The legends of Formula One entered the sport safe in the knowledge that it would be fair and there would be no favouritism. Now you enter thinking that you may drive your heart out, only to have the result changed hours after the race.
Legends who raced before Formula One like Tazio Nuvolari made racing what it is today, with heroic performances and true bravery. They were racing in fair times. We are not.
Legends like Niki Lauda raced in Formula One when it was a gentleman's sport. You would turn up, hope to win, and accept it gracefully if you didn't. He was racing in fair times. We are not.
Legends like Ayrton Senna raced in Formula One with pure aggression and determination, with little care for the opposition. He was racing in fair times. We are not.
Legends like Michael Schumacher, albeit unintentionally, began the change in the sport when he was racing for Ferrari, with the FIA quickly becoming honorary employees of Ferrari with the biased decision. He was not racing in fair times, and it is even worse now.
At the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, the FIA changed the result of a race to benefit their favourite team, Ferrari. Ferrari did not appeal the Hamilton/Raikkonen incident, but the FIA went ahead anyway.
We are not racing in fair times, and until something is done about the FIA, we never will be. Until then, the FIA spit in the face of every single person in the history of Formula One and Grand Prix racing itself.
R.I.P Formula One (Fair Racing) 1950-2008
P.S. Sorry about the terrible pic, only one I could find. If anyone has a pic of a burning chequered flag, upload it please. Cheers.
14 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Cory Pesaturo 10 months ago
If They do not change this ruling - I just may Stop watching what I truly call "My Rligion"
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Adam Amick 10 months ago
Go Michael!
Another fine piece today... (Though the FIA occasionally found fault with Schumacher to attempt to maintain the appearance of "fairness". But then again Schumacher had a history of issues through his career.)
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B Cave 10 months ago
RIP indeed. I think this has mobilised all true F1 fans. I have written to the FIA and signed the online petition.
What a disgrace, what a sad day for F1.
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mark andrew 10 months ago
Your article said it all at the end
RIP Formula one ( Fair Racing ) 1950-2008
well done mate , I cant see many disagreeing with you on this one , Real Racing has died a sad death .
Rest In Peace to F1 an the legends that Died getting this sport to what it should be today ( a great spectacle ) but its not , its now damaged goods .
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Steve Saquella 10 months ago
Great article, I totally agree with you. I couldn't believe it after I watched the race then jumped on the computer a few hours later only to find out that Lewis had been penalized.
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Andy Shaw 10 months ago
What will truly be the end of the sport is if a group of loudly protesting McLaren fans get the result of a Grand Prix changed, just because the stewards have made a decision that they do not agree with.
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Alastair Napier 10 months ago
It stared out as a terrific race with Lewis on Pole with Kimi and Philippe in second and third spot on the grid Lewis made a mistake on the 2nd lap and handed the lead to Kimi he then spent most of the race trying to catch him and regain the lead then the rain came and gave Lewis the chance he wanted and what stared as a terrific race excelled itself to one of the most exciting and dramatic races for a long time this is what all those people spend hard earned money to watch until the stewards decided to demote Lewis by giving him a 25 second drive through penalty however they talk about Hamilton gaining an advantage over Kimi but then Massa would never have caught Hamilton so why give him the victory if indeed Hamilton had done something wrong then disqualify him but how can somebody be give a 25 second drive through penalty when the race has finished and he can't even attempt to comply with the penalty this makes a mockery of the whole thing.
I have bought tickets for the Singapore grand Prix but if they are going to continual spoil exciting racing then it’s time to call it a day as the drivers will stop risking all after why the hell should they if they get stripped of the win for producing exciting racing.
Alastair
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Anthony 10 months ago
Well, after re-re-re-re-re-re-re watching the pass thru at the bus stop,or whats left of it, the FIA or the stewerds interpretation of the rule book is just a bit too crative for me. From shit can USA and the horrible F1 coverage we get over here I gather that the stewards had decided that Hamilton did not give Kimi enough time to regain the advantage that he had if if if if if Hamilton had not skipped the chicane. The FIA regulations simply state that you must give way if you have gained an advantage.
There is no language as to at what point you can re-pass or make an attempt to re-pass an opponent. Someone needs to put a cork in that hole. Obviously a very very grey area of the rules.
Now I try to put myself in the Kimster's spot. OK I am thru the bus and I saw Lewis to my inside thru the chicane where is he , OK he is letting me back thru ,check wheel spin, damn where is Lewis again ? OK, that was the first 2 seconds pehaps out of the chicane. I am feeling this is what the stewards were feeling after review. Regardless ,plain and dry, the rules do not state nor imply any set given amount of time or distance before you can re-attack. Put it in the rule book ,perhaps a drivers last 10 lap average, thru the corner correctly and compare the same stat for the driver who lost the advantage. .1 .2 seconds perhaps in difference calculate the speed and there you have a solid and consistent way to measure lost advantage.
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Paul 10 months ago
He is still supposed to give back the advantage gained. Which of course he did not! If instead of trying the silly pass, that was never going to work and then run off the track, he had yielded, he would have lost all momentum and would have been nowhere close to Kimi. His advantage by going off and coming back on was substantial.
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Peter Jones 10 months ago
two words " Maxs Revenge"
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Cory Pesaturo 10 months ago
We NEED to send Petitions to the SPONSORS - You've got to hit them in the Pocket, because they Only listen to their pockets.
And Anthony - Very Nice "....perhaps a drivers last 10 lap average, thru the corner correctly and compare the same stat for the driver who lost the advantage. .1 .2 seconds perhaps in difference calculate the speed and there you have a solid and consistent way to measure lost advantage."
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Dave Harris 10 months ago
Let's wait for the appeal. If cooler heads don't prevail there perhaps some of this angsting is justified, but it's all an over-reaction.
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Mick Wilby 10 months ago
So what does "FIA" stand for? What does it ACTUALLY mean? I'll tell you- "Ferrari one AGAIN!" Ross Braun says we are all treated the same, well, all except Ferrari, I say. If all teams are equal, how come Ferrari received no penalty for a dangerous release in the pits in Spain, cos you can bet your granny's house that any other team would have been penalised! It seems to have come down to a "lets get McLaren" kind of atitude. Lewis did NOT gain advantage, DID allow Kimi to re-pass, & then just simply outdrove him, but of course, silly me I was forgetting that's only allowed if the poncing hors
e wins.
TOTALLY disgruntled EX F1 fan.
Mick W.
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Benedict Echavez 10 months ago
Well said, great article. Those last two laps at Spa will probably go down in history as one of the most exciting and entertaining racing battles ever witnessed. It's sad that such a display of the skill and determination of both Raikkonen and Hamilton will be forever tainted with a horribly unfair and obviously corrupt ruling. The FIA has proven time and again to be seemingly under the influence of Ferrari, and I too lament the death of (fair) Formula 1.
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Ardis Eaglin 9 months ago
Yeah I understand your point about taking the correct reference point to the era and status of racing during any period in Formula One. Today racing scene its really weird because the drivers are involved and the fans and people who fare serious about the parameters of Formula One are the target of this mode and current reference point of unfair racing. They clearly (Formula One) are not showcasing drivers, even though they have in the recent past have always showcased drivers minimally it seems too protective. The drivers are not driving the car and it seems they are being told to do those malicious things like ferocious blocking and wrecking cars and not competing. Also I believe they're not taking care of the cars intentionally (designers and crews) drivers have driven cars with no oil inside them just to see when they'll overheat all with no pit crew sense whatsoever.
More about the current season with positive input about all of the drivers performances.
Yes I have also thought about the problem when television coverage is better than lets say for example box seats. Well that's quite a stretch to be proper I'd prefer to say when television coverage is really good its good because when you are physically attending an event you can get a better understanding of the magnitude when the race is close to being lost and won. So I think that lazy people can get caught up in good television coverage and miss much of what really happened. When people like stadium and concessions take a hard line stance on this issue I think it becomes more confusing for the people.
About this season in Formula One it seems to be long drawn out physically demanding and I can't see any indication of who benefits more with respect to the drivers. I don't see Lewis Hamilton popularity affecting Button because Hamilton is has been in many long events and Button still has a low profile. Pretty much I would have to say that Formula One regularly has apathetic seasons in the past regardless of who is winning so to me its another bad season. Maybe its the money and fuel that is costing the sport too much investment and operation cost. I would expect with so many young drivers that the season would be much more interesting off the track but I guess their inexperience is affecting the racing output; however, those drivers are finishing those races which seem really long. So I mean they're doing it hopefully they'll not loose interest.
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