Daily Telegraph Article - 15/5/2002

[f1manoz]

Most of the time in Australian newspapers, Formula One news rarely gets a mention. Perhaps one or two paragraphs a week is the most we get. However, after last Sundays farce, respected sports journalist Mike Gibson took it upon himself to write his thoughts on what happened. And remember, his column is called 'THE OPINION'!

I have always said that when it comes to entertainment, the greatest thing sport has going for it is that it's real.

Sure, there's plenty of blood and guts at the movies, but it's all contrived. Those guys are acting. Provided you don't OD on popcorn, no one gets hurt.

In a throwaway world of increasing disillusion and cynicism, in a society that abounds in superficiality, manipulation and fake, sport remains the genuine article.

When Kostya Tszyu's opponent grimaces in pain as he gets whacked with a rip to the chops, the savage sound of the blow and the look on his face are vivid on television. Because they are real. When Ian Thorpe churcns through the pool to smash another world record, this is no dress rehearsal. What we are watching is the finest swimmer in history demoralising the best swimmers on the planet.

And when Michael Schumacher, the four-times Formula One World Champion, take the checkered flag in the Austrian Grand Prix, hey, what a finish as he grabs Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello just metres from the line.

Except it wasn't a great finish.

It was a sham. A fraud. A three-dollar coin. Tickets to see Elvis. It wasn't real.

Here was the most outstanding driver of his time, driving for the most celebrated team of them all, debasing his sport and cheating on the fans by rigging the finish to ensure he won the race.

When I say 'rig', the script was Barrichello - who led from the pole until those last moments - received 'team orders' to move aside to allow Schumacher to win the Grand Prix.

It was an act befitting the grunt and groan merchants of the WWF. An orchestrated performance so the 'good guy' won. Except wrestlers don't pretend to be anything other than fakes.

Formula One prides itself on being the home of motor-racing heroism, the showcase for the greatest drivers in the fastest cars on earth. What happened in the Austrian Grand Prix was a disgraceful display of arrogance from a team of sporting shysters, a calculated manipulation of the result so that their No. 1 driver goes further ahead in the championship in which he already holds a formidable lead.

Certainly, it has happened before. 'Fix' the result in most sports, and they throw you out of the game. In some places, they send you to jail.

But Formula one is a team business. It's part of the culture. As far back as 1958, American Phil Hill waved his Ferrari team leader Mike Hawthorn past him in the closing stages of the final race of the season, the Morrocan Grand Prix. Hawthorn's victory clinched him the championship.

But there was no drivers' championship hanging on last Sunday's grand prix. There were just Schumacher and Ferrari, conspiring to 'fix' the result by thumbing their noses not only at spectators at the track, but at those millions of viewers around the world who switch on their television sets to watch what they believe will be a genuine contest.

As if teh contempt he had show to the fans wasn't enough, Schumacher proceeded to make teh hypocrisy complete by pushing Barrichello to the top step of the podium and persuading him to accept the winners trophy. To the jeers and whistles of the crowd, he then spouted a few lame words to try to absolve himself from the charade in which he been involved.

Yesterday, betting organisations declared they will no longer accept wagers on Formula One. Why would they?

Would you take bets on a horse race, when teh winning stable blithely informs you that their jockey pulled up the second horse to ensure that their favourite - the one they wanted to win - was first over the line?

As confidence in their sport plummets to an all-time low, the FIA - Formula One's governing body - has summoned Schumacher, Ferrari and Barrichello to explain their actions at a meeting in Paris on June 26. Unless they take action, fans will be left wondering who runs Formula One - FIA or Ferrari.

For the dashing red cars, the epitome of their sport, last Sunday was a black afternoon.

It wasn't a race. It was a dupe.

[Valve Bounce]

Well said.

Valve[img]http://www.**************************/smilies/bouncy.gif[/img]

[calais]

very well said!!!!!!

[EERO]

Great response. The credibility of the sport is in serious question. A few more of these an Bernie WILL change the name to WWF1!

[Hugh Jarce]

Are you really suggesting that F1 could become the next WWF and we could see:

Team bosses and drivers talking absolute rubbish and inflating their chances with 'fighting talk' in the pre-race interviews?

Officials turning their backs and ignoring the cheating that's clearly going on?

Drivers wearing ridiculous and lurid outfits? (Hello Jenson!)

Girlfriends hanging around in the pit lane in revealing gear, gloating when the opposition is getting a pasting?

Some competitors consistently spending more time off the 'playing surface' than on it?

Ridiculous looking trophies that are bigger than a bus?

Tag-racing where only one team player really gets to finish?

Loyal fans totally unaware that the whole thing is a farce?

Man, I just can't accept that those sort of antics could ever happen in F1!

[Liz]

Hugh, you have hit it right between the eyes. Maybe it's time everyone woke up and realised a few things.

Signed,
The Last Person on Earth to Believe Nixon was Guilty

[Glen]

WWF analogy only works if you take the view that Rubens is in competition with Michael - which Ferrari will say is not the case. From the way some of the reaction is going one would imagine that the race had been fixed between competitors (teams).

To reiterate my stance, I do think it was wrong - but mainly on grounds of it being too early in the season, F2002 being so fabulous it doesn't matter, and Schumacher on virtually any other track being by far the best. Unfortunately this last point can never now be proven, since many will quite reasonably doubt the performance of the number 2 red car in the future.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by Glen
WWF analogy only works if you take the view that Rubens is in competition with Michael - which Ferrari will say is not the case.

should Rubens carry on as he has done in the last few races since getting his hands on the f2002, then can ferrai carry on denying that Rubens is not a threat if his speed continues then Glen?

[Mantis13]

Good point Glen.

The other problem I have with this is the fact that Rubens had a near if not perfect weekend. He had a great qualifying run and drove a great race. He deserved that win. Perhaps that's a simplistic reason to disagree with this thing but Rubens puts in a great weekend and gets rewarded with a "move over"

[neilap]

To me the credibility of F1 is not at stake. I feel everyone knew that Ferrari was about MS. We all knew that RB did not have the full support of Ferrari. Team orders are a part of the sport and always will be. The sad thing is that they let RB think he was gonna win till the end of the race. They should have done what they usually do and screw up his pit stop or something like that. I dont watch F1 for Ferrari. In fact I would not miss them if they left. So what they do does not have an effect on my appreciation of the sport. It is obvious that the race is not for first nor second. Third, fourth and fifth are the hot spots this season. Things are heating up at Arrows and Honda is supposed to be improved after Canada. So the midfield and best of the rest will be exciting.

Ferrari has forgotten the meaning of sport. That is fine though because they only disgrace themselves, not F1. They have Bridgeston on lock, and they ensure that one driver wins all the races. I dont see how they will be able to brag of their achievements. Wait, Toyota will be the big boys soon. They will buy all the best engineers and racers. Who knows they might give MS his last title after he leaves Ferrari in 2004. I am sure they would be able to more than double his salary just to get a sample of his genius.

[Glen]

They don't have anything to say about a "threat" - they maintain (I think this is silly because it's so early in the season) that one driver had a WDC-winning amount of points and the other had a much reduced chance of winning WDC, therefore it makes sense to maximise the one with the best chance. Like I say, I don't agree with this view but it does make sense as an argument.

Where the Ferrari stance comes apart is in the "we don't know what will happen" argument - just about the only reason conceivable reason that Schumacher coudn't comfortably get WDC again this year is illness or injury - in which case Rubens is rather badly placed to pick up where MS left off. Also, they stand a very good chance of taking the wind out of Rubens' sails, in which case he'll begin not to serve his logical purpose (in their minds, not mine) of taking P.2 as often as possible, thus maximising the WCC and taking points away fromthe next nearest WDC challenger.

I don't think Rubens has the depth as a driver to out-pace Schumi consistently. We shall see.

[Nicholas]

Interesting that in the same year that Hawthorn won the title, it was his rival (and friend!) Stirling Moss who stood up for him when he was set to be disqualified from the Portugese GP. I just read about it in the Daily Mail today by somebody obviously against team orders. So when I read this thread I felt it was a bit ironic...

[Piquet]

Originally posted by mr v


should Rubens carry on as he has done in the last few races since getting his hands on the f2002, then can ferrai carry on denying that Rubens is not a threat if his speed continues then Glen?

of course that assumes that Rubens' car will be equal to Schumachers from now on, in terms of performance. We will have to wait & see.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by Glen

Where the Ferrari stance comes apart is in the "we don't know what will happen" argument - just about the only reason conceivable reason that Schumacher coudn't comfortably get WDC again this year is illness or injury - in which case Rubens is rather badly placed to pick up where MS left off.

i agree, as we saw in '99, ferrari's push was behind tgf so much that it inadvertantly handicapped eddie at the end of the year! the way i see it, should anything happen to tgf, such as we saw in '99, imo, those extra 4 points aren't going to make much difference anyway! maybe i'm wrong, but drivers don't miss a race because they feel sick or have stomach ache, they miss races due to something fairly serious! in '00, rafe raced in canada with a serious gash in his leg due to an accident in monaco, the year before, hh-f won in france after badly hurting his knees in canada!

to only to major examples of this in recent years (and fortunatly not too serious) were tgf and panis, both with broken legs, and both times they were out of action long enough to forget all about their championship chances!

[TickTag2]

good article f1manoz

but MS still the best sportsman of the year

Scuderia Ferrari = Screw the Ferrari

[calais]

isnt it ironic how team orders cost ferrari the 99 WDC.
in france 99 when TFG had a car problem, the toad wouldnt let eddie pass him.
that 1 point, plus the nurburgring debacle, cost EI the title