10 months ago
Haha, your a bit more controversial than me. but i would have to agree with you, altough not to the same extent. I think the FIA do favour Ferrari but I can see why the Tifosi would think not. But all this crap about Ferrari being prefered beacuse they are the oldest team really annoys me. I mean if Alfa Romeo came back into F1 would they get special treatment for the same reasons?
Thanks for agreeing with me tho. haha
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Jamie Arnold 10 months ago
I think that if anybody deserved to be punished for Massa leaving the pits early it should have been Ferrari, why should the driver be punished, he was told it was ok to go so he went, not his fault whatsoever! also you would have thought a wide enough pit exit would have been built on a new track.
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Aron Dell 10 months ago
here haven't been any all season.
You want consistency in the rulings, you've got them!
Heidfield released into the path of Rosberg in Melbourne. Gains an advantage, but no penalty!
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/9131/rosbergheidfieldaustralsw6.jpg
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matt king 8 months ago
How about the FIA handing out another point to Massa today at fuji. Disgusting, bourdais was clearly cut up by Felippe. Furthermore, how was Massa let off so lightly for cutting the chicane and spinning Hamilton? I have completely lost faith in the system this season.
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