Baptism of Fire

So, in my first ever blog post I've decided to tackle the consistently inconsistent world of Formula One and if that isn't a baptism of fire, I don't know what is! The specific subject? Team orders.

It appears that Ferrari have escaped further punishment for their shenanigans at the German Grand Prix and I am not surprised. Perhaps my lack of surprise is a measure of the time I've spent watching F1 but all I know for certain is that Ferrari deliberately broke a clearly stated rule: Team orders are banned.

Quite naturally, you would therefore expect the FIA to devise and deal a fitting punishment. It is true that Ferrari were punished with a fine at the end of the race but since the banning of team orders was introduced to improve the spectacle of F1 for its fans, a just punishment would have to make Ferrari think twice before doing the same again. I'm afraid a 'piddling' $100,000 fine is hardly going to deter the giant that is Ferrari from following the same course in later races.

However, whilst I am convinced that Ferrari should have been given a harsher punishment in order to uphold the credibility of the rule, the wider question, I suppose, is should the rule even exist?

The rule was introduced with good reason: In 2002, the Ferrari team (yes them again) were so quick that nobody was going to beat them. Presumably out of sheer boredom, they decided to manipulate a couple of results, once during the now infamous Austrian GP, in which Barrichello was told to let Schumacher win the race despite being quicker throughout the entire weekend, and once during the US GP at Indianapolis, in which Ferrari staged a farcical photo finish. I was a Ferrari fan and a Schumacher fan but few could deny that Ferrari were damaging the integrity of the sport. After all, Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motor racing and the key to its popularity is in the racing, not the pretty photo finishes.

Obviously, a rule that prevented similar incidents was necessary but, inevitably, the rule didn't work. Before Ferrari's performance at Hockenheim, team orders were continuing to be used, they were simply being used with a little subtlety. For instance, Massa allowed Raikkonen through at the Brazilian GP in 2007 by using the pitstops to engineer a switch. Ingenious, but team orders nonetheless. Since the rule was introduced it has been impossible to police and Ferrari's punishment at the German GP was the first time any team has been slapped on the wrist for breaking it.

At the heart of all these instances is the simple fact that F1 is a team sport. The drivers may stand alone against the world during each individual race but they are still employed by the team that they race for. In this sense, I have no qualms with team orders; a team should be allowed to follow their best interests. The problem begins when race results are influenced to such a degree that the sport ceases to be about racing and becomes high speed chess instead.

Therefore, I will remain on my fence for now. I believe that team orders should be allowed because F1 is a team sport but I also believe that the principles of racing should be maintained as far as possible. I believe that Ferrari's orders at Hockenheim should be legal, but since they're not, that Ferrari should have been punished accordingly. It's a tricky issue with no obvious answer but that's what makes F1 so interesting. Besides, at least F1's current case of 'match fixing' has nothing on cricket's...