Ferrari are Back! (to their old tricks again)

Photo by PH-Stop

My next blog post was to have been about my recent visit to the WTCC/F2 at Brands Hatch but having seen the debacle at the Hockenheimring on Sunday I felt compelled to write this rant instead!

For the first time in many a long year, I found myself actually agreeing with Eddie Jordan! (and that takes some doing).

We, the motor racing fans, who support and pay for the tickets, merchandise etc were robbed of a potentially classic race finish.

Ferrari's actions were totally indefensible and completely unnecessary.

Whether it had ended up a one two finish with Massa first and Alonso second or vice verse would have made absolutely no difference to the outcome of the constructors championship.

IF Alonso is to become World Champion once again does he really want to do it with race victories handed to him on a plate by a team mate?

IF he is the superior driver (he imagines himself to be), surely it would have been no problem for him to pass Massa with a LEGITIMATE move on the track?

It would seem that every time something does not go Alonso's way he throws a hissy fit like an adolescent schoolgirl.

Ferrari, like Renault beforehand, it would appear are prepared to pander to these outbursts.

If Massa really wants to become World Champion and is not just in Formula 1 to make money (like Eddie Irvine was in my opinion), he must now be regretting his recent decision to sign a new two year contract with Ferrari.

It is clear that all the time Alonso is in the same team, Massa will be expected to play second fiddle starting with the remainder of this season.

It was cringe worthy watching the pathetic farcical pantomime act put on my various Ferrari personnel post race to demonstrate that no team orders had been given. Even a casual observer of Formula 1 would have had no doubts as to what had just gone on.

Ferrari have been fined US $ 100 k and the matter has been referred to the FIA for further investigation.

Big deal.

The fine is a mere drop in the ocean for Ferrari with an annual budget which runs to hundreds of millions of dollars.

The FIA is now headed by ex Ferrari boss Jean Todt. Hmm, that'll be a very thorough and impartial investigation then I don't think.

The only sanction which would have any meaningful effect, to deter similar actions in the future and go some way to restore the sport's tarnished image would be a points deduction for both Ferraris.

Will it happen?

I think I have a greater chance of signing a Ferrari contract in 2013!

Return of the US Grand Prix - Doomed to Failure

In this life, one thing counts, in the bank large amounts......

Yes, I'm afraid he's at it again. It has been announced that the United States F1 Grand Prix is to be resurrected and held at that world renowned motor racing metropolis of err Austin, Texas from 2012 onwards.

Mr Eccclestone, apparently, has no doubt this will be the perfect venue for F1 in the United States. Do me a favour. The only reason I can see that the US Grand Prix would be held in a backwater like Austin, Texas is the fat cheque that he will receive from the event organisers.

Holding an event in Austin is doomed to failure. It has been reported that the State Government is backing the scheme. If I were a Texan taxpayer and they wanted to put my tax Dollars into Ecclestone's pocket, I'd have the State Governor tarred, feathered and run out of town!

Formula 1 has already had a torrid time in the United States and has never achieved the popularity that it has elsewhere around the globe. In 1991 only 18,000 or so bothered to attend the US GP at Phoenix, Arizona.

In my opinion, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) made a good fist of running the GP from 2000 to 2007 and is the only sensible place to hold an F1 race in the US. After all they know how to put on an event after running the Indy 500 for a century and safely accommodating crowds of up to 500,000.

In 2000, the US GP attracted an estimated crowd of 225,000 - levels of support which other F1 venues around the world can only dream of. The US GP at Indianapolis was fatally damaged, not through any fault of the IMS, but by the Michelin tyre fiasco in 2005 when only six cars competed in the race.

Ecclestone's negotiations with the IMS foundered when they, sensibly, refused to pay his asking price to hold the event. Whilst some GP's receive financial backing from their Governments, the IMS did not have this luxury.

In 2002 I was fortunate to attend the US GP in Indianapolis and ticket prices (from memory)were only around $ 60 or $ 70. Two years later I attended the Belgian GP at Spa. Ticket price (from memory) £ 200 plus....

You hear Ecclestone whinging about low crowd attendances in places like Turkey and China. He blames the organisers for poor promotion but in reality it is the price of tickets which are totally out of the reach of the ordinary "man in the street" race fans.

It's a long time between now and 2012 but if the US GP does take place in Austin, Texas and continues for the full contracted ten races, I'll eat my hat!

What do you think? Do you agree/disagree with me? Why not leave a comment? They are always welcome.

My Motor Sport May

Once again I must apologise for not posting more regularly to this blog. Unfortunately the day job is becoming the evening and weekend job too it seems.

I have given myself a slap on the hand and written out "I must remember to post more regularly" one hundred times.

Well for me the season finally kicked off in earnest over the May Bank Holiday weekend when I attended my first event of the year, the BTCC at Brands Hatch. As you can tell from the picture of Andrew Jordan above, it was a bit of a damp day (understatement of 2010).

Being a die hard BTCC fan, even though I hadn't got around to pre-ordering my ticket online, I decided to go (despite the weather looking a bit iffy before I'd even set off from home).

Ever the eternal optimist, I kept telling myself "it's bound to clear up in a minute" and "the odd shower always livens up the racing".

Well I have to confess it was the wettest, most miserable day I've ever had in all the years I've been going to Brands Hatch. The weather just got worse and worse....

Whilst watching the first race half way up Hailwood Hill, the rain managed to penetrate not one, not two but four layers of clothing including a "waterproof" coat, a sweatshirt, a shirt and a tee shirt. My jeans became so waterlogged they stuck to my legs. My feet were squelching in water inside my boots. My hands went red and eventually numb.

When water started to get into my camera I finally had to admit defeat and decamped to the cosy (and by that time very full!), Hailwood Restaurant.

The first race was historically won by Tom Chilton in the LPG powered Ford Focus. A first LPG victory in the BTCC and Chilton/Ford's first BTCC win since Adam was a lad.

The rain got even worse so I decided to remain holed up in the Hailwood Restaurant and watch race two on the TV. This wasn't actually a complete disaster as there was a good atmosphere in the room with many of my fellow bedraggled racegoers all huddled around the one small TV screen.

It looked like Chilton would take a double victory in race two. Although he crossed the line in front of his team mate Tom Onslow-Cole, there was a subsequent technical issue with the car (something to do with the ride height) and Chilton's victory celebrations were cut short. Onslow-Cole was therefore accredited with the second Ford win of the day.

By the time race three came around later in the afternoon the weather had finally started to dry up a bit. Unfortunately, by this time, many people had already called it a day and were making their way home.

Race three victory was taken by Jackson in the Airwaves BMW who always seems to pull a result out of the bag at Brands Hatch. I was quite pleased with myself as he had been one of my predicted winners of the day. My other predicted winner (Plato) had a largely forgettable day.

After the excitement of the BTCC at Brands Hatch, I watched the mundane Spanish Grand Prix. I was absolutely gutted to see Lewis' car let go two laps from the end of the race and miss out on a podium finish. It was good to see Mark Webber take a well earned victory after all the years of poor luck he has endured.

The Monaco Grand Prix although predictable is still one of my favourites on the F1 calendar. Highlights for me were a back to back victory for Webber and seeing Schumacher up to his old tricks and getting penalised (for once).

The surprise for me has been how well Kubica is going in the Renault. I had a feeling pre-season that the Renault would be pretty mediocre but it seems to be a half decent car.

Most gutting moment was seeing Barichello crash out after being on course for some decent points. Apparently the accident was caused by a loose manhole cover being sucked up by the car's downforce. Something that will have to be looked into for future events.

Well hopefully you have enjoyed reading this post. If you have (or haven't for that matter!), please feel free to leave a comment. They are always welcome.