Sunday, July 25, 2010

Racing Politics at Play in German Grand Prix

Ferrari have taken first and second at the German Grand Prix in the Formula One Championship.
Fernando Alonso took the checkered flag ahead of teammate Felippe Massa with pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel filling the final podium position at his home race.
It was the 19th victory for Ferrari at the Hockenheimring, and the second for Alonso after his win in the opening round at Bahrain.
Vettel did not nail his start, once again, and the two Ferraris passed immediately.
Despite his efforts to pin Alonso to the wall, Vettel tumbled back two spots, as Massa passed both drivers during the scrap.
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and Mark Webber finished fifth, managing to take control back of his car after some oversteer issues in the middle of the race.
But Alonso's win wasn't without controversy.
At the 49th lap of 67, Massa was leading the race and held a buffer of several seconds over his teammate.
Then he suddenly allowed Alonso to pass after the hairpin.
After an initial state of confusion by commentators and viewers, the in car replay of Massa confirmed he was not applying full throttle.
It confirms the prescence of racing politics in the lucrative event.
Teams seek championship winners and do not promote the idea of the best day's performer winning, but the best year's performer.
They don't care about the present, but only the future.
It angers fans and takes the skillful touch away from the event.
It wasn't hard to see that Massa was hurt by the decision, which he obviously had no say in.
He struggled to keep Alonso's wheel after the pass, and was slowly being approach by Vettel from behind.
His indifferent greeting to Alonso after the race also demonstrated this - not even giving his teammate any eye contact. Massa knew he was the better man out there.
He made his feelings known in the press conference afterwards, without having to say too much.
Massa stated that he did feel he was the better driver, and did very little to hide it.
"It's a very strong result for the team" stated Alonso, who avoided much talk of his individual effort, most certainly out of guilt.
It now adds fire to the issue of driver hierarchy within teams, after the well-publicised scrap within the Red-Bull Racing team between Mark Webber and Vettel.
After winning the Silverstone GP, Webber announced over the radio that his effort was "not bad for a number two driver."
The Red Bull debacle was sparked when a new front-wing on Webber's car was moved onto Vettel's car for qualifying.
The team got the intended result with Vettel finishing on pole, but then Webber won the race.
The team made a tactical decision to switch car parts, but all they ended up with was bitterness between the halves of the team.
Although the best driver won in that case, these tactics are becoming dangerous to the competitive future of the sport.
Young drivers of the next generation must fear the competition for its severe favouritism for money over the respect and future prospects.
What kind of racing 'spectacle' are the Formula One teams providing when the best driver doesnt win?

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