F1 News: Bernie’s view on rules and regulations
Bernie Ecclestone has been quoted in the press as saying he would consider retiring if Kimi Raikkonen is stripped of his title in Thursday’s FIA hearing. And so we have confirmation of what we have always suspected - that Ecclestone views the rules of F1 not as inviolable laws that keep F1 fair and just, but as movable goalposts that are used for the benefit of the sport as a whole.
This month’s F1 Racing magazine outlines the issues at stake in today’s hearing. The result of the initial protest (on the night of the Brazilian Grand Prix) was that there was “sufficient doubt as to both temperature of fuel actually on board the car and also as to the true ambient temperature”. But, the magazine claims, there is clear correspondence between FIA race director Charlie Whiting and the teams that states the temperature of the fuel must be taken at the rig (meaning the temperature inside the car is irrelevant) and that the ambient temperature is taken from page 3 of the timing screens during the race, which everyone had access that day.
Therefore, in the light of the evidence that we have available to us, there seems to be a very clear case to be answered for. And so, in the interest of fairness and consistency, it would appear that the cars of Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld should be disqualified from the race and Lewis Hamilton should move up three places and become Formula 1 Champion.
But Ecclestone is not thinking about fairness and consistency. He is thinking of the interests of Formula One as a whole. And of course, he is right: it would be very damaging for Formula One if the title was decided in the courts and not on the race track. But rules are rules and Ecclestone’s contempt for them is worrying.
F1 has got itself into another sticky situation. But the problem is not that that the sport now has another high profile court case, but that we ever got this far in the first place. If the rule had been applied properly at the Brazilian Grand Prix, or if this particular rule had not existed in the first place, then we would by now know who is the 2007 Formula One World Champion.
Stumble it!