Why has Formula One become a penalty game?
If you’re not a top-level motor racing fan, then you’ve missed the transformation of one of the most-watched sports in the world from a struggle of man and machine against each other in a very traditional sense, into a battle of lawyers, rules makers and conspiracy-theory riddled umpires who are now in control of the championship. Not a very graceful evolution for the sport where the phrase, “that’s racing” ruled the past.
Over the past four races, in Belgium, Italy, Singapore and Japan, there have been at least six different penalties meted out by FIA Formula One Race Director Charlie Whiting or his disciples that have had significant influence on the overall World Championship contest. Almost all of them either completely unnecessary or extremely poorly handled when compared with near recent racing history. In the prior season, the entire World Championship was decided by court-room proceedings on the scale of the Watergate incident.
Cries of conspiracy theories, bribes, and personal agendas at the top echelons of the sport are becoming common discussion. Where does this leave the fans?
For a sport saddled with monumental costs about to face a major global recession, this is not an enviable position to be in. When the machinations of a small number of extremely wealthy and selfish people are being blamed for the possible demise of the modern global financial infrastructure, do the leaders of the FIA and Formula One really want to draw such easy parables to their own situation and infrastructure?
The spirit of the sport is what keeps people coming back. The passion to win and the belief that great, or even historic things can happen at any turn is the inspiration behind a fanatical fan base. To negate those emotional drivers with controversy-tinged penalties that ruin the spirit of the sport can easily be the beginning of the end.
With only two races to go, and an incredibly tight battle for both the Driver’s and Manufacturer’s Championships, we can only hope that the spirit of the sport returns and we can witness a fitting end to an epic battle on the track, not in the courts.
Tags: Formula One, Penalties