The Show Must Go On: Are F1's Rules There To Be Bent?

With just one week to go until the start of the 2009 F1 season, controversy again threatens to overshadow the racing as the new aerodynamic regulations come under ever closer scrutiny.

Some teams have argued that the diffusers being run by the Williams, Toyota, and Brawn teams are illegal under the new regulations.

The FIA, through its president Max Mosley, has stated that it is too late for the governing body to rule definitively on whether the designs are truly against the rules, or merely a clever interpretation that adheres firmly to the regulations.

That decision will be left up to the race stewards at next weekend's Australian Grand Prix, who, according to reports, are almost certain to receive a protest from at least one F1 team, declaring that the radical diffusers are illegal.

Exasperated sighs and mutterings have been heard throughout the F1 world in the wake of this news, with the near-guarantee that on the first weekend of racing this year, we will be more concerned about the legality of the bodywork on some of the cars than about the racing itself.

F1 pundit and former ITV commentator James Allen, on his official blog, commented that Formula One looks set to shoot itself in the foot again, spoiling what promises to be an extremely exciting start to the season with yet more politics and strife.

This raises the question of whether the need to put on a good show for the fans is more important than the integrity of the rules.

Back at last year's Belgian Grand Prix, a thrilling climax to the race saw Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen duelling for the lead, with Hamilton taking the spoils after Raikkonen dumped his Ferrari in the wall with just over a lap to go.

The raw excitement and adrenaline generated by this spectacular finish was soured in the hours after the race, after Hamilton was deemed to have gained an unfair advantage over his Finnish rival by cutting a corner.

Hamilton was penalized 25 seconds, dropping him from first to third.

The incident prompted much anguish in Formula One circles and beyond, with many fans of the opinion that the intervention of the stewards had ruined what was one of the best finishes to a Grand Prix in a long time.

Whether or not Hamilton did gain an advantage in cutting that chicane, and hence if he deserved to be punished, are beyond the scope of this article, but the fact remains that the stewards of the race weekend studied the rule book and acted as they saw appropriate.

In other words, the rules were upheld in spite of the fact that, in doing so, it inevitably darkened what could otherwise have been a great day for the sport.

F1's race stewards, in Belgium last year as in Australia this weekend, are charged with enforcing the FIA regulations laid out in the various documents that comprise the F1 rule book.

Their job, therefore, is not to consider the implications of their actions, or the potential publicity that it may generate, but to dispassionately and fairly ensure that everyone is following the regulations, and to punish those who transgress.

By asking that the race stewards take into account the potential damage to the sport that could be caused by upholding any protest against the legality of the Williams, Toyota and Brawn diffusers, we are bringing into the equation an extra element not factored in by the FIA regulations.

There is no regulation that reads, "Certain rules may be suspended if deemed necessary for good publicity," and when it is phrased that way, most fans would be relieved that this is the case.

Yet some still believe that the necessity of providing a good show should override the implementation of the rules.

If the diffusers in question are found to be illegal, it would be outrageous for the Australian Grand Prix stewards to allow them to race under the reasoning that excluding them would cause too much negative publicity.

Far more damaging than the exclusion of illegal cars would be the suspension of the rules for the purposes of avoiding uninformed criticism; then the sport truly would descend into farce.

Whatever the outcome of the inevitable protests next weekend, the job of Australian Grand Prix steward is going to be very difficult indeed, as is a position on the FIA Court of Appeal where this case will undoubtedly end up.

But whoever ends up making the final decision, it must be remembered that the regulations should be upheld at all times; if implementing them is causing problems, then perhaps it is the rules that need to be changed rather than their implementation.