Fernando Alonso was obviously feeling rather uncomfortable when he arrived in the Media Centre in Hockenheim. He was right to be nervous. There was not even a hint of applause when the top three entered the room. Nothing. When the questioning began it was clear that the international media – who, perhaps we should remind everyone, are the representatives of the general public from all around the world, and the conduit by which the F1 people communicate. Under increasing attack, Fernando felt the need to hit back and suggested that one of his questioners had obviously not been watching what had happened during the weekend. This suggested that he believed that no-one in the Media Centre really understood what had happened. The sad thing was that the media understand only too well what was going on – and this is why the uncomfortable questions were being asked. Alonso seems to forget sometimes that he has a track record with McLaren and Renault which make people less than confident that he always being straight. Felipe Massa, on the other hand, is always considered to be a honest man, who says what is on his mind. He did so in Hockenheim as well. He had done what he did because that was what was best for the team, he said. There was a nobility in that. One might not like the way things are done but one accepts them and deals with them in a classy way. Alonso does not understand that concept. He does not seem to understand that being what he calls “professional” is not really being professional at all. Ferrari pays his salary, but the money that the team has is based on whether or not sponsors want to be associated with what a team does. Some do not. One would think that Fernando might understand this given what happened at Renault when the stories of Singapore 2008 first emerged. The sponsors packed up their bags and left, just as they started to pull out recently when the French soccer team became a public embarrassment. Sport is not business and those who do not understand where the line is drawn make the same mistakes over and over again. Yes, of course, F1 teams are big businesses and they need to be run in a sensibly way, but the key element in sport is free and fair competition. This is what makes it attractive, what makes people tune in to Formula 1 races and make them willing to buy products that F1 sponsors produce. Modern sponsorship is about engaging with the fans, not just the number of eyeballs that people calculate. Engaging with fans is best done by being sporting. It really is very simple. Attacking the media for asking questions is just not very intelligent. Okay, Fernando was not feeling comfortable. One might even say he was squirming, but writing off the F1 media is insulting not just the journalists, but also the general public, because as the comments on this blog show, many fans care deeply about the sport from which Fernando owns his crust.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a World Champion. There is nothing wrong with making a fortune while doing it, but if you are going to do it, you need to understand that there are ways of doing things that will be respected – and there are statistics. A driver may win many more races than another, but he will not necessarily be respected because of the numbers. Those who understand that are the great sportsmen. Those who think that winning at all costs is all that matters are the building houses in the sand…
joeblogsf1 
Joe,
If I were Fernando I too would be asking questions of the media. We’ve seen numerous examples of team orders over the years (Ferrari in China ’08, Brazil ’07, USA ’06; McLaren at Silverstone and Hockenheim in 2008, and Belgium in 2005; Renault at Istanbul and Montreal in 2005; just to name a few examples that come off the top of my head). But there was no furore then; everyone seemed to say, “Well, team orders are illegal but they happen – nothing we can do about it.”
But now, suddenly and out of the blue, everyone goes on the offensive after this result. Why is this incident different from all the others mentioned? Felipe’s mathematically still in the title hunt, but so was Kovalainen in 2008 and Massa in 2006. The position change was for the lead, but so were most of the others mentioned.
Honestly, I can’t fathom why this incident has attracted so much negative press when so many others have gone practically unnoticed. Maybe you can help.
And Fernando has a record of not being too bothered about the foundations and then expecting us to buy his shaky house….
We are meant to respect that?…
There are sportsmen to admire… and then there are guys who make a living from sport…
Mr Alonso will never be the former…
Well said indeed Joe. Love your work, as always.
From what we saw of the immediate pre-race comment from the top 3, it was so very uncomfortable. Massa seemed happier – almost vindicated – in front of the cameras following Alonso’s initial questions than he did jumping out of his car and standing on the podium.
I think he took great solace in this and has certainly come out as the ‘good guy’. A bit like Webber’s run in the media lately… Although his situation is based on speculation where as there is really no mistaking the intent shown by Ferrari here – Massa is number two and that’s it.
Joe,
Beautifully summarized.
As I said in my tweet … imagine how F1 could have been celebrating today has Massa won on the anniversary of his accident … and most certainly agree with Champions needing to “earn” their titles… See how F1 historians write about the beautiful battles of Senna and Prost and then you read about Austria, Singapore and now Germany with this new generation.
Just very sad for the sport that I love.
Now the second part of the challenge for F1 remains … FIA’s reaction to this. Will they reinstate honor to F1 or will they further damage it? Hope they do the right thing.
Reza
Very, VERY well put Joe. You have hit the nail on the head better than anyone.
I like sportsmen to have integrity. Sometimes this quality is sadly lacking, the Red Team and F.A should look it up in a dictionary.
Well … It seems the FIA didn’t do much to save the reputation of the sport.
What’s the point of a $100,000 fine for a team with a budget in the hundreds of MILLIONS?
OH … let let’s not forget … they get to keep the results !
Just very sad …
Brilliantly said.
Considering Fernando’s recent allegations of results being manipulated this is all a bit rich from him. Does the man have no integrity whatsoever?
Mr. Saward, I enjoy reading your posts, and I look forward to reading many more.
However, I wonder about the validity of this article.
Did FA unjustifiably attack his questioners? Maybe so
Are journalists the worlds representatives? I hope not
This article could be taken as just what it says that it is. This entry could also be taken as sour grapes from someone protecting his turf.
Alonso is a fiery Spaniard who, like other drivers before him, has made some questionable decisions (as have his teams). Mika Hakkinen is a well-respected and, by all accounts, a good guy. When in F1, though, he was criticized for being tight-lipped and unemotional.
I have to wonder, though, which driver has helped to sell more newspapers and sponsors’ wares?
In the perspective of these two extremes, drivers can only win with the media if they don’t win on the racetrack.
Funny, though, that this deplorable personality has been the main subject of so many articles and blog posts…
I Alonso is quickly becoming the personification of what is awry in modern F1.
If FA becomes World Champion this year, it should be with an * beside his name – cheat.
Brilliant, Joe!
I am TIRED of all this dirty games and unfair results!
Media and fans deserve more respect as well as the real sport.
Red Andy,
“there was no furore then”
Are you kidding? How long have you been watching Formula One? Couthard gave way for Mika on a couple of occasions and the fans and press hated that, never mind the times when Eddie and Rubens had to make way for Michael. To say that there has never been a furore before is daft, why do you think the rule was introduced in the first place?
In the 1950s and ’60s team orders were extremely common, with drivers actually giving up their car in favour of the team leader. However, in the early days passing was much much easier, and the spectacle of a race (why we plebs pay our money, after all) was not hanging on one or two overtaking moves each race. Even into the 1980s and ’90s it still happened off and on, but people were definitely starting to take against it.
I am one of those who think team orders should be allowed in F1. I always felt that the ‘no team orders’ rule was introduced as a knee jerk reaction to a particularly poorly judged implementation in Austria. However, the history of F1 is lettered with such manipulations. It is a team sport.
Having said that, currently there is a rule in place prohibiting team orders. And rules are rules.
I suspect $100,000 is not going to be the end of this.
Didnt Kovalainen let Hamilton to pass long before the season end during the 2008 season.
why there is a furore now?
hypocrisy?
sour grapes?
or what?
xrs,
There is a clear difference between the two situations. Kovalainen had no chance in the World Championship and Hamilton was in with a chance. He decided to help out Lewis. It was his right to do that. Felipe Massa could still mount a strong challenge for the World Championship than Alonso and so it is not right for such a decision to be made. Obviously one is entitled to an opinion as to to when and what is right and what is wrong, but I feel that the the FIA now is doing things which are for the best for the sport – and that is important. It has got nothing to do with anti-Ferrari feelings.
Fernando did not celebrate as if he had won straight up. I think that was obvious when he got out of the car.
You are asking a savage-competitive-tiger to be a gentleman? Not realistic IMO.
There are guys (Hamilton) that are far better at manipulating the media.
Champion and gentleman don’t necessarily overlap.
Despite Alonso’s petulance, I feel it would be wrong to put any blame on him for the team’s call to Massa. Any driver in the sport today would have taken advantage of that situation if given to him. Better to blame Ferrari for not laying out in plain terms pre-race as to what the strategy would be under the circumstances. Because of the way it went down today, I do feel however that Ferrari should be stripped of the manufacturer’s points awarded to it today.
Well done Joe. I suggest that somebody gives Fernando a copy of Sir Jackie Stewart’s Autobiography, which is titled
Winning Is Not Enough
Meaning that just because he wins all the races does not mean that he will be considered a champion if he does so in ways that are considered unfair or underhanded…
Your last paragraph describes perfectly a certain mister Schumacher and now Alonso. It seems Ferrari found once again the kind of driver they like. One that fits perfectly with there mentality not like that Finish guy who didn’t care about politics.
Well Joe, that Massa could mount a strong challenge for the WC is quite optimistic, don’t you think? Specially given his current performance, always significantly slower than his team mate. A double standard you are having here if you agree that in 2008 it was OK for McLaren to do it, but now is not.
I think that Ferrari has only one chance to win this WDC, and that is to concentrate in their best driver.
If another hard defence by Massa would have ended up like RedBull in Turkey they would have completely destroyed the last chance to fight for the title they have. And that is Alonso.
True is they should have been done it a bit better, something cunnier like… save fuel.
I also like Rusty above, don’t think journalist represent the “people” specially when reading/watching majority of them.
I love your website, I am a loyal follower and I hope you don’t mind disagreement in the comments section.
I completely agree with you Joe, but are you forgetting that Massa himself was a beneficiary of team orders when Kimi was ordered to move over for him (don’t remember which race) in 2008? If you’d watched the post-race interview then, Massa cleanly avoided that point. Your portrayal of Massa as “honest” doesn’t sell. Anyone, in any such situation would give preference to the driver higher in the championship rankings. Any driver hungry for the championship will make use of the situation, albeit reluctantly. The only problem here was Ferrari did it in too obvious a manner.
I don’t condone this, but what I’m saying is that if team orders are banned stewards should fine not just Ferrari but also Red Bull.
You’re clearly disappointed by Fernando merely talking back to a journalist. But that doesn’t condone targeting Alonso alone for the current team orders situation and Singapore 2008. There is absolutely no proof that Alonso wanted Piquet to crash purposely. Even here, Ferrari wants Alonso to win as that would give it more chances of securing the Drivers’ title. It’s a Ferrari crime and not merely an Alonso-orchestrated situation.
John C.
I was specifically referring to the incidents post-2002, since team orders have been banned. I believe I am right in saying that this is the first time that any team has ever been punished under the rule banning team orders, yet it has been broken several times since the ban was introduced.
So why now? Why have the media gone into overdrive on this occasion, yet not on any others? As Joe says, it’s not an anti-Ferrari sentiment – it can’t be since many of the examples I gave above involved Ferrari. As I say, I’m genuinely confused about why there’s suddenly such a big fuss when the same situation has happened several times in the past.
In terms of the article which Ferrari has been found guilty of breaching, there is absolutely no difference whatsoever between McLaren’s move at Germany in 2008 and Ferrari’s move today (except that McLaren’s was for 4th place, not for the lead, which is an irrelevant aspect anyway).
Kovalaienen still had a mathematical chance of winning the title. Not a very strong chance, admittedly, but certainly still a mathematical one. So how do we now determine when one is in a position to mount a “strong challenge”, and quantify that difference in an application of the rules? Surely this is entirely subjective?
Personally, I think all team orders should be permitted. They are clearly impossible to police.
Furthermore, the media as “representatives of the general public around the world?!!!” Don’t flatter yourselves! The media exists to turn a profit, nothing more.
As long as both drivers have a chance to win the WDC, I want them to race on the track, not beeing ordered or beeing prodded to let their teammates pass.
This is what made Austria 2002 so bad, it was so obvious, and it was early in the seaon.
There is a difference between telling drivers to hold their position, however their reached them, by luck or skill, and telling them to swap positions.
I completely agree. I have no problem with team orders – they shouldn’t be illegal, in my view – but insulting the fans’ intelligence is beyond the pale. People have asked me in the past why I disparaged Schumacher while simultaneously holding Senna to be one of the greats, when they did similar things. And that was always my answer: Senna was straight about it. He said he was going to take Prost out, he did so, and he never claimed innocence.
David Coulthard, I think, said that Ferrari is only doing what’s good for the brand. Getting the best result might well do that, but nothing will hurt your brand more than treating its followers like fools.
I think we have a perfect storm, Ferrari, who use rules as it suits them, and Fernando Alonso, who does the same.
Anyone that thinks that Alonso was not involved in the decision to make Massa let him by is leaving in a dream world.
I would suspect that the International press would have had a field day if Massa had been allowed to win. But that would not have suited the guys who’s reputation’s might well stand on the decision to sign Alonso to Ferrari.
Its now clear, at least to me, the reasoning behind signing Massa again, he is now always going to be the servant to Alonso and Ferrari’s wishes.
A sad day for F1
What really has to bother Felipe….is looking over to the other side of the garage knowing that his teammate played a prime role in his losing the 2008 WDC thanks to Crashgate in Singapore. How Alonso got out of that scot free, is beyond me.
im a F.Alonso fan, but i must agree with whats happen here today, this wasnt very nice, how ever like michael schumacher say earlier , it is all about the team ,and they must do what ever they can to win 1 of the titles,(driver or manufacturer) and felipe is way out of the title,
Fernando will always be a better driver than Felipe. Felipe will always be a better man, a better human being, than Fernando. End of discussion.
Finally – Nick Heidfeld allowed Robert Kubica through into the lead at Montreal in 2008 after being informed that the pole was “faster” – which he was, he was on a much lighter fuel load.
But the rule, as I understand it, makes no allowance for car weight, or for the stage in the championship at which the offence takes place.
Lastly, I’m glad Alonso fires back at cretinous questions. The flak he gets from a certain section of the (sadly) British press corps, exploiting the usual tabloid market for pantomime villains, is really quite ridiculous.
Sorry to break ranks, but only Mr. Smedley deserves a slap in the wrist , and if I was Mr. M. a P45 would be on the post already
During the weekend the drivers were asked “Who is the greatest if the current F1 Drivers?” and the majority responded with Alonso…Something tells me their minds will have changed after this one.
How disappointed I am with F1. I actually switched off when Massa allowed Alonso through. Of course it takes 2 to tango, and Felipe is guilty too. He could have just made his team mate fight for the lead.
Good for Rob Smedley, he was very straight up. Expect him to be fired or demoted away from the pitwall in the future for being insubordinate.
Great journalism Joe, despite what some people have said I believe you have done us a great justice in representing our interests.
Shame on Ferrari, they should have a 1 race ban at least and these race results DQ.
Surely the reality is its a team sport and the “no team orders” rule has been a farce since it was introduced. It has been ignored, albeit more subtley, on numerous occasions over the years with no great noise being made over it.
The refuelling era gave the teams the opportunity to manipulate the order of their cars 2 or 3 times in a race. The excuses were often flimsy bordering on ridiculous but it didnt really matter since noone could prove anything, and the majority of journalists were happy to leave it alone and write about something else.
Today either the majority of the press are too stupid to understand this (quite possible in a number of cases …) or simply delighted to get a good story out of it and are keen to milk it for all its worth – it was a fairly dull race today after all.
F1 only has itself to blame for the reaction of the ‘average viewer’ since they have spent the last 8 years pretending that this didnt happen.
This years rules (and tyres that can easily last a full race distance) have removed the opportunity for teams to do anything safely without it being obvious. Do we really want to have drivers faking a loss of control to allow a team mate past? Itll happen …
Hi Joe,
I like the article but then you take a contradictory view in the comments section. With Heikki in 2008, the situation was the same. He was in with a chance to fight for the title and McLaren favoured Hamilton over him by issuing team-orders.
That it was for 4th position didn’t attract any attention, but Hamilton did go on to win the German GP then. Had Heikki fought him and held him back, and Felipe finished ahead of Lewis, Felipe would have been the 2008 WDC.
That according to me was another manufactured result.
And to think that the media is honest in reflecting sentiments and relaying news is not true. There are few people, such as yourself, who are honest, passionate and emotional about the work they do, but in my opinion, there are a lot of people in the F1 media street who have very different agendas which are not dictacted by these qualities.
I think Alonso had every right to retaliate if he didn’t like the questioning, nothing wrong with that.
As for the incident, we have had them in the past and we will continue to have them.
when Graham Hill and Jimmy Clark were team mates at Lotus ,Graham Hill was asked “would you let Jimmy by to allow him to win the championship ?” Graham Hill replied
“Of coure I will, if he can get by.” which was exaclty the answer that Jimmy would have wanted. True sportsmen with integrity. Where is it now. I,m glad I grew up watching sporting gentlemen.
Again Alonso, I think the worst F1 champion in the past 50 decades. Yes, he is fast with the car but is not an sportsman at all. And Massa? it is a shame for him what he did today. A shame.
To intimate that Felipe was well out of the title, like some and effectively Ferrari have suggested, when there would have been less than one victory between the two drivers had Felipe won is terrible….
Either Alonso really can do the business or he needs a big helping hand….
This proves that Ferrari may not think either driver really capable….
Exactly my words Joe.
But I think in business trust is equally important. You can’t win in business if your partners/customers don’t trust you.
They say it was in the interests of the team, but it is SOOO damaging to the team right now.
If I was Red Bull, I would push until Vettel gets his golden trophy! Hell, they lost 1-2 at Turkey because they didn’t use team orders!!! They’ve lost so much pts thanks to this & now Ferrari uses team order and gets out w/ just 100k fine? No way.
WMSC will surely disqualify both Ferraris.
I also think there’s nothing wrong w/ having a number 1 driver. But this number 1 driver must deliver. Fernando Alonso has had a horrible season, he has shown nothing that he deserves to be champion.
If this race had gone as it should have gone, he was going to be in front of Massa by a mere win! Also he completely screwed his teammate’s race at Silverstone.
Hardly a deserving number 1 driver.
In response to Red Andy on why team orders this time has caused a furore – maybe it is because Alonso has quite clearly gained a reputation where he has to have everything his way, if he doesn’t get it he throws the toys out of the pram, and it is disappointing to now see Ferrari cave to his demands – yes there have been many many instances in the past of team orders and the like in F1, but if there is any teammate battle fans want to see, they want to see Alonso fight it out for once instead of using his crying to win. Let me disclaim this by saying I have the utmost respect for Alonso his pure driving talent, racecraft, tactician, etc. for sure he is one of the best ever and of the current generation, but I don’t want to see him winning like this, this only makes me think less of him as a driver – people would love him even more if he would just put up and shut up and drive. He attracts this negativity to him unnecessarily, he probably could have won today without the orders, thats what everyone wants to see thats why they get up early in the morning or stay up late at night to watch – not for this. Also its not fair to the other teams who could potentially benefit from Alonso/Massa fighting it out, I know Ferrari want to avoid that and other teams that have done it in the past but then your lessening the brand of F1, its sad.
Really, really, really well said.
After everything that has happened today, I hope Alonso doesn’t win the WDC for the better of the sport. Schumacher did enjoy teams orders but would have won the titles anyways he was that superior those days. As for Alonso, thats the only way he can win the WDC…..What a sad day, I loved Ferrari until Alonso came and now he is making me hate the team i have cherished for so long.
I was thinking about Santander. They’re paying for Alonso & Kimi. At the same time their biggest market is South America.
Considering how emotional are Latin Americans, it will be wayyyy too easy for them to switch banks when their accounts are due.
Spain is also in big financial trouble & I saw in the news recently some EU minister looking for business in Brazil…
Can’t find even 1 positive from this fiasco for anyone at Ferrari, incredible!
Its seems people are so quick in the U.K to go on an offensive towards Fernando as if he is some cheating monster. It has to be said that he does no worse than many other drivers in the sport. Its amusing how we attack his character and label him a cheat yet our own British driver Lewis is no better by his track record (do people really believe he didn’t see the safety car in valencia and slow enough to trap Alonso behind it, the constant checking of the mirrors tends to give it all away). So why do we constantly feel the need to attack F.A while pretending that Lewis is all perfect? I’m English and I support Jenson as a home driver but Have supported FA since he arrived in F1. Why you may ask? Because he’s a damn good driver. Oddly in Turkey when Button tried to pass Hamilton and it didn’t quite pay off he was told to hold station, and even before the maneuver the team had planned for both drivers to hold station and bring the car home. This is a form of team orders that prevents overtaking and in a way decides which of its two drivers win the race, so how is it that that it considered fine but this isn’t? While I don’t like what has happened today it is hardly the first time it has happened over the past few years so why all the uproar I don’t know, and the attack on Fernando is just plain bizzare when it would have been down to the team as a whole anyway. Finally why didn’t Felipe just say no at the end of the day. He could have and gone on to win but he choose to follow the order and has played himself into the number two role. Yes the team could try and drop him if he refused but then does he want to stay and play as number two for the rest of his Ferrari career?
Dear Joe, in your last paragraph, are you speaking about Hamilton?
Cheers.
I thought the English speaking media behaved as close to a savage pack of dogs as journos can get.
Perhaps Felipe wouldn’t have been so comfortable if asked about his contract with Ferrari and the ones that he signed before with michael schumacher as team mate.
With some of the things Alonso has faced in the past, notably fighting against Ferrari, he should be feeling quite comfortable and at a push satisfied that he is back in control.
“…you need to understand that there are ways of doing things that will be respected – and there are statistics.”
Nailed it. How would Alonso do were the Hockenheim shoe on the other foot?
For a “great” champion, it’s astonishing how much Alsono whines. Controversies at Renault/McLaren/Ferrari, and the one constant is him. Not too difficult to figure out who the diva is.
I echoe red andy comments…. there’s so much hate against the spaniard that some comments -specially from the British journalists- sound even pathetic. What RBR and Macca are doing this season, are also team orders. In the hipothetical case of Massa being able to hold the lead, the final result for the team could have been the same; the only difference is 7 points more for a driver who is adrift in the driver’s WC behind Macca and RBR drivers….What’s all the fuss about? Well, is not because it is Ferrari, it is because it is Alonso the driver. If Macca y RBR are so sure about their cars pace and the lead in both champ’s, why bother? Alonso has shown pace since Valencia and no-one basically backed him up when Valencia SC ambush and the stupid drive-thru happened to him? Noone knows if Alonso or Massa could have won the race having Smedley talk to Massa over the radio….I guess most of the Alonso’s haters could have enjoyed a raged Massa closing the door to the other red car and destroying the team’s race in favor of….RBR and Macca? team orders are not only the ones you hear over the team radios; there’s team orders even before the race to determine what’s best to win both WC…. maybe the big fuss is just because it seems Ferrari is charging back and both RBR and Macca feels the championship is now for them to lose
I have a very much increased admiration of Carlos Reutemann, when he said (in what? 1981?) that he wouldn’t be a racing driver if he willing gave up his lead to anyone, including his teammate, Alan Jones.
Massa should have politely declined, now having signed for 2011, and maybe said, “Tell Freddie if he wants it, to come and try get it!”
What a farce and slap for a very fast and too loyal driver.
If Alonso had any jewels, he would have declined.
Drivers should beat one another on the track, although I abhor all the rules and regulations from the FIA, the result for manufacturer Ferrari would have remained the same.
The reality is that Santander is paying a fortune this season for their brand in Formula 1. They are still paying for McLaren sponsorship, and rumors have it that they are directly paying Fernando Alonso’s salary for Ferrari. Add the signage in and around the Ferrari team, their headline sponsorship of races, trackside signage etc. and the number must be enormous. They need the payback in the form of wins for their contracted driver.
The cynic in me concludes that the win in this race was handed to Fernando Alonso via some internal “which driver is faster” formula that we can more or less determine by reading between the lines. I further conclude that Fernando Alonso has been given the role of de facto #1 driver at Ferrari, in the same way that Michael Schumacher was the de facto #1. Whether Felipe Massa’s new contract recognizes this is a question that people closer to the F1 teams might like to spend some time investigating…
In the meantime I hope the FIA docks Ferrari all their constructor points from this race, and fines them a nice stinging sum (I think $10m would be a good number). However, I am not holding my breath awaiting that outcome…
Quote: “…the international media – who, perhaps we should remind everyone, are the representatives of the general public from all around the world…”
Well, while I might agree with parts of your article (as I do with most of your postings), I must strongly disagree with this statement. You represent the media companies you work for. You have not been elected or appointed from the ‘general public’. Your statement is just vague at best and probably a fallacy.
And I do agree that while the radio communications made Ferrari look bad and smear Fernando Alonso’s victory, but I don’t see why this makes FA a disgrace and FM a hero. Who was it that let the other driver go by?.
Paulinux,
In which case I represent me (as I employ myself) and I have a right to my own opinion.
What a contrast between how Rafael Nadal carries himself, and Snr. Alonso.
reply to Solo’s
“Your last paragraph describes perfectly a certain mister Schumacher and now Alonso. It seems Ferrari found once again the kind of driver they like. One that fits perfectly with there mentality not like that Finish guy who didn’t care about politics.”
comon that finnish guy happily ‘took’ 2 wins from the scottish guy, didn’t he?
Well put and agree with much, but unfortunately once again show that the media can’t take any criticism at all, justified or not. Dish it out they can tho, justified or not.
Sorry, but the “media represents the public” stuff is pretentious, self-righteous poppycock. 99% of journalists represent their employer or paymaster, all of which are profit-making businesses with constituencies of varying numbers and wallet-sizes. And in the UK, the constituencies largely demand that Alonso is portrayed as the bad guy, whatever he does, and British drivers always portrayed as faultless heroes. Occasionally, a non-Anglophone foreigner is permitted into the circle of heroes and lions who never do wrong and are worthy of deification. Occasionally.
If anyone thinks that Alonso is any different to the likes of Hamilton, Schumacher, Senna and many other great champions, then they’re an idiot. Or just plain lying. The comments attacking Alonso personally are utterly ridiculous. Did he give the order? Yes he complained, but don’t most drivers going by the radio traffic we’ve heard over recent years? I remember some pretty pathetic and arrogant traffic between McLaren and one of its drivers when things haven’t been going perfectly well.
So, Alonso cannot be a great driver because his boss asked his team-mate to give way in one race? Thus “non-sequitur” is defined. Here’s another non-sequitur (but this time mildly conceivable point) not so acceptable to British F1 fans: if Lewis and his daddy hadn’t bitched and whined to the FIA behind their own team principle’s back in Hungary a few years ago, Alonso could well have become a triple WDC, winning three in a row – the last two in different teams. How many have done that? But no, he can’t possibly be a great driver, can he……
Cort,
I think you are talking total rubbish, but you are welcome to do so…
Fernando didn’t have the balls to overtake Felipe on the track so got his team to oder him to move over, then tries to deny it – the body language in the drivers de brief told the story – it made for cringing tv. Felipe does his talking on the track and Fernando can’t deal with that. Grow a pair Fernando !
Why oh why did Stefano D then force both drivers onto the top step of the podium – It was horrendous to watch !
To those attempting to raise McLaren in 2008 as a comparison there’s a fundamental flaw with that theory, namely that Hamilton WAS much quicker than Kovalainen, both in Hockenheim and Silverstone and he went on to win the races by merit. In this case Alonso wasn’t quicker than Massa, which is what makes this such a disgrace.
El Chiva – Why does Rob Smedley deserve a slap on the wrist ?
Joe,
I like your blog very much; but could you please use more paragraph breaks?
Cheers
The ban on team orders is foolish and was initiated by populistic journalists in the first place. F1 is never about being fair and giving all drivers the same material. Why should team mates have that advantage if their teams have a different strategy? It is foolish to make a rule for sentimental reasons that cannot be enforced.
McLaren 2007 the FiA had observers in the McLaren garage. Does anybody think they could have caught McLaren if they wanted to help Hamilton? The only thing achieved was McLaren lost to Ferrari who had focussed on their leading driver much earlier. If McLaren had done the same thing at the same time they would not have lost the championship.
Points missed in March are equally detrimental or lethal to a championship campaign than points missed in October. If a team wants to maximize his chances by focussing on one driver at any time it should be the right of the team to do so.
As it stands the FiA needs to take the illegal advantage that Alonso gained over his competitor away. They also have Massa who lied to the stewards (if I got the report right). That cannot go unpunished. And Ferrari need to be punished as well by loosing the race points in the constructors or a double digit million dollar fine.
When all is sorted out the FiA should abolish the team order ban for next year. It creates more damages than good.
The grandstands in Austria were filled with populistic journalists?
I lost any positive feelings for Fernando with his shenanigans at McLaren…then when it it the fan at Renault…I lost all respect. His Ego is out of control.
Hi Joe, EGC saw Hamilton, i saw a German driver(s) too
Poor commentary Joe! Completely biased. You should take some notes on how to deliver an unbiased story from James Allen!
Pete Schnabel,
If you prefer the views of James Allen I recommend that you read him nd do not waste your time with me. I really do not care.
Matt Squires – the point is purely whether it is acceptable for a team to switch its drivers. The rule suggests not. There is no provision within the rule to allow teams to do so because one driver is much faster than the other (as Hamilton was over Kovalainen) – according to the rules, Hamilton should have overtaken Kovy in a legitimate overtaking move, and didn’t. Given that Hamilton eventually won the title by 1 point, you could say that this move was instrumental in that outcome.
And I think this is fine. Why shouldn’t McLaren switch its drivers around? And why shouldn’t Ferrari? The only real way to get rid of team orders would surely be to go to 1-car teams.
In the meantime, I suspect we will find drivers such as Webber and Button, should they have a few bad races over the coming weeks, being advised to “save fuel” and the like if they find themselves ahead of their title-contending team-mates in Japan and Korea.
Sports fans can be very fickle at times. F1 is still thriving after the nonsense of 2002. I don’t remember all the sponsors running away from Ferrari when Schumacher was handed the race win. As far as my failing memory goes, it was normal services resumed by the next race (with the exception of a new rule regarding team orders). Why should things be any different this time?
For me DC had it about right by questioning the current rule on team orders. We know they take place AND are necessary – it’s a team sport. So how do we manage team orders in F1 to avoid farces like this weekend?
Joe!
Why you were not so critical in 2008 when Kimi Raykannen missed Massa!
And I’m not even going to talk about Michael.
Yes, it was not pretty, but sport is a cruel sphere. Do not eat yourself eat you.
Boris,
I am not sure what you are trying to say.
Cort, wow. So much pent up anger.
I won’t go into listing Schumacher, Prost, Fangio and others who’ve won titles for different teams as that would be a waste of my time.
I will say that if it was Senna, he wouldn’t have whined and he wouldn’t have been happy with the situation. He probably would have barged through.
I would like to clarify that the media DO represent the public. Why? Because they are the conduit between the subject and the public. Without the press representing us, there would be no real way of conveying information. The press write their articles using their own knowledge and opinions to translate and interpret what is said by the subjects. If the public do not agree with the journalist then they voice their complaints and the publications (usually) listen and the journalist gets booted. Thus the public have their say there too. Into the modern age and the public have their say right here on this blog – people come and read what Joe writes and if they wish can comment both for and against Joe’s opinions. Then if they’re not interested they can leave the site, never to return. If, by chance, not enough people are interested in this site, then it goes dormant as there isn’t enough readership and Joe is free to follow up on his other commitments. If, on the other hand, more people read what is written here then we, who agree with Joe more often than not, enjoy Joe’s writing now and in the future.
Democracy at work, as they say.
Joe,
I’m definately with you on this one but for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on.
It’s as though – because Massa’s face had a hole in it 12 months ago, Alonso’s move in China was so brutal, Massa’s form of late has been a little sluggish and seemingly demotivated and of course that he’s such a gentleman and sportsman – I and many fans wanted him to win. I don’t support him or Ferrari, but if anyone needs a win it’s Felipe.
Then Camp Alonso stamp their feet shouting “He’s paid more than you, let him through.” and all the honor, sportsmanship etc go out the window. As someone else mentioned, Rob said “Come on Felipe, we can win this.”, but this entire motivation and competition was subsequently crushed.
If you partnered Schumacher you would expect this treatment but with Alonso…I’m disappointed. Does anyone really think Alonso will win this year anyway??!
Very disappointed fan.
Joe,
I think Boris is claiming that Kimi letting Massa past in 2008 was somehow equivalent to today. He misses the fact that at that point Kimi had not even a mathematical chance for the title, while Massa was very much in the fight.
Very different situation.
@Kevin
It’s because of Brits like you that the UK will never produce outstanding sporting talent. You are always standing by in the wings, waiting to shoot down anyone who is arrogant enough to believe in themselves or who dares to excel beyond your mediocre expectations..
Why don’t you defend your precious ‘El Gloomio’ and leave Hamilton out of this. People like you will in one breath describe in detail how much of an evil genius he is (able in a spilt second to make drawn out calculations on pitlane lines, slowing down to hold others up etc) at the same time say how much he lacks intelligence.
At least, he was intelligent enough to show Alonso the middle finger when expected to play no 2 role to the biggest cry baby in F1 history.
Leave Hamilton out of this and defend your cheating hero. I am happy you can love a driver who was happy for another to risk his life in an accident for him to win a race (Singapore 2008).
Lady Snowcat…..you need to extract your cranium from your rectum!!!! #:)
Why is it when Ferrari do something everyone shouts & when Mclaren had Heikki Kov as a puppet for Hamilton nothing was said. It was all “ah well he’s new and Lewis has more experience in the team”. Heikki let hamilton pass on a no. of occasions and even blocked up the field for him!!
Pete Schnabel
Poor commentary Joe! Completely biased. You should take some notes on how to deliver an unbiased story from James Allen!
joesaward
Pete Schnabel,
If you prefer the views of James Allen I recommend that you read him nd do not waste your time with me. I really do not care.
Thanks for your recommendation, Joe.
I don’t know who Pete is, and I don’t share 100% of his views either.
I will no longer waste my time in reading a Journalist that doesn’t care about the thoughts of his readers.
IDE,
I respect intelligent comment. This is not that. Goodbye.
Joe, do you remember Hockenheim 2008 GP? Kovalainen let pass Hamilton. Did you say something about this? Did you claim a penalty for McLaren? British press yesterday was hypocritical
I’ve never been a Ferrari fan, I’d like to make that clear from the get go. But having watched over the last couple of seasons, and seeing Stefano Domenicali coming across as a generally nice bloke on the BBC interviews on the Sunday morning of the German Grand Prix I’d actually allowed myself to think they might be a team it wouldn’t pain me to root for.
They then went and found the best possible way to ruin that, not just the overtake itself and the way it was engineered, but all the deception and covering up afterwards. I really wish Massa had just gone straight into the pitlane, told the team he thought he wasn’t allowed to race, and not let them have any more than Fernando’s construcor points.
I’ve had a stark reminder that however things may cool, Ferrari are always going to be villains.
& re: people saying Rob Smedley deserves a slap on the wrist, probably because it was his obviously unhappy pit radio messages that made the whole thing so obvious.
Joe!
Why you were not so critical in 2008 when Kimi Raykannen missed Massa!
—————
Clear difference between yesterday and Brazil 2007/China 2008 is that the other driver was out of the title race and would have been perfectly happy to help their team mate and would not have needed to be instructed to do so. It would have been decided before the race.
Massa would have been less than a race win behind Alonso with 200 or so points to race for. 21 points or whatever it was sounds a lot but its the same as 8 would have been last season which sounds a lot less.
It was unnecessary to do it and shows who the clear number 1 of the team is and now Ferrari apparently have the fastest car, they have just thrown one driver out of the title race.
What Alonso had to say not such a while ago was in great contrast to what was perfectly normal yesterday – it seems he only cares about spanish fans
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/84837
Joe, Alonso’s attitude is the sign of the times. Alonso, Vettel even Lewis to a degree all believe that they are entitled to their position and respect and not have to earn it by doing the hard yards. This tends to be a trait of today’s youth. I thought Alonso would be old enough to not be like this. Webber, Massa and Button are of an older type of upbringing. I think they were brought up by their parents to realize that respect and rewards will come from hard work and effort. Seeing their dads attend most of their races would tend to support this.
to quote you Joe @
‘There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a World Champion. There is nothing wrong with making a fortune while doing it, but if you are going to do it, you need to understand that there are ways of doing things that will be respected – and there are statistics. A driver may win many more races than another, but he will not necessarily be respected because of the numbers. Those who understand that are the great sportsmen. Those who think that winning at all costs is all that matters are the building houses in the sand…’
Alonso is doing his best to emulate Michael Schumacher – be careful what you wish for…..
In regards to the recurring question about why this incident is causing a furor when other preceding incidents did not; I feel that it’s mostly a “straw that broke the camel’s back” type of situation.
Indignities and rules infractions are be tossed around in all the varied sports. When winning a title (championship, game, whatever) faces off against sportsmanship, choices are made by the people involved in those situations. They decide which to favor. Sometimes they can win, and be sportsmanlike at the same time. Other times, they bend the rules in order to win. Sometimes they break them outright, and hope nobody notices, or they lie about it. All of those options are on a continuum, and we as competitors choose from among them.
The current situation in F1 is clouded by years of cynicism in how rules have been applied, team politics, and backroom double-dealing. All of these things mount up over time. At some point, some team and driver combination chooses to bend/break a rule, and it all erupts.
I don’t feel that anyone is targeting Alonso or Ferrari unfairly; or that anyone was giving an unfair “pass” about similar incidents in the past. It’s just that Ferrari chose to blatantly break this rule at this time, and this is the incident that broke that metaphorical camel’s back.
PS – Mappy you are so right sadly (and happily) for Felipe
The response to Hockenheim is being fuelled by more than just reaction to a particularly clumsy imposition of team orders.
It’s the lingering sense that “Teflonso” emerged without opprobrium from the McLaren spy and Renault crash debacles. It’s about seeing him shaking his arm at another driver every time we see his cockpit video. It’s about the current Ferrari managers whining and complaining that they’ve been disadvantaged by this rule or that rule. It’s about the team very vocally claiming in Spain that it always “plays by the rules” and then in quick succession slagging the stewards, refusing to give back a place obtained off the racetrack, and altering the result of a race through team orders. It’s Alonso modestly proclaiming that he can bring seven tenths to the car of any team lucky enough to employ him. It’s about… well, I could go on and on, couldn’t I?
Some drivers, teams and team principals comport themselves in a way which builds up a store of good will towards them in the paddock, in the press, and among the fans. The reaction to Hockenheim is a demonstration of what happens when that good will is absent.
I suggest you read this Jo and tell me how it’s any different from what Ferrari pulled
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jul/21/formulaone.motorsports
Same information from the team about being slower, same result. Although this time no public outcry.
@joesaward
Hi Joe,
Just wanted to say I’ve just discovered your blogg and I love it. I think your articles are vert well written, entertaining and show the passion you have for the sport. I’m a fan of Janes Allen’s blog as well, however, I find yours just as forthright, but more entertaining.
More of the same, please!
Joe,
First, thank you for the vivid description of the post-race scene. This is why I read your blog. I could feel the tension as I read.
Second, I still think that the blame (if any) is more Ferrari than Fernando. Fernando believed he had the faster car and that he was being held up. His perceived risk was being caught by Vettel because Massa was holding him up. I think he is correct to push the team. Should Ferrari have allowed Alonso to overtake, thereby risking another incident similar to the Webber-Vettel clash? We would be castigating the team for such a result. Tough decisions, I think.
People who think that there is the outcry is more exteme this time than in other examples they give are correct but clearer there is one big reason why. The rules are different this year.
In many of the examples I have seen quoted as being team orders in the past were nothing of the sort. This year we don’t have refuelling. In the past when a team had two drivers on different strategies they would ask a driver who had re-fueled to move out of the way of a team mate with a far lighter car. That is not what we saw yesterday.
Yesterday we had two drivers who were going to run to the finish without pitting. When Massa was struggling with hard tyres after his stop Alonso tried and failed to overtake him. Massa got his tyres up to temperature after a few laps having prevented his team mate overtaking without making a single illegal move and then when he had secured the lead and all things being equal the win he was told to give it up.
Vettel was no threat to the Ferraris any more than Hamilton was to the Red Bulls when they tried to spin that story earlier in the season.
@Go Britain,
That was an example of how to talk cr@p and mis understand a point completely. I used Hamilton as an example it wasn’t a direct attack on him. For the record I was racing in karts at the same time in Karts as Lewis and Jenson and Antony Davidson and have a pretty good Idea about all three so don’t dare come out and tell what I do and don’t know.
The reason we have a lack on good sports people has nothing to do with people supporting other sports people from other countries nor does it have anything to do with peoples commenting on arrogance. Damon Hill proved however you don’t have to be arrogant or cocky to be world champion or a top sportsman. The reason for a lack of top British sportsmen and woman is more to do with lack of proper support and direction at the early stages something that the USA does very well hence they strong results in the Olympics. So before you go off on a rant and make stupid comments without foundations, think before you post.
We can see why Alonso wasn’t happy at McLaren! The team order on Sunday seems the culmination of a strange process in recent weeks, in which Alonso’s anger every time something has gone wrong for him seems to have completely taken over the Ferrari team. Stefano Domenicali was a good guy until he met Alonso, now he has gone over to the dark side. The team should have told Alonso straight away to let Kubica repass at Silverstone, but they seemed to be too frightened of him to do it. Instead they hid behind Charlie Whiting, and later claimed that it was Charlie Whiting’s fault that their man had broken the rules! And later still they even decided to publicly call Whiting a liar over his explanation of the events. There is no way they would have done that a year ago. But there in Hockenheim it was clear again that they were more frightened of Alonso than they were of FIA, so they decided to blatantly break a rule in order to appease him.
And this is the Alonso of course who knew nothing at all about Piquetgate. He didn’t ask anybody about his apparently suicidal short-fuelling strategy, because he just gets in the car and drives it, far too meek and mild to ask any questions.
Alonso is a great driver, but not in my opinion an all-time great. He should aspire to be better than he is. He should look back at the all-time greats of the past and evaluate what it was about them that gave them their great reputations. Were Nuvolari, Fangio, Moss, Clark and Stewart good sportsmen or bad sports? Is Schumacher’s reputation higher or lower as a result of his assaults on Hill and Villeneuve?
Hi Joe,
If you feel you can represent the views of the F1 fans go for it.
I for one don’t want to see manufactured races and despite the fact I pay my money for race tickets, merchandise , magazines etc I don’t have an opportunity outside of blogs like this to voice my opinion. So lets see, that’s my hard earned dosh along with the other millions of fans lining the pockets of the teams their drivers, commercial partners and their sponsors and we’re not even a consideration within the sport.
F1 is a sport first and a commercial enterprise second, keep the fans happy and commercial success will follow.
Why the FIA, FOTA and WMSC cannot come up with a clear and unambiguous set of rules is beyond me and if they ever do I hope to God they also have a predetermined set of penalties so that the teams and the fans know exactly what the consequences are.
Go get em Joe!
Joe,
you write that ‘Felipe Massa could still mount a strong challenge for the World Championship’, but if you take a look at the points situation before the German GP, he has zero chance. Absolutely zero chance.
The leading driver probably will have scored about 270-275 points by the end of the championship. Therefore F. Massa would have needed to score about 205 points over the stretch of nine races. This is impossible as it means 7 victories and two 3rd places. Even M. Schumacher could not do it in his dominant days.
I am struggling to understand why people can not see it. Ferrari took the right decision, but in hindsight should have done it in a more subtle way. Since 2002 there were probably countless times where teams let the other driver through. This is a team sport. The driver is just an employee. Period. Those who don’t understand it should go watch tennis or whatever.
Joe, Well said. However, I do think you put to much emphasis on the media being the representatives of the fans. With email, social media sites, web site comments and, of course, their money, fans have many avenues by which to represent themselves without the media filter. Just saying…..
Bob,
Maybe that is so, but I do not believe that the teams look at any of that stuff. They follow what they know. Still, the key point is not that. I feel that I am representing the fans. If I am not then so be it, but that is why I fight some of the battles that I fight. Perhaps I should not bother…
Pete Scnabel, as far as your comments on James Allen may I say i think you are barking up the wrong tree! He has written two books to my knowledge on Schumacher, and has a son called Enzo. He definitely looks through shades a Scarlet colour, and I feel if you are looking for bias you should stick with James!
Joe Saward has the best interest of the sport running through his every article, and his ideas closely match mine and those of the majority I feel.