Massa-Vettel video revelations: FIA losing control or playing dumb?
Felipe Massa should thank his lucky stars after having escaped a drive-through penalty for his jump start at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Amateur video footage posted on the video sharing website, YouTube has revealed that the Brazilian driver’s Ferrari was stationed ahead of its grid spot at Spa last weekend. Usually, there is a warm up lap before the start of every race during which, all the cars are able to get a feel of the track with regards to race-day weather conditions and most importantly, getting their tires up to temperature.
After completing a lap at slow pace, during which overtaking is prohibited, the drivers return to the grid and slot into the boxes that they have qualified in. But, the video clearly shows that Massa stopped several feet ahead of where he should have been; the parameters of his grid spot. Thereby, giving him an advantage as the five lights illuminated and the Brazilian was able to take advantage of Mark Webber’s slow charge, claiming the fifth spot after having starting at sixth.
The matter seems rather dodgy as apparently, it’s not that easy to hoodwink the automatic jump start system. There is a transponder in the floor of the car that sends the signal to a sensor in the tarmac. But, despite the car not being within the tolerated range, no such signal was received. Nine out of ten times, this would have normally alerted the race director; however, it didn’t happen this time.
Furthermore, Race Marshals are also deployed to spot out anything ‘out of place’ on the track. Surprisingly, both machines and humans missed the trick, rendering the FIA unable to consider the predicament and as a consequence, issue a drive through penalty. "As no further information or complaints were received before the publication of the official result on Sunday night, the classification of the Belgian Grand Prix will now remain unchanged.” said the Formula One governing body in an official statement.
Looking ahead, perhaps it’s sensible not to bash the officials for something that’s already been done. The rules are simple; the complaint should have been made before the official results were announced. Teams that still find it hard to stomach Ferrari getting away with it should consider themselves no better than a disapproving crowd at a wedding that doesn’t speak up when the priest clearly states, ‘If anybody has any reservations, speak now or forever hold your word’-
Meanwhile, an FIA spokesman told the media, “The FIA are investigating the causes of the apparent failures in communication with race control in order to ensure a repetition is not possible.” It is the second time this week that amateur footage was able to penetrate much further than the view offered to supporters by the multi-million sport. Earlier, shots of Vettel’s front wing flexing just before catching Jenson Button on lap 17 also rang some bells.
Some Formula One fans might also remember another incident during the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix when Amateur footage revealed that it was actually Lewis Hamilton’s doing that led to an accident behind the safety car – Coincidently, the unwilling victims on that occasion were this year’s title contenders: Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. It seems rather ridiculous, that, despite having the latest piece of gadgetry at its disposal, the sport has often been brought to its knees at the hands of some low-quality evidence off a regular digital camera.
The moving wing makes many critics seriously doubt the credentials of Bernie Ecclestone’s team. Is it because teams are getting smarter than the governing body? Or perhaps pressure from the audience is forcing the FIA to overlook a few performance upgrades for what they perceive as the greater good. Reality Check: Massa went on to finish the race in 4th spot, scoring 12 points while the YouTube footage has now been removed from the website.
So to sum up, the teams are getting smarter, the amateur filming crowd is more vigilant than ever, is it safe to assume that the governing body missed a step to maturity?
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