The Trials of Formula One

Some time ago I wrote posing the question of why is it that one year Formula One seems to produce one driver who leads the field consistently, and the next year that same driver can hardly get in a first place finish. There was a time when the finish of a race was predictable: Michael Schumacher would win in his Ferrari. That was the case race after race, and year after year. Fans got bored and ticket sales fell. So, Schu retired leaving the field open for anyone to win.

Then we got Fernando Alonso, the pride of Spain, and that was followed by that fabulous year of Lewis Hamilton. That was only last season. This year he has hardly been heard from. What happened?

My question was whether there was a possibility that there was a conspiracy to keep up interest in the sport, so that no one driver would dominate it as had Schumacher. I had speculated that if fans got the idea that races were being fixed they would probably turn their backs. There were allegations of teams ordering one of their drivers to allow the other to go through to win, which would be bad enough. Now we have hard evidence apparently of just such a thing happening.

The case of Renault and the order to Nelson Piquet, Jnr to crash his car to favour Alonso is outrageous. To deliberately do such a thing, with all its unintended dangerous consequences is just not acceptable. Small wonder there was such a furore that resulted in the life time ban from the sport of Renault’s Flavio Briatore over the alleged attempt to fix the outcome of the Singapore race.

There is so much money and so much to gain (and lose) in Formula One that it is hardly surprising that the sport has had more than its share of scandals. I would like to think that when I pay 500 euros to witness a race, what I will be seeing is a pure contest between drivers and constructors. So many people have the impression that wrestling is fixed and phoney that they simply don’t bother with it.

Formula One might well be headed in that direction. Management have got to be tough and vigilant and transparent. Formula One has enough problems already without manufacturing any more.

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael