Sheepsplitter

If someone had money on the race yesterday and they got cheated out of the result cos they put money on the Ferrari no 2 driver I wonder how they would feel with the Ferrari decision to let Michael win.
If it was a game of football and this was done then there would be a full investigation and murmours of match rigging, surely the same should happen in F1. Is this not fraud?
It would be interesting to start a mail thread asking people to boycot watching the next race - just for a one off to see how Bernie and the sponsors like it when the public votes with their feet on their WWF style "racing".

Let's face it that 'boycott petrol stations' email has gone all over the place in a few days, and this would be easier to draw interest because most of the people watching yesterday were really pissed off with that result.

What's everyone think?

Si.t

I agree, as much as love the sport, something has to be done to make it a race rather than the farse we saw yesterday. As the item on f1 live read:

"its the little people who buy the tickets, merchandsie and tune in on the telly who make the sport what it is"

If everyone refused to watch it, or indeed, not turn up and pay the 100 quid admission (or more for the grandstand seats) because we want to see a proper race and not a "fix" then something would be done. Not only is it that we but merchandise etc, but also the sponsors are there because of the coverage f1 recieves and the audience that watches it. Now imagine if sponsors pulled out - like vodafone - where would they be?

What the FIA should remember is that they have to sell the sport to the viewers and fans to make it viable otherwise bernie and co would be doing something very different. F1 has become a glamour sport, and although bernie said "it is no different to the way it used to be", he is the one who has hyped it up and created it into the spectale we see today.

Not punishing ferrari for yesterday is a bad move - lets hope something changes so we see genuine racing once again.

Mark Jackson

I for one will take a leaf out of Ferraris book and break with one of my own personal traditions and let my wife come first......

dsmith

I've emailed Vodafone - asking their view on being so publicy asscociated with such an unethical and unsportsmanlike team which was rightly booed by the paying public.

I'm not holding my breath for a repsonse

Si.t

I appreciate vodafone's strategy in advertising on ferrari as they are renaming their mobile networks across eurpoe with this name, but surely their tv ads are somewhat limiting in appeal? Although its ferrari (or should that be Scuderdia Schumacher Marlboro), for some reason i can't get over enthused about a cheating 'racing' team who revolves aroung a certain arrogant german...

Si.t

How about making it more interesting by taking a leaf out of mario cart? instaed of tear-offs, drivers should be allowed three banana skins and 1 oil slick for each race and guys like robbie coltrane should be made to drive in a big monkey suit...

Hoppy

dsmith, that will hit Ferrari where it hurts

What was the email address?

Neil Smalley

GaryC

Ferrari are it it to race to win as a team.
Both drivers (like most of us) have to answer to, and do what we are told by, our bosses - if the boss says don't race, you don't race. If the boss says for MS to be let past, then you let him past - or face the same consequences that we all face for going against bosses orders.
Like it or not - Team orders have ALWAYS played a big part. Senna and Prost complied at McLaren as did Mansell and Piquet, as did Mansell and Prost, EVEN Schuey let Irvine past in Sepang 2 years ago!!!!!! Whinger Coulthard and Hakinnen played the game in the first race of the chamionsip 2 years ago, but as the brit benefitted no-one complained.
If you don't like it, don't watch. Veiwing fugures are going up 20-30% every year - they must be doing something right for the majority.

Would there be the same upheavel if it wasn't Schuey/a german??

ptholt

I have to say im a little surprised at some peoples comments, its as if team orders have never been used before, well unfortunately they have been used for donkies years in just about every form of racing you'd care to mention where a team has more than one interest in a race/round.
I've seen it in cars, bikes, trucks.
If its not team orders then its star 'drivers' chucking there toys out the pram, making sure lesser drivers test new parts then if there lap times improve taking them off them.

Perhaps the simplest thing would be that each team can only enter one driver. (and a team owner can only own one team).

Neil Smalley

I'm not surprised at all Yes Team orders have always been part of the spectacle, but they've only been involved right towards the end of a season when one driver needs every point they can get, or at the first race when it's all to play for.

I would hardly term those who have spoken out against it F1 rookies. It's been condemned by pretty much the entire F1 Paddock, F1 commentators and motorsport journalists around the world.

Ferrari's excuses don't wash, and Schuey's crocodile tears make the whole thing a lot lot worse.

F1 is now the richest sport in the world and when that amount of money is involved then buisness cannot but help take over.

To be honest i've not felt so bad about F1 since May 1994 at Imola. That was a watershed for safety in the sport(and has saved several drivers since). I just hope this incident is a watershed for the spirit of the sport.

The FIA putting of calling Ferrari to task for so long, indicates to me that Ferrari will get off lightly, probably only punished for the podium debacle. That being the case I fully expect to see Vince McMaughn standing kneecap to shoulder with Bernie at the next races..


[Edited by Neil Smalley - 5/14/2002 8:13:17 AM]

ptholt

who mentioned f1 rookies? I just said i was surprised at some of the comments, thats all

On a slightly different forum, tho in a similar vein a friend of mine was the team electrician for the honda touring car team for its last two seasons.
He invited me over to thruxton to have a look etc and i couldnt believe some of the crap the 'second' driver got.
James thompson (spoilt bratt) was first driver, Peter kox (VERY nice guy, VERY good driver) was second driver.

They had some new suspension parts in (this was on thurs or fri before the weekends race) and kox had to have them installed in his car to try, his lap times improved so they were removed from his car and given to thompson (as he demanded them). But James went no quicker with the new parts so it was decided that something else on Kox's car was different so James tried his car to see where the advantage came from!

Peter Kox was just on a hiding to nothing!
Any new parts that helped were taken off him, new ones that didnt he was allowed to keep for that round, anything that was not working very well or damaged on thompsons car would be taken off kox's car, the bloke never stood a chance!

edited to add this was only about the third round into the btcc.

[Edited by ptholt - 5/14/2002 8:27:36 AM]

Neil Smalley

Nobody mentioned them, just seen the comments such as "If you think Ferrari did something wrong then you have'nt been following F1/motorsport long enough" elsewhere and wanted to answer them here.

[Edited by Neil Smalley - 5/14/2002 8:38:46 AM]

Victoria

I have long been of the opinion that Michael Schumacher is killing Formula One. Surely what has just happened has put one of the last nails in it's coffin.

Rubens Barricello drove an amazing race and as per usual he has to take second fiddle to a man who was not even on a par with him today.

Very disappointing.

V

[Edited by Victoria - 5/12/2002 3:17:29 PM]

ozzy

I can't belive Ferrari needed to make that decision. They still get full points for 1st and 2nd towards the manufacturers title and Michael is so far ahead of the other drivers, why did they feel they needed to hand him another 4 points.

Those kinds of decisions have got to cause some disorder in the Ferrari camp. It's the same with Michael taking Rubens car when he couldn't get the balance on his own setup properly.

If Michael disagreed so much with the decision, he should have just backed off rather than following that little Napoleans orders.

What's going to happen if Rubens is leading the next race or better yet, challenges Michael for the championship? If it wasn't for sheer bad luck, Rubens would be right up there.

Did you also hear Bernie Ecclestone getting interviewed before the race? He didn't seem to bothered that there might be only 2 or 3 teams in with a chance of actually winning

F1 has become so boring and predictable. It's got to the stage where it needs a nasty accident or someone run over in the pits to make it interesting

Stefan



[Edited by ozzy - 5/12/2002 6:22:52 PM]

Baja

Actually enjoyed the race up until the last corner! Just ignore the red cars who are probably on a different lap anyway come the end of the race!

Not really a bike fan but tempted to go see the DTM - Touring cars with V8's must be a good thing.

[Edited by Baja - 5/13/2002 6:53:24 PM]