your enjoyment of the race in Brazil a half-fortnight ago by reading the
article below. Those of you who think current F1 is a farce, read on and
see why the editors at Planet F1 agree. And anyone who needs a good
laugh, read Mike Lawrence's hilarious "predictions" history of F1 in the
year 2000 at:
http://www.racesimcentral.net/
And the winner is
Mar 28: Michael Caine 'stripped' of Oscar
Last night was Oscar night - Hollywood's annual 'over the top'
back-slapping ceremony.
Movie fans around the world tuned in to watch a host of the world's
most famous people alternate
between gush, cry and fawn.
The biggest shock of the night however was when the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and
Sciences (AMPAS) stripped Michael Caine of the Oscar he won just hours earlier.
The Oscar - awarded to Caine for his supporting role in The Cider House
Rules - was snatched back
from the English veteran following what AMPAS described as a technical
infringement. Apparently,
having watched video recordings of 'The Swarm', 'The Hand' and 'Jaws,
The Revenge', they
decreed that Mr Caine wasn't fit to receive one of their famous statuettes.
Nonsense, of course, Hollywood would never act in such a fashion - but
F1 would.
For the second time in four races, race fans around the world have been
stunned to learn that
despite what they saw with their own eyes - the result was not as it appeared.
Following the debacle that was the qualifying session on Saturday,
things got worse on Sunday with
the news that David Coulthard was to be stripped of his second place.
However, just in case you
weren't aware, the issue was far more serious than that - at one point,
all of the first six (with the
exception of Giancarlo Fisichella) looked set to be disqualified.
What other sport is run on such amateur, haphazard lines? If McLaren or
indeed anyone broke the
rules, then it is right that they be punished. However what is the
point in asking a driver to risk his life
- then tell him it was all in vain. What is the point of sponsors
pouring billions into a sport in which
the result you see, is not necessarily the result you get.
Surely the FIA must be able to take steps to ensure that cars are legal
before the race - though still
subject to inspection afterwards.
This present situation is ludicrous and is doing serious damage to the
sport's reputation. This fiasco
is an insult to fans, drivers, sponsors indeed everyone involved with
the sport. It would not be
tolerated in Soccer or any other sport.
In Melbourne, Mika Salo drove his heart out, managing to finish a brave
6th. Within hours however,
it was found that his front wing was illegal, team boss Peter Sauber
admitting that the wing had
been taken from the '99 car without having been measured.
Such a cavalier attitude should be met with the full force of the FIA's
rule book. Salo had put his
life on the line and given his all, only to lose everything as a result
of negligence on the part of his
employers.
The teams know what the rules and regulations are, and if they break
them they must be hit where it
hurts - in the corporate pocket. As it is, it is race fans who suffer.
The Formula One world
championship should be fought out on the track between the world's
finest drivers in the best cars -
not in the FIA's appeal court in Paris.
As it is, David Coulthard, Jenson Button, wait like the rest of us - in limbo.
With every passing day, it seems that Mike Lawrence's '2000
predictions' are coming true - even as
you read this, Sir Cathcart Legerdemain is preparing his opening
speech.