F1 power struggle rages on
REFORMS: MANAGEMENT IN BID TO RE-ARRANGE DECK CHAIRS TO NEUTRALISE PESKY TEAMS
Lewis Hamilton can clinch his sixth world title at the US Grand Prix next weekend.
If you watched last Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix you were rewarded with real spectacle. From the start it was set to be a titanic battle between the top three teams and the amount of physical contact made on lap one set the tone.
The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel got away well, hotly pursued by Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen who were to tangle heavily, damaging the Mercedes floor.
That was followed by another problem for the Red Bull driver when a touch with the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas resulted in a puncture for Verstappen and a long drive back to the pits for new rubber, to rejoin stone last. The rest is history with great drives from many and the promise of a nail-biting finish. That unfortunately did not happen as the Mercedes gamble on Hamilton’s tyres paid off and gave the Englishman another victory but not his sixth title, which has to wait until next Sunday.
The behind the scenes scenario regarding the future of F1 is becoming very interesting as the owners, promoters, the international governing body and teams fail to reach agreement. We have heard continually of the rule changes for 2021 for some time. Formula One Management (FOM) insists the racing must be more exciting and definitely more entertainment orientated. Along with the FIA, the introduction of a cost cap is designed to bring new teams to the party, although no one has demonstrated any intention of doing so.
Then there are the proposed engine regulations which appear to be causing consternation between the administrators and the engine manufacturers. Suggestions on spicing up the whole F1 experience is another area full of dissention, as all involved do not seem amenable to so many of the diverse concepts on the table.
A classic example was the idea of running reverse grids. Hoping to trial the new system in 2020 with three events, it was brought before the Strategy Group where it was rejected by two of the 10 teams. With a unanimous vote required from that body to approve it, the proposal was rejected.
It is proving difficult for all, with the majority of teams also against the proposed 2021 regulation changes with a six to four vote. There was talk of the holding off on the proposal until 2022, but after last week’s meeting in Paris it appears to be not acceptable to all the parties. Thus the new regulations will be published this week.
The stand against the new way forward by the Strategy Group is a thorn in the side of FOM. An announcement regarding the possible scrapping of not just that group but the F1 Commission as well, indicates the powers that be are set to ensure these pesky dissident teams are neutralised in future.
That could mean a new system where all teams, plus F1 and the FIA, are represented and a majority vote will be accepted, making the unanimous vote requirement a thing of the past. On paper it all sounds very democratic. It might eliminate some of the issues that arise currently allowing teams to block anything that does not suit them.
There are many issues including the prickly subject of the distribution of prize money and the proposed standardisation of parts that could be stumbling blocks. And let us not forget the Ferrari veto, which could really throw a large spanner into the works.
Following comments from Hamilton, supported by Vettel, Sergio Perez, Alex Albon and Antonio Giovinazzi concerning the environment, it was Kimi Raikkonen who made me smile.
The 40-year old Finn was reported as saying: “Obviously I think it involves everybody who lives on this planet. In the end we all try to do what we can, but honestly we are probably not in the best place to start making big stories out of it, because we’re burning fuel for what? To be first? Second?
“For sure we try to do our part if and when it’s possible, but I think F1 is not the strongest place to tell people what we should do about preserving the environment. To really go that route we should all stay home and forget the racing.”
There’s a man who says what he thinks.
Austin, Texas is our port of call this weekend for the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. If you go by the record book it should be the race that brings Hamilton that title. First run at this track in 2012 it has seen just three winners: Vettel for Red Bull in 2013, Raikkonen for Ferrari in 2018 and every other year Mercedes and Hamilton.