The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Youthful joy masks grim reality

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 13, 2005

Sport

Sport - Racing : Motor

Youthful joy masks grim reality

Richard Williams

BARCELONA: It was more like going to a football match. At least half the crowd seemed to be wearing blue and yellow replica shirts. And when Fernando Alonso emerged from the back of the Renault team's garage after the first qualifying session, he was greeted by a throng of kids who squealed with delight and chanted his name in their high-pitched voices.

For a few minutes in Barcelona last weekend it seemed Formula One might have a future involving young people and the spontaneous expression of enthusiasm. But then you started to wonder how those kids had acquired access to a balcony overlooking the paddock, where only the privileged can set foot.

In the world of contemporary F-1, not much happens by accident. And it was easy to imagine other teams — Ferrari, for example — wondering if it wasn't time that they, too, acquired a brilliant 23-year-old like the young Spaniard who leads the drivers' standings. Suddenly Michael Schumacher, 36, is looking his age.

Self-destruction

This can only be good for the sport. In Barcelona, however, F-1 took another giant step towards self-destruction as the old guard, represented by Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, intensified the fight against the teams who are threatening to start a rival series in 2008, after existing contracts expire.

Thanks to Mosley, the president of the sport's governing body, Ecclestone owns the commercial rights to F-1 for the next 106 years. Several of the teams, however, no longer wish to accept his financial terms.

When Ecclestone announced, a few weeks ago, that Ferrari had agreed to extend their deal, under much improved conditions, he probably envisaged the rest of the teams queuing up to follow suit. No such thing has happened, and the battle lines have been hardened as a result of the suspension of the BAR-Honda team for attempting to cover up a possible illegality at Imola.

Nick Fry, BAR's chief executive, has played an active role in the breakaway movement. After accepting the FIA's punishment, he continued to protest his team's innocence. On Monday five of the manufacturers which produce engines for the rebel teams — Renault, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota, as well as Honda — announced the formation of an association to press for new rules of governance within the sport.

In response the FIA issued a warning that teams which challenged the verdicts of their appeals court would be running the risk of further sanctions for conduct `prejudicial to the image and dignity of F-1 Racing.'

Image it certainly has, and a pretty tarnished one it is. Of dignity hardly a trace remains in a sport characterised by greed and other forms of self-interest. Meanwhile Mosley and Ecclestone continue to concentrate on preserving their positions while fiddling around with the sport's format and regulations, knowing that the occasional good race, such as the recent San Marino GP, will come along to provide circumstantial evidence in support of their stewardship.

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