U.S. Grand Prix details released
Formula One is not just about racing. In recent months numerous contentious incidents have sparked bitter arguments, rivalry, and disdain amongst drivers, marshals, officials, and executives. The latest row is centered on the team orders issue, ignited by Ferrari’s tactics on the German Grand Prix raceway.
If you weren’t watching the event on Sunday, by now you’ve seen the replay of Felipe Massa moving out of the way to allow Fernando Alonso through for the first place spot on a one two finish. True, Alonso has driven better than Massa this season, but why would the team rob Massa of the win?
In terms of fairness, the decision to let Alonso pass is harsh considering one year ago Massa lay unconscious in a hospital bed fighting for his life after a spring hit him in the head during the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying rounds. He was so close to being crowned champion in 2008, and has good potential for this year as well and, questions of fairness aside, was it right to manipulate the race?
In 2002, Formula One introduced a rule that a team could not give orders to their drivers which would affect the outcome of the race. The rule was instated after Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello provided then team-mate Michael Schumacher with a win only meters away from the finish line. His decision was designed to get Schumacher a better position in the driver’s championship. The rule split Formula one circles in half: those who supported it and those who despised it.
Massa’s driving on Sunday wasn’t “bad for a number two driver,” to quote Mark Webber’s jib after he came in second at Silverstone. Massa won the start from polesitter Sebastian Vettel and led the first phase of the race even after making pit stops. Alonso, who had been caught up in a competitive battle with Vettel, tried to pass his teammate a number of times.
It was during the 18th lap that Massa received the coded message from Rob Smedley to pull out a gap and allow Alonso to slip through,
“Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understand?” Smedley said to Massa, who confirmed he understood by letting Alonso through moments later.
Questions of fairness, right and wrong aside, the orders were sent out to give Alonso more points toward the championship. He has been driving great this season but has dropped points over the last couple of races, and Hockenheim was a crucial race to get back in contention.
Many fans have spoken out about the incident, and feel cheated by Ferrari’s tactics. The team's motivation was to earn points for the constructor’s championship and see their number one driver ahead in the driver’s championship. On the sporting side of things this decision takes away from the quality of the competition.
The German stewards decided Ferrari’s antics warranted a fine of $100,000 – the maximum amount allowed to be imposed – but the team could receive further punishment from the FIA either in points deductions or a racing ban.
Ferrari stated the incident was “a driver decision”, strange considering they apologized to Massa after the race and have no plans to appeal the fine.
Eddie Jordon, a former Formula One owner is one of many who believe the rule facilitates secretive instructions, and that teams need to be allowed to tell their drivers what to do out in the open. “Every team has to have team orders and now they are just cloaked over as a guise," he told BBC Radio 5 live. "But fundamentally the regulators have to sort that out.”
Jordon was furious with the way Ferrari played the race – Alonso’s win now has him 34 points away from leader Lewis Hamilton. The rule needs to be re-examined and re-worked into a system that works for both teams and fans in which a team is free to make tactical decisions while the fans don't feel cheated.
"Ferrari believed the best way to win the championship is for Alonso to be the main driver, but it was the way it happened. . . It was a nonsense and the way they handled this was appalling," said Jordon.
He wasn’t the only one unhappy with the racing outfit’s behavior. Red Bull chief Christian Horner had solemn words for the state of racing. “It's a great shame for Formula 1 that the race was manipulated to give one driver a victory over the other. The only losers today are Formula 1."
U.S. Grand Prix details released
Details about the plans for a U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, were revealed Tuesday during a conference at the University of Texas. Austin entrepreneur and businessman Red McCombs was named as the primary backer for the project, the most significant revelation of the project.
McCombs is the co-founder of the Clear Channel Communications, a highly successful broadcasting company. An avid sports supporter, McCombs is the former owner of the Minnesota Vikings, San Antonio Spurs, and Denver Nuggets sports franchisees and is currently the primary backer of the UT Longhorns sports programs. His involvement with the project brings not only financial support but experience, resources, and business relationships to compliment the extensive motorsports background of Tavo Hellmund.
Racing enthusiast and managing partner Hellmund has earned credentials as a driver and is the project promoter. His Full Throttle Productions LP is boasting the track will be the first purpose-built Formula One racing facility in the U.S. and says he has been searching for the perfect site for more than a year.
The Formula One facility will feature a track on a 900-acre plot in southern Travis County. The designated piece of land is located near the Austin International Airport on the southeast side of the city. The land was formally known as Wandering Creek, and the site was selected because its natural terrain is expected to be an excellent canvas for the facility.
“This project has been a tremendous undertaking,” Hellmund said on Tuesday. “But for at least the next decade, Texas will host a global sporting event on an annual basis in a new world-class multipurpose facility. Knowing that our hard work is being rewarded and that my dream is becoming a reality is extremely gratifying.”
Texas Governor Rick Perry surprised Formula One fans and citizens with the announcement that the Formula One would be coming to the U.S. on May 26th. The announcement was met with skepticism, even after Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One kingpin, confirmed that a U.S. Grand Prix was scheduled for 2012. But Tuesday’s announcement of a site and a backer verifies that the organization has a solid foundation.
McCombs felt confident about the project after speaking with Ecclestone, who eased his concerns about the construction of the site itself. McCombs used the press conference Tuesday to confront the cynicism surrounding the project,
“Bringing Formula One back to the United States represents the opportunity of a lifetime and one that any city in the world would want . . . The size and scope of an F1 event is comparable to hosting a Super Bowl and will bring substantial economic benefit to Austin, San Antonio and the entire state of Texas."
The greatest struggle will be to complete the project in time.
“They’ve got to start putting shovels in the ground really quick,” said Zac Browns, the head honcho at the company that represents Formula One’s sponsors. Browns believes the news will sway some of the criticism, "I think the timetable is the biggest question as opposed to whether it's going to happen.”
The track is to be designed by Hermann Tilke and the blueprints will be released by the end of the summer. The sport of racing is considered to be amongst the World’s most prestigious sporting events, alongside soccer’s FIFA World Cup and the Olympics, and the team hopes to bring some of that prestigious glamour to America. The sport is the most technologically advanced and has 520 million viewers worldwide, and would bring Texas onto a global stage.
The project will also impact the state’s economy, as it is estimated bring in approximately $300 million on an annual basis.
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