30/05/2007
NEWS STORY
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The overriding thought going through my head at 14.50 BST on Sunday afternoon did not involve the possibility of team orders at McLaren, far from it.
All I could really think of was why I had wasted one-hundred minutes of my life watching a 'race' which had been decided in the opening seconds.
Sadly, I could not simply put it down to experience, open a beer and find something decent to watch on the TV, for I still had to do the hundred and one things that have to be done after every Grand Prix; the team press releases, the stats, the pictures, the newsletter, the championship standings.
The Pitpass Grand Prix Sunday routine got underway, to the sounds of The Velvet Underground, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, Ian Hunter, Cream, Alex Harvey… as it always does.
As I got on with the routine, which saw me working for the next six or seven hours, I often thought about the race I had just witnessed, and not once, not once, did I find myself thinking that McLaren had done anything untoward.
What I did find myself thinking about was the total impracticality of F1 racing at Monaco, and the fact that if this were a race around alongside the seafront at Blackpool or Skegness Bernie would have pulled it from the calendar many, many years ago.
However, the fact is that this is Monaco, the so-called 'jewel in Formula One's crown', and no matter what fate (better known as Mr E) has in store for Silverstone, Magny-Cours or any other circuit on the calendar, Monaco will never be in doubt, not unless the Grimaldi's say so.
When Lewis tucked in behind Alonso - for whatever reason - the race was decided. Though we had the timing screens to keep us (reliably) informed of the gap between the two McLaren drivers, the end result - barring a technical failure or an incident involving a back-marker - was never in question.
No-one else could come anywhere near the pace set by the leaders, Felipe Massa giving up the ghost quite early on, and being lucky not to be lapped by the 'Woking steamroller'.
Out front, the two silver cars gave a Monaco master-class, as the Woking team has done so many times before.
Of course, the British media had already worked itself into a frenzy, convinced that Monaco would witness Lewis Hamilton take his rightful place at the top of the podium, however, the English youngster's fate was sealed the previous afternoon, when he was beaten to pole position by his teammate. Had Lewis taken pole, it is entirely possible that Fernando would have tucked in behind him in the run up to Ste Devote next day.
And if that had been the case, would we have heard a similar outcry regarding team orders and result fixing, would the British media have been as up in arms had Alonso been "ushered" to victory, would we have heard how team tactics had tore at Alonso's heart? I think not.
What saddens me, far more than having wasted those one hundred minutes of my life on Sunday, is the outcry, and the subsequent reaction of the FIA, which is to investigate the result.
Instead of McLaren being allowed to celebrate a convincing and thoroughly deserved victory, its landmark one-hundred and fiftieth Grand Prix win - the team is having to defend itself, accused of breaking the rules, of fixing the result.
Of course its all very well journos, armchair pundits and man down the pub pontificating about what might have been. However, the fact is that Ron Dennis has a business to run, he has sponsors and partners to answer to, he has a championship to win, the Constructors' Championship. Although it is the Drivers' Championship winner that gets the bulk of the publicity, it is the Constructors' Championship that has the real kudos, it is the title the teams and manufacturers want to win.
Ron Dennis' job on Sunday was to take the maximum points from Monaco, he succeeded.
In the moments following the race many of the leading characters in what is rapidly becoming another F1 farce were interviewed, however it was what Anthony Hamilton said that really caught my attention.
The question was fully loaded, "you must be disappointed with the result," he was told, however, he refused to take the bait, saying that he was "delighted" to see his son finish second at Monaco in only his fifth Formula One race.
And why wouldn't Lewis be delighted, for in addition to finishing second at Monaco to his McLaren teammate, the reigning World Champion, he had helped his team - note team - consolidate its lead in the Constructors' Championship, whilst retaining his lead, albeit jointly, in the Drivers' Championship. That all sounds pretty good to me and very little to be disappointed about.
Instead, thanks to the media, a knee-jerk reaction from the FIA, a convincing win is tarnished, and yet again F1 makes the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Of course it could have been different, we could have seen the two McLaren drivers take one another out at the first corner, we could have witnessed one of them making the same crazy attempts to pass the other as we witnessed back in 1992, when Nigel Mansell tried every trick in the book, and then some, to pass Ayrton Senna, all to no avail.
Personally, and I stress this is a personal observation, I was pleased by Lewis Hamilton's comment on Sunday afternoon when he pointed out that his car had the number two on it.
What happened in Austria in 2002 was a disgrace, and Ferrari's pathetic manipulation of the result deserved to be punished. However, team orders have been part of F1, part of motorsport for as long as it has existed, with drivers such as Peter Collins, Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks all made to make sacrifices for the sake of their teams.
Then there was Ronnie Peterson's support of Mario Andretti, Gilles Villeneuve fulfilling a similar role for Jody Scheckter, and who will forget Riccardo Patrese pulling to one side of the track and gifting the 1992 French GP to Mansell?
There is a difference between team orders and strategy, and if Ron Dennis told his drivers to stick to a pre-prepared script on Sunday then so be it, because I remain convinced that had qualifying worked out differently the race result would also have been different. I am convinced also that had Hamilton led Alonso home there would have been no media outcry, no FIA investigation.
But hey, what do I know, I'm just an idiot who wasted one-hundred minutes of his life on Sunday. What I'd like to hear is your opinion, what did you think of Sunday's race, what do you think of Monaco as a Grand Prix venue and what is your opinion of the team orders furore?
Chris Balfe
Editor
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Michael Rutledge - Ireland
I have to agree with Chris's comments. I too wasted a good portion of Sunday afternoon on a procession in Monaco but never once did I think the result was anything but fair. If Hamilton is so good and so deserving of victory how come he did not challange Alonso until after the last pitstops when Alonso slowed right down and let him catch up. Why did he not set fastest lap to prove to Ron and the world (British media) that he should have been allowed to challange for the win. The fact of the matter as I saw it from my armchair was that Alonso was in Senna/Schumacher type form on Sunday and despite hitting barriers all over the place Hamilton simply could not match him on the day. McLaren wanted to make sure they collected maximum manufacturer points and they suceeded. Their whole race strategy (not team orders) was designed to do just that. Had Hamilton been on pole he would have been the one to lead the team home. As it was Alonso did enough on Saturday to ensure he was in pole position for the win. (Pun intended) The FIA and elements of the British print media are the ones bringing the sport into disrepute.
Peter Geran
I am firmly with Ron Dennis here .
I have been a McLaren fan since the 1970's, and have watched the rise and fall and rise again of McLaren. McLaren did what they had to do , and it would have been stupid to let Alonso and Hamilton end up in the barriers.
Stupid Tabloid Press ...
Gillian Heavey
My thoughts exactly - no one would have even thought about team orders had Raikkonen and Montoya been driving the McLaren this year. Team orders and team strategy have always been a part of F1, a team sport. Hopefully this will all blow over and we can get back to what promises to be a great season - roll on Canada!
S Biju Sanjay - UK
Fully agree.
When a team is the class of the field and the prospect of taking away maximum points from the weekend looms, the team is going to ask the drivers not to do anything silly, especially in narrow streets and the unforgiving barriers of the principality. It has happened in the past, and will happen again.
Alonso beat Hamilton fair and square. The team pulled Hamilton in early to cover all bases in the eventuality of a safety car situation. Especially since one can't pit straight away if a safety car is called under the new rules.
Steve Preston - West Midlands UK
It seems so simple to me and to you obviously. You have summed it up concisely as always. What really annoys me is the reaction from certain muppets who placed a bet on Hamilton winning. They say that McLaren's strategy robbed them of their winnings. Unbelievable.
Paul Rylah
Perhaps if the no. 2 car had been fuelled the same as the no.1 car, the result might have been reversed.
Jean de Chalain - South Africa
Ferrari fan as I am, I still cannot agree with the FIA considering punishment of the Mclaren team for unsporting behaviour through instructions given. They brought their cars home in first and second while still providing much (by Monaco standards) entertainment, in the "sideways" corners both their drivers took on a number of occasions , and in their continual bid for the fastest lap . Therefore well done to all of them.
The only thing I did find somewhat hard to understand, is that they appeared to bring Lewis in earlier than expected, for the first pit stops. I feel if he had stayed out longer, the possibility existed that he could have passed Alonso when exiting the pit area, which would not have created the otherwise grave danger of trying to pass on track in Monaco, which Ron Dennis quite rightly was afraid might happen. But I guess there was a good reason, seem to remember reading they were concerned about a safety car coming out, and also felt with Lewis being 4 secs. behind, would not have benefitted him to stay out longer anyway.
Finally, on the issue of the Monaco race being a boring waste of time and one which should be stopped, I disagree because it has such huge tradition and also, probably the most exciting build up of any of the other races on the calender. Furthermore, being one race of it's kind, there are certainly other challenges both for teams and drivers. Yes , there is no overtaking to speak of, and usually the pole-sitter wins, but I can live with it once a year. More street races (especially if also narrow tracks) would become too much.
Chris Lewis
I too thought the race was a little low on the excitement front but that's no reason for the FIA to start putting the wind up Mclaren.
The moment Hamilton tucked in behind Alonso to cover a potential Massa charge the race was done. I did think Hamilton was running a longer strategy & as far as I see it the chance he was given to win the race was to get pole with the possibility of using a SC period / rain to make his heavier strategy pan out.
I think Lewis knew this too hence the banzai drive he put in after being held up by our friend Webber. A win for Hamilton in Monaco was possible (I had money on it) but alas it wasn't to be, its the nature of the F1 beast.
The problem now arises that the hypetastic British media have got to say something to placate their now misplaced enthusiasm, say hello to the standard 'we was robbed' story. I guess its going to happen when the mainstream sensationalist's start commenting on things outside their usual remit.
Mclaren are right not to be worried about the 'investigation' it was a normal race. I have no doubt Lewis will win a race or two this year, Silverstone hopefully & if were annoyed with the coverage now its going to get a whole lot worse in the months to come.
I still cant quite believe the FIA actually investigating the alleged issue, team orders to me are those along the lines of the MS / RB incident that started off this whole charade. Ensuring both your cars finish to gain maximum points for the team is just racing regardless of the winner! Especially at a track where overtaking is nigh on impossible (what's the point of that) and when you consider the mess the track will be in off the racing line.
Khalid Yamin - Australia
Completely agree with the editor. Couldn't have put it any better.
Bernie has lost his nut to suggest McLaren need to be punished. What frustrates me the most is the comparision of this incident to the Schumi-Barrichello incident without realising that what Ferrari did was indeed team orders, blatantly ugly and did indeed bring the sport into disrepute. But now we have Bernie and Mad Max's troops themselves bringing the sport into disrepute when all McLaren has done is employ team tactics with the all-important constructors title in mind.
Perhaps Bernie or Mad Max could use this "controversy" as an opportunity to clarify exactly constitutes to team orders???
On the race itself, I must admit that while the race was dead boring, I did quite enjoy McLaren anhilate the opposition - it has been a long time coming.....
Lizza Piergiorgio
All what you point out is right.
Mr Dennis is a great man: in the past he promised Nano to give him a car better than the 2006 model, several years before he promised Lewis to offer him a McLaren if the boy was fast enough in lower racing series. Ron did what he said. What should his drivers do last Sunday?
FIA allowed two main facts: from 1994 on F1 cars are well shelterd (good thing), on the other side now F1 drivers can't pass but during the pit stop (very bad).
Montecarlo is a jewel, not a track in which to try one's luck, so that all every team have to do is (at least) mantain the grid rank conquered on Saturday. Only the rain or the safety car (rarely a mechanical failure) can shuffle the cards.
Mr Dennis is responsible, he did a good job, Mercedes and other sponsors should be grateful. From now on Ferrari would be faster than yesterday, their drivers
are not less good than McLaren' teammates. This championship is offering a loyal battle between two big teams, and I hope BMW, Renault and Honda will join the party, nevertheless I would like to see Fisico, Jarno and Tonio over the top (after all they're Italian), but I feel close to all the other guys on the grid (I'm a former driver, in very lower but funny Italian series...)
Chris Wright - Cumbria, England
This article states it exactly as it is. Ron Dennis has a multi-million pound business to run and as stated many sponsors etc to answer to. What would have happened if there had been a two car pile-up at the first corner just to satisfy the pundits and critics? This is totally stupid to contemplate. You know that a critic is a failed person in every way who is afraid and incompetent enough to try what he is being critical about?
To be frank Monacco should be scraped but the Eccleston 'wrinkly' now states Mclaren should be punished. Has he totally lost his marbles? Should he consider retiring take his state pension and together with his billions go off and play before the reaper calls? For goodness sake this from the FIA and Eccleston truly shows how pathetic they really are. What a load of plonkers!
Anthony Young - Hove, UK
I agree 100% with what you say, but the fact is that Ron Dennis did break the first rule of show business - that no matter how bad your show was, you never say it was bad, because to do that is to insult your paying public, who may then desert you.
The fact clearly is that the McLaren drivers put on the only entertaining show in the race. Did Heidfeld attack when stuck behind his team mate? No. Did Button attack when stuck behind his team mate? No. But did their team director make boorish remarks to the press? Also no.
Ironically, although Ron Dennis did bring the sport into disrepute with his remarks, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone have done far worse with their subssequent statements, drawing the attention of an ever wider public to the central fact of the matter - that after the first corner, you might as well switch off the TV and do something else, as the lead hasn't changed, nor has there been any top-3 overtake, in any of the five races so far this season. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Paul Cajka - USA
Both the GP2 and Formula 1 races were droners. The only difference between the two was that the GP2 drivers crash more than the F1 drivers.
McLaren did a great job. Alonso and Hamilton are actually acting like teammates instead of idiots. When a rookie automatically slides in behind a double World Champion, that's showing a little respect. Did people complain when Moss pulled in behind Fangio when both drove for Mercedes Benz and Herr Neubauer? I never saw this much criticism when the Schumster or his designated second (Irvine, Barrichello or Massa) fell into formation. When Rubens folded in Austria that was team orders. Lewis Hamilton blocking Massa at the start is just racecraft
Media & mogul madness is another matter. It's no big deal that McLaren is running for the Constructors Championship and the drivers goals some times take a back seat. Why else would Mercedes Benz stay around in Formula 1 ? Bernie's call for seven figure fines for McLaren is stupidity, too. Bernie should just send more of HIS money to his solicitor at the FIA. Lewis Hamilton will satisfy the media's clamoring for a first win when he is ready. Race winners don't clout Armco barriers to the point of suspension damage. How about repeating history with Hamilton winning at Silverstone in 2007 (a la Moss & Fangio).
Frieda Tweehuysen
I totally have to agree. Hamilton, I doubt, could have made it past Alonso even if he had had the chance, and the media are blowing everything out of proportion. I ask the question Chris Lewis brought up: what will happen if Hamilton doesn't win at Silverstone, regardless of where he ends, what outcry would then ensue? What kind of pressure is that to place on a rookie – even one with his talents?
Matt Webb - UK
I get frustrated at any GP where track action at the front is lacking but at least at Monte Carlo we know that's the case, I mean what exactly was everybody expecting from the Monaco Grand Parade. It's only good for business these days and a few more championship points is a bonus. Even if Alonso and Hamilton had been set free we would have had a stalemate between them for 20 laps.
The positive way to look at it suppose is that when this happens you can turn your attention to the others on the track. I'm certainly not gonna be just watching the top four all season, theres too much going on behind them!
It's definatly gonna be a cracker of a season.
The time to have this debate is when there is only three races left and if Alonso and Hamilton are within a couple of points of each other. You would hope that
they would be allowed to race then, wouldn't they?
Stuart Garlick - Shropshire
I have to be very careful what I write, as I am still seething with rage, but sometimes anger produces the most honest writing. Formula One is a team sport. Different drivers have different strategies, and (particularly since regulations came into force limiting car repairs and engine changes) F1 has become a formula concerned with reliability and "getting the car home" above all. Anyone who compares the Monaco Grand Prix with fixing the Grand National, or a football club fielding a weakened team, is an idiot - pure and simple. There are people commenting on Formula One, in the British media, who know even less about the sport than they think.
Every driver up and down the grid has periods of the race when they will go at it hammer-and-tongs for position, and times when they hold station. The FIA's misunderstanding of this, deliberate or otherwise, could, in the wrong light, be interpreted as an attempt to even out a championship by preventing the strongest team from racing in the way it sees fit. Obviously, I am just dealing in hypotheticals here, as there is no suggestion that such a fair-minded and neutral organisation as the FIA would ever pull such a stunt on spectators and viewers. At best, though, this extreme reaction to team tactics, used in a far more blatant fashion by Ferrari during every season from 1996 to 2006 (in order to favour Michael Schumacher or, in 1999 Eddie Irvine, by using his team-mate as a kind of shield), is shockingly bad management by a governing body which, far from carrying the best interests of F1 close to its heart, chooses to make a soap opera of its sport. Sporting issues, if indeed this is one, should be dealt with behind closed doors, at the risk of otherwise damaging F1's credibility.
And what good would it do to ban or exclude McLaren? It would help Felipe Massa build up a healthy points lead, but there would be no serious contenders behind the Ferraris for victory. And could viewers of any McLaren-free races expect to see wheel-to-wheel aggression between Massa and Kimi Raikkonen? I hope so, because otherwise Ferrari could certainly expect humiliation and punishment...
The person I feel most sorry for in all this is Fernando Alonso. He is the current outstanding driver, and he seems to regularly find that demonstrations of this talent, through victories, are met with punishment. When it looked like he would run away with the 2006 World Championship (and it was undoubtedly his Championship not Renault's, otherwise Giancarlo Fisichella would have been a hell of a lot more competitive), Renault found, mid-season, that the mass damper they had made sure was approved at the start of the year for use was now illegal, making their car less competitive. Again, at best, this regulatory reinterpretation, after half a season, was shockingly bad management by people who should, and perhaps do, know better. Now Alonso is finding that his winning races is "bad for the sport". Some logic, when one considers that golf would not be half as interesting, or profitable, without the success of Tiger Woods, ditto tennis and Roger Federer.
The other thing which raises my blood pressure is the fact that not one of the many intelligent F1 correspondents in the British media has made any more than a token effort to defend McLaren's tactics, which were designed specifically to bring the cars home in one piece. There are people who could be making the team's case, but choose not to, and I hope they sleep well at night knowing they get to keep their F1 press passes.
What we need is a sport where the rule-makers are not also the commercial rights-holders, to prevent any possibility or suggestion of a conflict of interest between regulating, and promoting, F1. The way things are at the moment, F1's governing body risks destroying its own cash-cow, and I have seen more logic employed in punishing people during a Stalinist show-trial than was in evidence after Monaco.
David Phillips – UK
Your article (and also that of Mike Lawrence 'Lovefest') echo my own sentiments entirely.
Sunday's race - I do have to agree that, this year at least, Monaco was dull and I kept switching to the PGA tournament at Wentworth.. Shock horror headline – Golf more exciting than F1!
Monaco – I don't think it's the track itself, as we've seen in previous years it's thrown up some surprises. Perhaps we've just witnessed an 'off' year. The problem is more with the car's aero and the fact that we hardly ever see overtaking these days. Remember when people used to slipstream each other and actually pass, or not quite get there at the corner and pull back? Far more interesting. Maybe it's drivers mindets these days or the (increasingly bad) ITV coverage, but I don't rember seeing anyone even trying to pass, or even have a look at passing the inside of a car for the entire race.
Team orders – I don't think Ron Dennis is wrong. Bernie, there are far more things you need to fix than waste your time penalising Mclaren. Yet another way to make F1 look dumb to the outside world.
Fernando Horta
Ok, what if Ron did not "interfere" with the results?
Two McLaren crashing out while leading a lap ahead? I would fire a team principal if that happened!
Hamilton would pull a kamikaze trick? I doubt that. A 2 seconds a lap faster Mansell (read again, MANSELL) couldn't overtake Senna, who seriously believe Hamilton would do that? What would be his own wise decision? To hold station!
Come one, Monaco was such a boring race that FIA are trying so desperately to hide this fact that McLaren are now under investigation for telling their drivers not to be stupid enough and crash out?!
Hamilton passed Alonso in Melbourne, 1st corner. That didn't please the Spaniard, it wasn't on the "script" and none prevented that from happening, or worse, switched their positions pit-to-car. He was 2nd to Massa 2 times in a row, again ahead of the double world champion, and none told him to give way.
The looneys really took the asylum
Jo Martin - New Zealand
Perhaps Bernie or the FIA can qualify the probability of someone passing for the lead at Monaco. Has it ever happened in a straight fight, without cars going off or being in trouble? If Bernie can show that it is actually possible to pass then maybe he has a case. Hamilton was certainly trying on Sunday - the overhead shots at
Rascasse/Anthony Noghes were amazing - I hadn't expected to see modern F1 cars sliding around at all...so you couldn't say he was deliberately backing off.
Perhaps what Bernie should do is fine the English press for bringing the sport into disrepute. They are now totally predictable in their reporting of British drivers, and writs could be prepared in advance.
Neil Gallop
To be honest, the last session of the quali was more exciting than the race itself, with both Lewis and Fernando giving it their all from the first lap. It did, however, provide me with plenty of opportunities to get some ironing done.
Lewis will win at least one race this year, Fernando will also chalk up some more victories, and I'm sure both will plant their car in a barrier at some time. Ron did his job perfectly, which was to come away with maximum points. Why can't the British press just be happy that a British team is winning again?
Chris Bryan - Shannon, Ireland
As you say, team orders have always been there, and in one form or another, always will be. It is an inescapable fact, like taxes and death.
Bernie is the one who should be prosecuted under the various Trade Descriptions acts of the countries that take F1 coverage, for selling Sundays 'event' as a race! It has NOT been a race for many years. How Bernie can decry Silverstone etc, and keep Monaco defies logic.
I stopped watching Monaco a long time ago, it isn't worth my time…..
Alan Kerry - Ireland
Having waited with great anticipation for the start of the Monaco Grand Prix, I do not have words to describe my disappointment at realising the racing was finished before the first corner. I have been an avid F1 fan since the 1999 season and it is with regret that I now admit that my interest is becoming less and less. In the 8 years that I have been a fan I have attended 9 races and watched each and every other race on tv. When the situation arises that the only people within raceable times of each other are team mates, and the decision is made for them that they can not race on the grounds of one pushing the other into a barrier I have to ask the question "Why not just finish the weekend after qualifying then? At least then we would not have to waste our Sunday afternoons watching processions! I agree with Bernie that Mclaren should be severely punished for their actions and I hope they are. Maybe then other teams will allow the racers to race.
Peter White
Sorry Chris, you are wrong about Monaco and you are wrong about Ron Dennis. Overtaking is virtually impossible at Monaco as you correctly observe. But it is the same everywhere. Tests with the McLaren simulator, conducted for the constructors' working group studying the overtaking issue, demonstrate that you need to be two and a half seconds faster than the car in front to overtake. At Monaco it may even be worse, but at least the sight of the cars is spectacular, where many other circuits reduce the spectacle, particularly on TV.
As for the McLaren manipulation, they legitimately started the two cars on differing strategies. From their speed differential in Q3, coupled with the driver's comments, I had guessed that Hamilton had 4 laps fuel more than Alonso. When he dropped 8 seconds before Alonso stopped I felt it was game over for him, but I was wrong. He had started with 13 laps of fuel more than his team-mate, his relative performance in Q3 had actually been sensational, and the pace he was running early in the race meant that he really was likely to end up in front. The McLaren team saw this too, and that, I suggest, is why he was switched to a two-stop race. It was a change of strategy called by the team for no reason other than to dictate the finishing order. It made it impossible for Hamilton to win no matter how hard he pushed.
Mark Mullinos – Johannesburg, South Africa
I'm a massive Ferrari fan and would love to have seen them win, but not once during the race did I cry foul. Mclaren comprehensively whipped Ferrari and not once did I feel cheated. For anyone with racing in their blood, Monaco is a rubbish circuit. Every year after qualifying at Monaco, I can't help but feel that I've already watched the main event.
Peter Wells - Cape Town, South Africa
That's it for me I am afraid - BE has lost it. He has manipulated championships for years and was quite happy with RB never being allowed to race MS. What would you have done if you were RD. He did not instruct any of his drivers to move over - all he MAY have done is ensure they did not wipe each other out - all above board as far as a I am concerned. Fast becoming and ex F1 fan.
Dave Lewis - UK
What nonsense! It appears to me that this whole episode is merely an attempt to make a story out of a non-story. Apart from the fantastic visual spectacle of such fast cars driving around such a hairy circuit, there was little else for the uninformed, part-time F1 following members of the press to write about. As Mr Lawrence pointed out so well (as he always does), it's all about column inches to them. I'm sure none of them are fans, never mind enthusiasts.
The thing bringing the sport into disrepute at the moment is the British press, but what can be done? Bernie won't do anything about them, because like the saying goes, bad press is better than no press. And what could be done anyway? We all know that sensationalism is all they care about. Look at all the hype they created around Diana, regardless of public opinion about their over-the-top coverage.
As for the silly team orders rule, imagine the commotion if all previous results were either discounted or re-written to comply with these daft rules? How many world champions would we lose, and how many new champions would we gain? To my reckoning, anything said by Mr Dennis regarding holding station and not running each other off the track is what is known as "sound advice". Look at what happened a few years back when Button jammed up the hair-pin by being a bit silly. No-one wants to see something like that again.
The standard of driving with F1 drivers at the moment is applaudable. Even the rookies are driving fantastically. Retirements due to accidents involving more than one car are less than ever before. Why is this? It is because it is more of a team sport now than ever before. A legacy of Schumi is the current trend of drivers to whole-heartedly support the team. In some ways, it appears as "towing the corporate line", but I'm sure deep down drivers can see that Schumi supported his team 150%, and they him. It has to work both ways. So imagine what would have happened if the two McClaren drivers had taken each other out. If one had been deemed more at fault than the other, dissension inside the team would have started, lowering the chances of both drivers placing highly in the world championship, and ruining the chances of the team winning the constructors world championship.
Utter nonsense is what it all is. Just another nail in the coffin for us F1 enthusiasts.
Sean Kelly - Illinois, USA
I think McLaren did absolutely nothing wrong in this case and if there is a fine or penalty it will be a disgrace. As far as the Jewel of the F1 crown is concerned I agree it was boring as most of the races seem to be. I'm at the point where I am excited about watching the qualifying and just have the race on while I do other things around the house. I watch racing because I like to see the cars and I really don't care about what celebrities (I usually don't know who they are) happen to be in attendance, that's what Monaco seems to be all about.
Sean Mitchley – Cape Town, South Africa
So McLaren and Ron Dennis are being investigated for contravention of section 151c of the International Sporting Code for hindering competition or bringing motor racing into disrepute. Based on the past few years of madness, Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosely have between them contravened this rule to such an extent with their loony utterings and rule changes that there would be a good case to be made for both being banned from motorsport for life.
Monaco is always a case of flying in formation. Fernando did enough on the weekend – pole, fastest lap and flawless race – to deserve the win. Lewis is a rare talent and would have done the same if he’d had pole and got to T1 first. The time will come for Lewis to win, and he will have the full support of Ron Dennis in making it happen. It just so happened that Monaco wasn’t the time.
Aliah Chowdhury
The editor hits the nail on the head on all accounts, but I do feel that all this talk about who has what number on their car is a load of nonsense. Fernando Alonso has the number 1 on his car because he won the world championship last year. Lewis Hamilton has the number 2 car also because Fernando won the world championship last year. Why is this even being brought up by Lewis never mind anyone else about who might be number one or number two in the team? Am I the only one who finds it attention-seekingly ridiculous (verging on sympathy scrounging) from both Lewis and the British Media?
The one thing I will say though is that regardless of Bernies intentions for saying he feels McLaren will deserve a heftier penalty that Ferrari got in 2002 should they be found 'guilty': firstly it would be disproportionate beyond belief by disqualifying McLaren from the championship race in such a tightly fought battle with Ferrari that is doing the world of good for F1 as a competitive sport; and secondly it would be a travesty if Fernando and Lewis were held back from fighting for the drivers title - whether between themselves or in a fabulous 3-way or 4-way driver championship battle.
Neal Weingart - USA
What is astounding about the whole affair is that it is apparent that Ecclestone is so powerful that he can publicly spew out his bigoted and hateful remarks and nobody says a thing about his own prejudiced and petty nature. Ron Dennis has challenged the FIA in the past and is as much a German team as not. Alonso is Spanish and the FIA have made a habit of persecuting him.
One can imagine that Ecclestone has seen the opportunity to use an ungaurded statement by Dennis to his own ends. The FIA doing the dirty work and he taking the "high" moral ground.
Lovely chap!
Jason Laffin - Madison, WI USA
Team Order No.1: Don't do anything stupid.
Team Order No. 2: Don't wreck your teammate (see No. 1).
Team Order No. 3: Bring the car home.
Show me a single team that doesn't abide by those orders.
There's no "conspiracy" here. Hamilton, knowing he was heavier on fuel and Alonso was always quicker off the line, pulled a "Schumacher" and cut across the track to block Massa. Any other driver in P2, regardless of team, would probably have done the same thing to block out the car in P3. "Nothing to see here, move along."
As for Monaco, it's not impossible to overtake. MS had a great race last year with plenty of passing. In 2005, Heidfeld AND Webber both overtook Alonso going into the Nouvelle Chicane. It can be done, but like Mike Lawrence said in his latest piece, most drivers are now happy just to hold station.
Janet Aubert - New York, USA
I am pretty much of your opinion. I think that Ron Dennis did nothing wrong in telling it's drivers to cool off. The fact is that there was a real likelihood of both drivers taking each other out in that particular circuit. In the end, both drivers are employed by Mclaren and their job is to maximize their points potential as much as possible. As far as Monaco, sure it's a lousy circuit but there's really nothing to replace the glamour, the cache if you will of holding a race there. It's where you want to be and be seen. I therefore understand Mr E. wanting to keep that circuit around. I just say live with it, and view it as a exhibition course and move to the more interesting circuits where you can actually determine who in fact is the fastest!
Carlos Fernández - Madrid, Spain
This Bernie chap is quite intelligent, isn't him?
An otherwise deadly boring race has been in the press for nearly a full week (we still have to wait the tabloids of tomorrow, mind you). Talk about turning straw to gold!?
Bernie turns 100 booooring minutes lost by our esteemed Editor and everyone watching the race into a first page issue for days, involving fans, media, politicians...
Agree it has not been Bernie at first. Brokenhearted media, wounded in its national pride but first and foremost squeezing his new "tabloids selling-golden-boy" started it all, helped by some rookie comments from the allegedly stolen boy and a WEAK F.I.A. in full demagogy-mode. But Bernie was surely rubbing his hands with delight. Even the timing is awesomely good. In the very last moment (before FIA decission), Bernie proclaims a "fatwa edict", claiming the head and balls of Ron , plus the cockchopped wheels of McLaren. Just adding some coal to the barbacue to avoid the fire from softening.
Objetive acomplished?
Problem: Boring races, no overtaking... and so on.
Possible overcome: People leaving watching F1
New solution: Leave races boring, forget about overtaking and all those "freaky" issues. Turn F-1 more "yellowish". Forget about enthusiasts, and specialized and technnical media. There's a wider potential customer base in Big Brother watching species. Introduce pop stars, football players, actors and actresses, devaluated Prime Ministers and assorted VIPs at the races. Add some hot scandals and you have the cake.
Additionally I'd like to warn British media about the harms that they are doing their beloved Hamilton. Lewis has got to it takes to be a champion: determination and skills. With your crusade for him you're giving the impression that he is not enough and needs all that help from you. You are devaluating your golden boy. Leave it to himself alone and he'll deliver, I'm sure. He's able to achieve on his own. With "friends" like you Leis needs no other foe. I know what I'm talking about, since I've suffered the Alonso-itis on Spanish media. But you've reached unbelieveable standards.
Fortunately enough there's still a small reduct of surviving British brains in your press. Fortunately we still have got Pitpass.
Anthony Young - Hove
Note the interesting contrast in views:
Ecclestone - "One thing is for sure: If there were team orders which relate to the position of the two drivers — if somebody is told to move over or hold their position — it is against all the sporting regulations we have."
FIA - “It is standard procedure for a team to tell its drivers to slow down when they have a substantial lead. This is in order to minimise the risk of technical or other problems. It is also standard practice and entirely reasonable to ask the drivers not to put each other at risk. McLaren were able to pursue an optimum team strategy because they had a substantial advantage over all other cars. They did nothing which could be described as interfering with the race result.”
Maybe Bernie ought to find out what the regulations mean before telling the Daily Mail that the world championship leaders have broken them? Otherwise he could be in danger of saying things that would bring the sport into disrepute, couldn't he?
John Lane
What the hell is all the dust up about the McLaren "orders"? I watched the race and there was nothing that appeared to be out of the norm. You never have team mates running one and two at Monaco fight for the win - it would be stark raving bonkers to do so. What am I missing?
Is this because the British Press has fallen in love with Hamilton?
John Ehmke
All this garbage about investigation and arranged results are just more foolish hype brought about by the idiotic British press which are proving themselves to be small minded and self centered. Don't read their bull****! Hooray for McLaren and Ron Dennis!.
Tim Walters - Bonn, Germany
At the risk of redundancy: It makes no sense to have a Constructors Championship and then to claim that the teams may not act to maximise their chances of winning it by accumulating the highest possible number of points in any given race.
Indeed, imagine this scenario: Last race of the season. Alonso and Hamilton tied on points – whoever takes the win is champion. But, McLaren also needs the full 18 points for first and second in order to win the team title. In that case, with Alonso leading at the half point and Hamilton second, McLaren would STILL be in the rights to tell both drivers to cruise it home. Of course, one would also hope that Hamilton would suddenly develop some "radio interference" and race for all he's worth – but that's another matter altogether.
Regarding the uproar in general: One expects the tabloids to be stupid; it's their very nature. But Bernie is a very intelligent chap. So when he says McLaren should be punished for this gross transgression, he's being maliciously stupid. And that shades over from the silly through the tragic to the plain evil.
Jon Yard
I have to say that I thoroughly agree with you Chris.
While the track itself has some exciting features and it was the first time we really saw cars thrown around and sliding across the road they were required to stay within pre-defined "safe" parameters for fear of following Kimi's example. The run up to the race was pathetic. Who cares if Jude Law thinks Hamilton is in with a chance of taking the victory. Who the hell was the other guy he was standing with (actually I don't care who he was)!
Eddie Jordan was interesting, Jackie Stewart was interesting, Mika Hakkinen and even Stirling Moss were all interesting except that they had to comment on a result that was surely little more than fanciful. Did any of these experienced pundits really believe that a Rookie could take Alonso just because he'd won at Monaco in GP2 before? In fact Stirling Moss made most sense of all, to win you have to finish and a first corner incident involving the two front cars would not have helped anyone at Mclaren (though Kimi and DC may well have benefitted from it)! ;-)
The race result was decided long before the start. Not because of Mclaren but because Monaco, while it does have some great features, is simply not suitable for racing. What you get at Monaco is a very fast procession. Think "The Lord Mayor Of London's" procession but faster! Next year, we will undoubtebly see a return to Monaco and I will don my children's red Indian outfit and do a rain dance. Only really nasty weather is likely to bring any uncertainty at all to the name of the man that strides his way to the top step of the podium in Monaco.
PS: I turned off as soon as DC crossed the line. After I knew he was home I decided I'd had more than enough and went out to dig the garden.
Tim Walters - Bonn, Germany
Freud once wrote about "Analyses Terminable and Interminable." This thread is definitely of the latter variety.
Peter White's comments (page 12) are interesting. How do you know that Hamilton was 13 laps heavier than Alonso? Based on the fuel he took on in his stop? How does this differ from the strategy (i.e., BMW) of going heavier in qualifying and betting on a SC?
In any case, I wonder if anyone has raised the question of Hamilton's intentions. No doubt, the UK media reaction was stoked by Hamilton's behaviour and statements after the race. (Imagine if he had enthusiastically celebrated the "great team strategy" and the futility of passing an equally fast car at Monaco, rather than emphasising his number 2 status.) So the question is, were his comments:
1: Motivated by legitimate frustrations, but still unprofessional, as they could (and did) cause trouble for the team?
2: Already very, very professional, insofar as Hamilton (or his father, whatever) could calculate that by playing the aggrieved party he could swing public support and public scrutiny to his side and make it harder for McLaren to favor Alonso in the future?
Just to be clear, I have no issue with Hamilton if it was #2. All the more admirable, in fact.
Paul Barrow
The rule regarding team orders is unworkable. Take the current situation – how does Mclaren prove a negative? How does the team prove they didn’t issue orders? For that reason alone the rule is not enforceable and it should be abandoned. But more than that, F1 is a team sport and team orders should be part of the game. I even include examples as blatant as the incident with Ferrari in Austria. If it was in the best interests of the Ferrari team, what was wrong with the team handing that win to MS? After all, they were running a clear one and two, so deserved the opportunity to optimise the outcome of their success on the day; just as Mclaren did by their domination last Sunday.
I appreciate that people will rail at me for taking such a view and perhaps it is made slightly tongue in cheek, but it is logical and it’s not often that any one team has such race domination so as to benefit repeatedly. Personally, I have no doubt that team orders are used by ALL teams at some point in the season. They cannot be policed satisfactorily so the rule should be dropped.
All that said I find it strange that events in F1 certainly do give rise to some curious and specious arguments. People seem unable to leave their emotions and partisanship aside over these issues. Why shouldn’t it count against McLaren, for example, for no logical reason other than . . . . it’s McLaren? Why should a given rule apply rigidly to one team and not to another?
So scrap the rule, I say, but until such time it should be enforced rigidly, with failure to comply attracting appropriate sanctions. Anyway, we all know that if McLaren are found "guilty" and are "punished" it will all "become" Ferrari’s doing!
Colin Pitt - Hamilton, New Zealand
Completely agree with the sentiments expressed in the leader article. It points to a bigger problem with F1 in general: the downright clumsiness of these cars while travelling in the wake of another car and the consequent lack of (on-track) passing. Monaco's narrowness makes it worse of course, but I tend to agree with the "unique, traditional, jewel etc etc" school of thought here.
If you think you've got it bad having wasted 100 minutes on a Sunday afternoon, spare a thought for us Antipodean fans. The European races start at midnight on Sunday with work looming in the morning. The North American races are a 5 o'clock start on Monday morning. Sigh. The only race we should watch live is the Aussie GP and that clashes with our own Sunday afternoon foray into motorsport. So that gets taped for later viewing. And Bernie thinks it should be a night race to accommodate the same people who are rapidly getting bored with the so–called "spectacle" of F1? Get real. It was a spectacle a long time back – but now?
My kids are getting bored watching a merry-go-round. They are tending to stay asleep at midnight on Sunday instead of getting up to watch F1. I thoroughly enjoyed watching McLaren kick butt. There is still a strong sentimental attachment to the name here. But the kids want action. Who can blame them? If there is a problem it is that the race result is decided in the final five minutes of qualifying the night before. Yes, I sat up and watched that too. What a glutton.
Are you listening? No passing = boring. Simple. Passing = entertainment. No passing is boring. Hello? Hello? Hmmmmm, lights on, no-one home again; wasted another 100 minutes.
Robert Pidgeon
If you think sunday was preordained imagine being a TIFOSI all those years when the FIA changed the rules to allow someone besides Michael to win Fernando is only a 2 time champ because of these changes (see 1 tire rule) a Mclaren 1 2 is just as bad.
Bill Merrett - Cowichan Bay, BC, Canada
Monaco 2007 was boring, boring, boring.
Yes, I know it's the Jewel in the F1 Crown but how badly tarnished is the crown that it needs Monaco to be the high point.
The cars can't pass other then in the pits and it's so tight that they can't get up to any speed as well. And then there was the French TV director who seemed to have a love affair with the pit crews during qualifying that even overrode the action on the track in his mind. This moron pulled away from some great action in the 3rd session to show the crews hamming it up for the camera's.
Kimi did manage to go from 16th to 8th in the race but we never got to see any of it.
What a great spectacle Monaco is. Over important millionaires and wannabee's strutting for camera's, poor racing and even worse TV directing.
Lets make Spa the Jewel in the F1 Crown from now on, shall we?
Tony Geran - Sydney, Australia
Monaco was not a great race but at least this season has been consistent with McLaren and Ferrari sharing the podium again and the race being decided at the first corner again just like all races this season. But let's get one thing clear it would have been absolutely stupid of McLaren to have done anything other than get their drivers to hold position after the first round of pitstops. What Bernie was thinking of is not clear to me but then nothing he ever says is. While the only Pommy hope in international sport is 'beatified' by your press, then anything that seems to smack of holding Hamilton back will be viewed by that collection of patriots as treacherous and 'bringing the sport into disrepute'.
One bright spot from Monaco was actually seeing Alonso and Hamilton sideways on a number of occasions, proving that they were racing in the first stint. When did you ever see that in the Schumacher – Irvine/Barrichello/Massa era at Ferrari?
Martin Brownson - Discovery Bay, Hong Kong
Monaco is a fantastic street venue as is Macau, which I visit every year, and I welcome any new street circuit such as Valencia and Singapore being added to the calendar. Yes, Sunday was a bit of a bore and Monaco would benefit from some modifications to allow the odd overtaking opportunity, but it is a fantastic street race with a long history and let's not forget that we have seen some classic races there, particularly in the wet. McLaren did absolutely nothing untoward, they had a commanding lead and quite rightly asked the drivers to look after the cars and bring them to the finish line. If Lewis had taken pole he would have won and none of this UK tabloid inspired nonsense would have taken place. F1 is a world-wide sport watched by hundreds of millions and Hamilton-mania is only taking place in the UK - Created and perpetuated by the UK gutter press!
Paul Gammidge-Jefferson - Sutton Coldfield, UK
I would take things a stage further and say that Monaco no longer has anything to do with F1, if indeed it ever did. As long as people talk of F1 as the 'jewel in the crown of F1", marketing people will use it as market research to justify the Monaco GP to us 'oiks'. In fact it has nothing to do with motorsport or F1. It is a 'must' on the social calendar and is all about the champagne set.
If F1 was concerned about true motorsport supporters, it would not treat them with so much contempt. Anything to do with on track racing is discouraged. We have to accept that F1 is now a strategic sport. It is quite acceptable for a race to be won by inter-team strategy, with pitstop overtaking. It is quite something else, when an intra-team strategy shows its face. It would never do for a race to be spoiled by team orders would it? Bits of bodywork can flap around like entries for the Bognor Bird-man competition, but team orders! Little or nothing is done for a long term resolution to reel in the latest flappy or wobbly bit of aero-development. This smokescreen that was thrown up by the FIA is nothing more than that. It was designed to hide the fact that the sport of F1 has once again been brought into disrepute by its administrators in the name of 'society entertainment'. This latest move was cynical and McLaren were used as scapegoats.
Savvas Papadopoulos - Athens-Hellas
I think that all this happened on Sunday was a joke. I would like to ask Mr. Ron: What would be your position if the same "team orders" had given by other team (i.e. Ferrari, BMW…)? And I have to tell you that I didn't watch the race, except some highlights later on the news. I never watch Monaco race, because it's not a race. It's just an amount of girls, beautiful cars, actors, glamour, money, boats etc. Please Mr. Ecclestone no more Monaco in F1!
Ian Ciangura - Malta
Couldn't agree with you more regarding the Fia's investigation and McLaren's decision....in any. But just a slight observation about the race. But how come whenever McLaren trashes the opposition by over a minute every body wants to axe that particular race? We saw a lot of 1-2's in these last years and everybody cheered the winning team afterwards!!
Bill Merrett - Cowichan Bay, BC, Canada
I was not impressed by the race this year for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, the TV coverage by the French crews sucked. What did the director have with all the overlong shots of the pitcrews during the qualifying session? This moron pulled away from some great last minute action in session 3 to show the pitcrew hamming it up for the camera.
Then there was the race. Monaco may be the "Jewel in the Crown" of F1 but it is still a boring race to watch. Once the cars get past the first corner you may as well turn off the TV for all the action you are going to see from that point on.
Rare passing on track and pitstop strategy are all that is left to allow position changes. Oh, don't get me wrong, there must have been some passing out there as Kimi came from 16th to 8th he had to pass cars to do so. But the French director wouldn't let us see any of it so we can only imagine that it occurred.
Give me Spa at any time over Monaco.
Arno Church - Cape Town
What is this frenzy about team orders? If Lewis could race Alonso, Alonso would have just upped his game. Afterall he had the fastest lap, which Lewis could not beat even when he was closing the gap. He was totally in command, controlling the race. By his own admission, Lewis "klapped" the barrier a few times, McLaren just avoided him putting the car fully in the fence, thereby jeoprdising the the 1-2. This is called management, not team orders.
Next time around, maybe Lewis will be ahead in a similar situation. I can just imagine the Brit press if he is pushed by Alonso and then "klapping" the fence.
Edward Hunter - Houston Texas
Monaco has always been some place to watch a barroom brawl called a motor race.
Passing was possible, as shown by the movement up and down the order. I enjoy taping the race and then skipping the commercials to save time. The Bull Hocky about the "team orders" is just that, a smoke screen to cover the errors Bernie has made in affecting the design elements of the cars.
I enjoy watching A1GP and GP2 because of the passing and passing attempts. Give back tunnels and slicks, I do like the idea of a single engine management box, issued to each team each day, no traction control, and put the shifter back on the side of the cockpit to make things harder. Shift without lift/seamless shifts do save some some money, but do they same as much as the software and hardware development cost?
Team orders, except where excessively transparent, are not in the same league as the NASCAR "Yellow flag for debris" that all Americans have seen.
Make Honda happy, make the engine a max of 1000cc stock motorcycle block and jug based. Who knows, they might actually win something!
Michelle Slater - UK
Fernando was faster than Lewis and that's why he won the race.
Fernando/faster + Lewis/slower x little opportunity to overtake = Fernando P1 at Monte Carlo.
It's a simple equation that the media need to learn about, maybe they need to re-sit their GCSE F1 again...