Formula 1 - is it corrupt?
Posted: 00:06 Mon 22 Oct 2007
I have watched 16 of the 17 F1 GPs this year and been impressed by the level of competition following the departure of Michael Schumacer at the end of last season. I have been particularly impressed with young Mr Hamilton's ability to largely ignore the political side of the sport and just get on with driving really fast.
However, 2 incidents lead me to suspect that this was not going to be Lewis's year regardless of how fast he could drive.
1. At the Chinese GP 2 weeks ago his team left him out on the track for 2 or 3 laps with a rear tyre that was quite obviously falling apart. He did not finish the race, and therefore did not clinch the title, as a direct result of this seemimgly stupid decision.
2. Old Bernie Eccleston (son of Yoda?) was interviewed on the grid 5 minutes before today's race in Brazil and declared that he didn't think this was a good time for Lewis to win the title and that he thought Rikonen deserved to win. I watched with utter amazement as Lewis's McLaren Mercedes (which has been bullet proof all season) developed an "electrical fault" which seemed to disengage his gearbox for 40 seconds on lap 7 as 17 of his competitors tore off into the distance. A quick instruction over the radio to change a setting on his computer and hey presto the car was perfect once more. I was then further amazed to see his team switch him to a 3 pitstop strategy whilst everyone else stayed on 2 stops. This prevented him from getting back up to 5th place and therefore ended his title hopes for 2007. The result is now history and Bernie turned out to be 100% correct
I don't believe that these were clean races. It is just not credible that a team with the experience of McLaren would make such fundamental errors and that a car would die for just long enough to make sure he couldn't win and spring back to life . I have been watching this sport for 25 years and am convinced that what has happened in the last 2 races is connected to the cheating scandal that led to McLaren having to give up all of their constructors championship points whilst their drivers were left with theirs to keep the most exciting season in decades on the right track.
I wonder, was there a second penalty imposed on Mclaren by Bernie & Co where they were instructed to inflict some misfortune upon themselves to ensure their drivers did not win?
Derek
However, 2 incidents lead me to suspect that this was not going to be Lewis's year regardless of how fast he could drive.
1. At the Chinese GP 2 weeks ago his team left him out on the track for 2 or 3 laps with a rear tyre that was quite obviously falling apart. He did not finish the race, and therefore did not clinch the title, as a direct result of this seemimgly stupid decision.
2. Old Bernie Eccleston (son of Yoda?) was interviewed on the grid 5 minutes before today's race in Brazil and declared that he didn't think this was a good time for Lewis to win the title and that he thought Rikonen deserved to win. I watched with utter amazement as Lewis's McLaren Mercedes (which has been bullet proof all season) developed an "electrical fault" which seemed to disengage his gearbox for 40 seconds on lap 7 as 17 of his competitors tore off into the distance. A quick instruction over the radio to change a setting on his computer and hey presto the car was perfect once more. I was then further amazed to see his team switch him to a 3 pitstop strategy whilst everyone else stayed on 2 stops. This prevented him from getting back up to 5th place and therefore ended his title hopes for 2007. The result is now history and Bernie turned out to be 100% correct
I don't believe that these were clean races. It is just not credible that a team with the experience of McLaren would make such fundamental errors and that a car would die for just long enough to make sure he couldn't win and spring back to life . I have been watching this sport for 25 years and am convinced that what has happened in the last 2 races is connected to the cheating scandal that led to McLaren having to give up all of their constructors championship points whilst their drivers were left with theirs to keep the most exciting season in decades on the right track.
I wonder, was there a second penalty imposed on Mclaren by Bernie & Co where they were instructed to inflict some misfortune upon themselves to ensure their drivers did not win?
Derek