Finally back dear reader! Now where are we?
Ah yes. Liberty Media and the FIA are busy turning our beloved sport into a three-ring circus with clown shows in every ring. Each of these clown shows has but one maxim. "How can we squeeze just a few more dollars from the items and services available to us?" It is this "dollars over passion and sport" approach which forced me under a dark cloud when it came to observations about our great sport. No amount of cream pies hurled into the face could smother some of the harrowing events unfolding this season.
Liberty Media and the FIA are chasing dollars at an ever-increasing clip. I'm sure the recent sale of the LA Lakers for a shade over $12bn US had all of Liberty and the FIA floating around in vats of gold, dressed as Scrooge McDuck, with dollar signs twinkling in their eyes and dancing around their heads. Why have eleven F1 teams valued at "...around one billion each" when you can have a single team worth more than all the F1 teams combined!? With global billionaires trading sports teams as if they were Pokémon cards (which are also getting expensive these days...) Liberty and the FIA are convinced there is way, more gold is still buried in them thar F1 hills!
So, we have just experienced Madrid... Or after race day should we call that Ma-dread? Lando's "Mint" comment was one for the ages! Listening to folk from the FIA, Liberty, and a number of team principals, it was a "Don't obsess about the race day action! Look at the food, VIP spaces, advertising, the ability to include more fan engagement areas!" A.k.a yet more money printing opportunities. Just as a lack of understanding eventually did for Nokia and Kodak, so the FIA and Liberty, if they are not careful, are moving towards ignoring both die-hard fans, and genuine sporting action. Such reckless self-harm that when the money making machine suddenly implodes they will wonder how it ever happened.
The Duke of Wellington was one of the biggest and most consistent supporters of the idea that Napoleon was a military genius and a master commander of men and empires. Why? Because when the Duke bested the cheeky Frenchman he wanted it to be understood just how masterful he was in overcoming such greatness. He built Napoleon up in public, then defeated him on the battlefields of Europe. He left unsaid that which made him even more awesome. He left space for the public to work that out for themselves. Which, much to his great relief I'm sure they did.
Such was the respect with which the French people regarded Wellington they invited him to be Governor General of France following the battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's exile. Being of sound mind Wellington politely refused such a poison chalice. Currently in the F1 universe we are seeing this ploy work out in two very different ways. The application by the drivers, and the application by the FIA and Liberty.
The drivers for the most part compliment one another, as they do not wish to be viewed as the sole driving genius on the grid, beating all the others to the top step of the podium because they are to a man useless. Kimi was all class when his first comment on exiting the cockpit on Sunday was to lament Lando's unfortunate loss. Even going so far as to state "Lando deserved the win today." It's rare to see such humble, genuine, respect in any sport these days. It was a high-point for respect among drivers. Long may this application of respect continue.
Then we have the FIA and Liberty. Oh dear. Forever praising each other, circuit owners, viewing figures. Berating fans for not appreciating the show while endlessly carping on about the need for bloody sporting action. Can fans not just be in awe of their demi-god status and simply empty their wallets into Liberty's coffers while keeping their mouths shut? Muhammad Ali was the peak of trash-talking with style, keen insight, and self-deprecating humour. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"., has to be one of sports great one liners. Ali respected his opponents and then simply took them apart in the ring... having been nothing but fascinating high-speed cheek in the lead up. Ali's was a hard-won respect.
That's what F1's drivers want. Respect for the right reasons. The good reasons. The hard-earned reasons. For that they need mighty opponents and a workable car. Every driver on the grid deserves their place there this season, and can hold their heads high when looking over the bulk of historic fields. Then our current very best, Alonso, Lewis, Max all battle proven. Lando, Oscar, Kimi, on-a-good-day George, all new and still improving talent. They can stand tall against the greats of the sport in terms of grit, driving ability, gladiatorial spirit, and mutual respect.
The teams have never worked harder with such complex machinery. Behind every great driver is a vast, great team. Which leaves the twin problems of weak tracks and daft rules. Without great tracks and logical rules, the drivers have no arena within which to prove themselves in sporting battle. The race in Ma-dread being a season-damning lowlight of Liberty and the FIA's weak thinking. Endless concerts, virtual tours, and 1,001 branded items will not stand alone. They have to be supported by great racing, or they will die.
First, this year's engine rules are a face-plant of epic proportions. The clowns in that ring were throwing the cream pies so fast they lost sight of what on earth an engine is supposed to do. V. Max told them years ago. How could they not listen when all the teams started releasing sim run data predicting exactly the yo-yo racing, and super-clipping, we are now witnessing? Then we have the seasonal joy of irrational steward's decisions, not forgetting the tragic deployment of a VSC at the perfect moment to rob Lando of a win on a weekend he was otherwise unstoppable.
As Lando summed it up. How did anyone look at the Madring design and think "Mint!"...? As the drivers have politely noted "...anyone who knows anything about F1 would never have designed it like this." Which makes one wonder what Jarno Zaffelli (of the Italian race track design firm Dromo) and the Tilke company (yes, that Tilke) were thinking as they descended into a legal dispute over the track. Randomly selecting single features from other great circuits and clipping them all together like a giant Scalextric track does not a wonder-circuit create. As strongly suggested by a number of the drivers, they have the space to correct a number of the errors in time for the 2027 race. Let's all pray they do exactly that.
I've been an F1 fan all these years for the skill, the humanity, the engineering brilliance, and the drama of great racing moments. Right now I'm having to work hard to pick these out of the foaming mess created by all those cream pies that the Liberty and FIA clowns are throwing around while demanding we love their combined awesomeness.
Thankfully the skill, heart and mutual-respect of our current drivers has saved me from the oblivion of endless summer cricket and World Cup soccer. How long can they keep performing this miracle if the clowns with the pies and the love-of-money obsession do not awake to reason soon?
Your scribe has a new quiver of goose feather quills sharpened and ready to go, and a pile of fresh pressed papyrus sitting on the corner of the desk. Now let's get organised to extract maximum joy from the remaining races this season! I know that's exactly what the drivers would want us to do.
Max Noble
Learn more about Max and check out his previous features, here
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