While the rest of us enjoyed the Belgian Grand Prix, Pitpass regular Shant Fabricatorian was locked away in a darkened room, under 24-hour watch by doctors who feared for his sanity.

To be blunt, Shant's 'condition' was sparked by Max Mosley's recent press conference at Monza, and ever since the poor guy has been a confused jabbering wreck. That said, he managed to hold it all together long enough to contribute the following basis for a Talking Point.

Shant writes:

It's hard not to feel at least a small amount of sympathy for James Allen. Having spent the better part of the last four years talking up the sport and telling audiences across the globe how great the state of contemporary Formula One really is, he now finds himself with less than unequivocal support from one rather important quarter.

In amongst the various other press releases and press conference transcripts of the Monza weekend, it was easy to overlook the announcement of a tie-up between the FIA and AMD. Unusually for this sort of thing, it was as much what was said in this particular press conference, as what was left out, that is of interest. This press conference created at least as many questions as it answered, which was not much at all. Furthermore, it has been put forward by some that the consequences of an alliance with one company - AMD - has the potential to create less-than-brilliant results for F1 as a whole.

Of course, 'Our Leader' was present to announce the tie-up, so it seems rude to ignore what he had to say. Indeed, perhaps the best way to begin is to quote the man himself. "We have an issue in Formula One with overtaking," Max 'Chess Game' Mosley began. Well, quite. "We didn't realise how important that was to the fans until recently."

For the moment, let's leave aside the exhortations to stone the crows. As I happen to think Max is, to borrow the common parlance, a bit sharp, this remark is disingenuous at best. The, ahem, 'revelation' that overtaking is what fans like to see is not breaking news to anyone who has taken even a passing interest in F1 over the last half-decade, so it is pushing one's luck to imagine that Max was unaware of this fact. If one is wont to take a more cynical attitude, the comment becomes significantly easier to disbelieve. If one recalls the results of our own editor's 1999 survey, the situation darkens yet further. But having said all that, Max's utterance is, in itself, hardly surprising. In fact, it's exactly what you'd expect him to say.

It has been said that the effect of Max taking the reigns and deciding how a certain set of information is presented is key to an idea's reception. Such is the power of one of the finest wordsmiths in the business. Alas, it is also a clear demonstration of the power of such an ability being used for agendas which are, at best, murky. It is, for instance, difficult to recall an occasion on which Mosley has ever publicly backed down on any policy proposal. Either a compromise solution is found to enable all parties to save face (a-la the recent burial of the charges against the Michelin teams from Indianapolis), or a suitable amount of time elapses before the whole matter is quietly buried under the carpet and black can once again appear white. Exhibit A, grooved tyres...

In particular, it always pays to be wary when Max goes to all of the self-imposed trouble to take us by the hand and guide us, point-by-point, through the logical steps involved in arriving at whatever 'new and improved' rule proposal is being presented this week. Wary, because if one takes the assumptions in the explanation at face value, it is dreadfully easy to be taken in by the apparent soundness of it all. There are rarely any glaring inconsistencies with Max, at least in any one press conference. Any that do exist are hidden behind a veneer of logic and respectability. That's what made this particular one so interesting - that it goes against the trend, such that even an intellectual dwarf like me can pick gaping holes.