You're in good hands with Jean Todt

One of the decisions out of the latest FIA World Motor Sport Council  was to extend a 2 point bonus to Super License holders (which now required for Formula E and V8 Supercar) if the drivers complete a season without any point penalty.

With apologies to Dennis Haysbert,




Other decisions include the exploration of FIA sanctioned Formula Drift Events, easier Historic Car technical certifications,  Safer Formula 3 and faster LMP1 private team, non hybrid cars.

Details available here

In support of Gary Hartstein

I'm republishing the text of Dr. Hartstein's  open letter to Gerard Saillant, the head of the FIA institute.  Saillant is the head medical person in the FIA, a position previously held by Sid Watkins.

The FIA has a problem with Hartstein voicing his opinions of a his blog and has gone out of its way attempted to take away his livelihood and passion by having him fired from the hospital he practices in.

This small minded bureaucrat style thinking is pathetic and another sign a generational shift is sorely needed within the motorsport's world governing body which is now just as sad as the IOC and FIFA.

Shame.


An open letter to Gérard Saillant (oh yeah Jean Todt too)
DECEMBER 19, 2014 / GARY HARTSTEIN
Dear Gérard,

Imagine my surprise at learning that you were in my hospital last week. You actually got on the train from Paris to come here to Liège! It’s a pity you didn’t call me ahead of the visit – we could have had a cup of coffee. Or you could have beeped me to say hi once you got here. But I guess that actually being face to face with someone is not your style. Come to think of it, it never really has been, has it? You did fire me via email!

Imagine my surprise to learn that despite having heard nothing from you or your boss since being fired, YOU ACTUALLY CAME TO MY HOSPITAL BECAUSE OF ME. You made an appointment with the Dean of my medical faculty, to speak about me. Then travelled 2 1/2 hours . . . for me. I’d be flattered if I wasn’t so . . . shocked. But let’s not dwell on the fun we could have had together in Liège, and look instead at what exactly you came here for. I think it’s important that people understand just how you and your boss work.

You came here to try to get me fired.

Not from the job you already fired me from. That one was basically a hobby. A very serious, very time-intensive hobby. No, now you’re aiming higher. You and your boss want me fired from the job that pays my rent. The one I’ve held for 25 years. Wow. Were you wearing a black trench coat and fedora? Maybe I’m glad I wasn’t there. Perhaps you also had instructions to break my knees!

You came here with a dossier consisting of printed copies of my blog posts. And a copy of a personal email TO ME (!!!) from Corinna Schumacher. OMG. An email I actually never received. Probably because it was addressed to “garry.hartstein@…”. Seriously? I get scores of emails EVERY DAY from people all over the world who spent all of 30 seconds finding my email address. But the wife of one of the world’s most famous and wealthy sportsmen isn’t capable of carrying out that difficult task? You’ve got to be kidding me. Hell, dude, even YOU (trusted advisor to “the family”) had my email (again, that’s how you fired me!).

You came here to raise the issue of whether THIS blog violated my contract at work and could therefore be a reason to fire me, or at least to muzzle me.

Now you worry me. Maybe you should sit down. That’s better. Let’s talk.

Let’s just look at the facts, ok?

1) This blog makes no claim to represent the opinions of anyone other than myself. And while my bio may mention that I studied and work at the University Hospital of Liège, no other mention is made of this fact. All blog-related activity, then, is part of my personal life. Period.

2) Doctor-patient confidentiality is never violated, for two pretty good reasons. First of all, Michael is not and (other than the stuff that came up over 15 years of F1) never has been my patient. Second, I make perfectly clear that NONE of what I wrote in the days, weeks, and months following Michael’s accident was based on anything other than conjecture and experience.

3) When opinions are expressed, they are clearly identified as such, and are never presented with an intent to harm. This intent is abundantly clear, and is even explained on numerous occasions.

So you see, Gérard, if you’d have put your thinking cap on before flitting off to “le Paris du nord”, you’d have realised the absurdity of your project. My blog has nothing to do with my job. In fact, things like “privacy”, and “free expression” come to mind – not as sterile principles, but as LAWS THAT YOU ARE ON THE CUSP OF VIOLATING. You and your boss.

You have acted like a hoodlum. What you have done was not unexpected, but was thuggish and disgusting. You might wear expensive suits and a Patek Philippe, but your tactics are from the gutter.

Be aware that I’ve referred the “dossier” you handed over to the Dean to my attorney. You are on very very thin legal ice.

Word to the wise?

Shut up, back off, and watch out.

Charlie Whiting confirms nobody lifted.

In a press conference held at Sochi Friday evening, in the presence of FIA President Jean Todt, F1 Race Director Charlie Whiting confirmed what many suspected:  none of the racers slowed down much for the double yellow flags which were flown in Sector 7 at Suzuka following Sutil's accident.

Official confirmation of what was fairly obvious just from looking at data displayed on the F1 app.

As a consequence, F1 will be looking into options to take speed control in these situation away from drivers.    This would likely result in a procedure similar to Endurance Racing's Code 60  which mandates a maximum speed through a problem area.

Aside from this, journalists present were shown CCTV footage of the crash which, as Sky Sports Ted Kravitz reported, showed Bianchi had a tank slapper before he went off and hit the recovery crane.  No sign of mechanical failure has been detected so far.

The FIA once again was forced to confirm (and I can't believe anyone working in F1 media still asked about it) that the Green flag seen in the video clips was indeed correctly displayed.

There was a mention of looking into fitting recovery vehicles with some sort of protective skirt  and that the vehicle was dispatched by Race Control.

Whiting denied late starting time for the race was a factor although they had offered the organizers a chance to move it up.

Whiting shot down Felipe Massa's assertion that he was "screaming on the radio" for race direction to stop the race.

There was no talk of canopies.

Testgate: Keeping The Customer Happy

Photo: DigitalReflections/Flickr

Forgive us for being cynical but we've been following F1 for too long not to be.   Mercedes had been literally melting tires from the first race of the season much to the continued embarrassment of higher ups who have seen the Silver Arrows miss their targets since 2010 despite high profile engagements of Michael Schumacher and now Lewis Hamilton.  

Solution number one was to blame Pirelli and, after much praise given to the Italian manufacturer for producing a tire which added spice to racing, you saw a very coordinated campaign by the press to discredit the very thing they praised weeks earlier.  Would it be evil to point out where those same journalists get their credential and access from?  

As for Pirelli, they are facing a PR disaster if forced to  leave the sport with the impression they could not make a "good tire",  it's no surprise they jumped at the chance to help themselves and a key team, instrumental in renewal of their F1 contract not to mention a big production car tire customer.

Mercedes, aside from the AMG Petronas F1 team, produces engines for Mclaren  and Force India,   Williams will get MB power next year.  That's four out of eleven teams next year.

You may have noticed the Safety and Medical cars.  A fair number of trucks pulling paddock infrastructure have a three pointed star on the front of the cabs.

Mercedes is the only mass market luxury car manufacturer involved in F1, if  they became unhappy and left the sport, it would not be good news for Formula One and its investors.   You don't think Hamilton landed at AMG by accident, do you?

So is it really a surprise the test happened at all?  AMG Petronas got three races worth of running and suddenly their rear suspensions are not eating tires anymore.   Mercedes is smiling.

What would be a surprise is if the FIA slap Mercedes with a truly significant penalty.  How much  tension is there between the Bernie Ecclestone/ FOM  and Jean Todt's FIA?

Mercedes Gets A Helping Hand But Sanctions Are Looming

There is not way around it: even if Monaco is the track that, in theory, puts the least amount of stress on tires and where passing is so difficult Perez with half a front wing gone could keep cars behind at bay for two laps,   implications of the so called "secret" Pirelli test with Mercedes after Barcelona loom large.

Not to take too much away from Nico Rosberg,  he's been consistently fast and Mercedes were strong in  Monaco even last year.  Nico drove a great race despite the two safety cars and the red flag.   But the tire test, conducted using the 2013 W04 chassis just stinks.

Mercedes is not the only team who got a "special" Pirelli test this season,  Ferrari had one after Bahrain but, it was with a 2010 chassis.  The Mercedes test was  with the current 2013 car, in part with development rubber and in part, and crucially with new "Canada spec" revised Pirellis.   For as much as Pirelli and some parts of the  motoring press might call it  a teacup tempest, it's still 1000 km in a current car.      Giorgio Piola had commented Mercedes would run a revised suspension for Monaco and perhaps their improved tire wear comes from that if indeed they used it.  What's unknown is if they used the Pirelli session to test their own new components.




As for the rest of the race, we saw Ferrari struggle badly with Massa's bizarre doppelgänger crashes and Alonso forced to settle for the long game, in the end gaining a few points on Raikkonen and losing a few to Hamilton and Vettel.    



Perez and Sutil were the joker in the Monaco deck.  Perez drove, appropriately I suppose, like someone who has nothing to lose, because he doesn't :   his funding seems secure and Mclaren needs him more than Button for the immediate future.   His tactic of "I'm going, you either move or we both crash"  worked better with "gentleman" Jenson and Alonso than with Raikkonen who ended up with a warning from the FIA.



"Machete" Sutil had a fine race as did Vergne.  Vettel and Webber just cruised along, Vettel catching a lucky break with the first safety car.  Hamilton either sacrificed his race or was sacrificed by the team,  not sure which.

But all this is meaningless if "testgate"  is not resolved properly,   there are rumors of an exclusion for Mercedes from the Canadian GP!

The Last Privateer

Reading about thet horrible Maria De Villota's accident, you may have read about how her father Emilio De Villota used to be a Formula One driver.

Mario Donnini wrote an article about Emilio's adventures of Autosprint.  It is not only an interesting sidebar but a fascinating bit of Formula One history, happening right at that moment when the series changed dramatically and forever.

Maria De Villota's dramatic accident turned back the spotlight on one of Spain's beloved racing families, up to now known mostly for the passions and tribulations of Emilio.

Madrid, end of 1976.  For a spaniard  in the post Franco era,  Formula 1 is little more than a dream.  Emilio De Villota is almost thirty an knows he will never impress any team manager, but he's not one to give up.  From a wealthy background, a bank manager and  owner of a manufacturer of articles for children, he has many friends among the sporting authorities and the confidence to jump into a seemingly impossible situation.

He started racing late, in national touring cars, then tries theShellsport Gr8 series in the UK. In that marvelously insane Formula 1 where in 1976 season 56 different drivers sign up for at least one GP,  Emilio got behind the wheel of an old Brabham  run by John McDonald and Team Ram and tried to qualify for Jarama, his home race.  Nada, he qualifies 28th, the last to be cut from the starting grid.

Back in Great Britain, racing in F5000 with Lyncar, Emilio does a little accounting and gets his crazy idea.  Crazy but not stupid,  F1 is an open circus,  used cars are inexpensive, there is no Superlicense, tires can be found cheap.  Electronics are still a dream  and you could run a team with a bunch of friends recruited at the local bar.  A round of phone calls, a few promises and the miracle really did happen.

Spectacular WRC highlights from the 2010 FIA gala.

It was yet another triumph for Sebastien Loeb but 2010 also saw the emergence of another Sebastien: Ogier as a real challanger to the king. Next year, new cars and new manufacturers join the fight. Bring it on!end of post

FIA GT1 Season Final Live Stream

Reminder: the FIA GT1 season Final from the San Luis circuit in Argentina can be seen live HEREend of post

Sanity prevails: $100K fine enough for Ferrari.

and progress was made towards eliminating hypocrisy in F1: repealing the team orders regulations (at least as presently worded) was proposed to the council. Let's see if they get this right.

end of post

Little Big Man

Nobody is surprised by Todt's election right? We hope Todt will return the FIA presidency to a position of anonymity and keep it out of the news but for all of those who wonder how he could have crushed Ari Vatanen hopes for reform so completely let me point out that while Vatanen had the support of drivers, teams and 99% of the public (ok, that's unscientific but I know I'm right...) not one of those groups gets to vote.

Who voted? Take a look at this list compiled by a pitpass.com reader. Now no offense intended but in many of the countries represented there are barely roads, what precisely do Rwanda and Mongolia contribute to motorsport? Iraq? IRAQ??
I tell you what the esteemed representatives of these automobile clubs understand very well: on their shopping trip to Paris it's much more glamorous to hang out with Michelle Yeoh and Michael Schumacher than voting to rock the boat.




end of post

Max Mosley is an a-hole

Let's be honest, how else could you describe Mosley after his latest pronouncement?

“Any thoughts that after this election everyone in motorsport can unite and work together can now be forgotten. It is not possible to make statements like Vatanen’s and then expect the victims of those insults to forget what has been said. The simple fact is that Vatanen will lose the election and lose badly, not least because he chose to denigrate the FIA and those currently in office.”

The Guardian reports this was the content of a letter Mosley sent to the Middle East FIA members who are not supporting Mosley's choice, Jean Todt.

Aside fron an obvious case of too much sand in his girly bits, Mosley would have us believe Vatanen's criticism of the FIA's as less than transparent and autocratic is bringing disrepute to the FIA? Really? the same FIA that in the last three years has produced the spy scandal verdict, the Piquet scandal verdict? The same FIA headed by a old dude who could not keep his S-&-M hobby out of the news? That FIA?



So the totally non-autocratic Mosley uses his position to slam the one guy who dares run against "his" candidate, Jean Todt. Vatanen had the cheek to criticize and, much like Briatore who was banned for life rather than get a slap on the wrist essentially because he did not prostrate himself in front of Mosley, he must be annihilated!

Formula1Blog.com had a long interview with Vatanen a while back, have a listen and the tell me if Vatanen, who has gotten almost no coverage in a motoring press probably afraid of losing access (with just cause I'm sure), is saying anything unreasonable.

Of course the FIA elections have little to do with you or I. The AAA however, is the american representative with the FIA, in fact it's the largest auto club in the world. Write to the AAA, make your feelings known, In other countries you can write to your national club, MAx has jumped the shark....again.

Does Ari Vatanen have the stones to lead the FIA?

You tell me after watching this clip.



Of course there is one job where you have to be even crazier braver and that is navigator...



Speaking of Jean Todt, I had to chuckle at today's "endorsment" by Max Mosley"

"Jean will do a much better job than me in many, many ways," said Mosley, who has publicly endorsed Todt's bid to become president. "And in some ways he will upset the F1 teams less because he probably won't come up with the next big idea."





More Rally on Axis

Listen to the FIA World Council Meeting recordings

Fascinating stuff if you have 77 minutes to give up...

Or maybe you prefer to load it on your iPod<--option/right Click

And the conclusions/sentence

Download



Home

The FIA mind at work...

Perhaps unnoticed because of the Piquet crash sentence, today saw this gem released by the FIA ...

Engine Performance

Following suggestions that there is a differential between the performance of engines used in Formula One, the World Motor Sport Council has decided that should this be the case, and should the teams wish to eliminate this performance differential, they may be allowed to do so by reducing the performance of the more powerful engines. However, no engine upgrades will be allowed.

It's related to the supposed power advantage in the Mercedes engines but this is precisely why people think the FIA is run by aliens.




And here is the rest of it.

Renault throws Briatore under the bus

In an apparent deal between the FIA and Renault ahead of their world council meeting, Briatore and chief engineer Pay Symonds have ''left'' the team.

Statement from Renault:

"The ING Renault F1 Team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

It also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team.

Before attending the hearing before the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on 21 September 2009, the team will not make any further comment."

There better be crushing evidence beyond the inconclusive dossier "leaked" least week because this smells of political persecution.

The Axis view? Take a look at the difference between Lewis Hamilton's last good Lesmo and the lap where he crashed. Doesn't take much does it? If a World Champion can make a mistake what's more likely, that Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed the car or that he, as he did many times, just ran out of talent?

Renault was born out of Benetton which was born from Briatore. This is as big a deal as Ron Dennis leaving F1 and perhaps the latest scalp on Max Mosley's wall.

And Piquet? if this is all true, a driver who endangered other drivers, marshals and potentially spectators just because that was the only way he could secure a drive? A minimum of a lifetime ban from racing would be a mild punishment.

UPDATE!: Corriere Della Sera reports that taking over from Briatore at Renault will be Federic Vasseur, up to now team boss at GP2's ART. Anyone want to guess who else is a principal at ART?.... Let me help: Nicholas Todt, son of Mosley's own designated replacement in the upcoming FIA elections, Jean Todt. Pass the stinking bishop.




And here is the rest of it.

Massive Mosley Hissy Fit: No deal!

What we have here is another inexcusable hissy fit: Max Mosley, unhappy how his defeat was conveyed in the world media now says the deal is off and he might stand for re-election in October and will not give up day to day operations in the meantime...

To think that some journalists were accusing di Montezemolo of "creating Opera" just last week.

At this point I, and I'm sure many fans, wish Formula 1 as it exists now gets shut down, ended, you had a good run baby but it's time to call it a day.

Start something new. Something that works for teams and something that works for fans. Enough with old men bitching, let's go racing before there is nobody left to watch.

(read this in Autosport.com) After the jump the full text of the letter sent from Mosley to diMontezemolo



Dear Luca

We made a deal yesterday in Paris to end the recent difficulties in
Formula 1. A fundamental part of this was that we would both present
a positive and truthful account to the media. I was therefore
astonished to learn that FOTA has been briefing the press that Mr.
Boeri has taken charge of Formula 1, something which you know is
completely untrue; that I had been forced out of office, also false;
and, apparently, that I would have no role in the FIA after October,
something which is plain nonsense, if only because of the FIA
statutes.

Furthermore, you have suggested to the media that I was a "dictator,"
an accusation which is grossly insulting to the 26 members of the
World Motor Sport Council who have discussed and voted all the rules
and procedures of Formula 1 since the 1980s, not to mention the
representatives of the FIA's 122 countries who have democratically
endorsed everything I and my World Motor Sport Council colleagues
have done during the last 18 years.

If you wish the agreement we made to have any chance of survival, you
and FOTA must immediately rectify your actions. You must correct the
false statements which have been made and make no further such
statements. You yourself must issue a suitable correction and apology
at your press conference this afternoon.

Formula 1 is run entirely by our 25-strong team without any help from
me or any other outsider. There was no need for me to involve myself
further in Formula 1 once we had a settlement. Equally, I had a long-
standing plan not to seek re-election in October. It was therefore
possible for me to confirm both points to you yesterday.

However, given your and FOTA's deliberate attempt to mislead the
media, I now consider my options open. At least until October, I am
president of the FIA with the full authority of that office. After
that it is the FIA member clubs, not you or FOTA, who will decide on
the future leadership of the FIA.

Your sincerely
Max Mosley

(via racefax.com)

Scuderia Ferrari is worth more than Formula 1

According to Sports Pro Magazine, Scuderia Ferrari (the F1 team) is the seventh most valuable sports property on the planet behind the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA and NASCAR but ahead of Formula 1 and the only team valued more than the league it competes in.

Anyone still have money on Mosley winning the F1 fight by blaming Ferrari?
(via SportsPro magazine)



SportsPro magazine has published the world’s first value ranking of sports properties in its July issue, out now.

Unsurprisingly, the National Football League (NFL) is ranked as the world’s most valuable sports property, with a value of US$4.5 billion. It is followed at the top of the table by three other American properties – Major League Baseball (MLB) (US$3.9 billion), the NBA (US$3.35 billion) and Nascar (US$1.9 billion).

The newest property in the list is the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is valued at US$1.6 billion - a staggering achievement for a two-year-old property.

The highest ranked European team property is the Ferrari Formula One team (7th) at a value of US$1.55 billion, followed by Manchester United Football Club (8th) at US$1.495 billion. The most valuable American sports club is the Dallas Cowboys (10th), with the NFL team valued at US$1.278 billion.

Tiger Woods (11th) is the highest rated athlete property with a value of US$1.25 billion, followed by Jack Nicklaus (16th) at US$1 billion. Golfers dominate the athletes’ table because of the high earnings from designing golf courses; Tiger Woods is expected to earn over a billion dollars from designing courses in the next decade and will almost certainly eclipse his on-course earnings. David and Victoria’s Beckham Brand Ltd property (88th) is valued at US$375 million.

Many single annual events appear, led by the Wimbledon tennis championships (22nd) valued at US$900 million.

Unsurprisingly, the most valuable competition is the Fifa World Cup (5th) valued at US$1.7 billion, ahead of the Summer Olympic Games (15th) at US$1.04 billion. The Uefa Champions League (13th) is valued at US$1.1 billion, eclipsing the Summer Olympics due to its annual status.

An easy way out...

There is of course an easy way out of the current F1 crisis: next Wednesday the FIA's world council can announce what it should have announced last year: that it will drag Max Mosley out of the building no matter how deeply his fingernails gouge into his desk as they pull.

Mosley has put the conflict on a personal level with di Montezemolo and John Howett (or Toyota). The money men won't stand for hissy fits and personal vendettas, faced with the choice between a Mosley in denial and the combined commercial value of Ferrari, Renault, Mercedes, BMW and Toyota, Lewis Hamilton, Alonso and now Button, it's going to be like that scene in the Godfather... "leave the gun, take the cannoli".

Nobody will much care about the 2009 British GP, a shame because Silverstone is one badass old school f1 track. Here are some highlights from Friday practice.

And here is the rest of it.

Good Bye Formula 1, Fota starts break away series.

FOTA calls Mosley's bluff.

Press Release

Date:

19 June, 2009

FOTA UNITED ON THE FUTURE

Silverstone, 18 June 2009 - Since the formation of FOTA last September the teams have worked together and sought to engage the FIA and commercial rights holder, to develop and improve the sport.

Unprecedented worldwide financial turmoil has inevitably placed great challenges before the F1 community. FOTA is proud that it has achieved the most substantial measures to reduce costs in the history of our sport.

In particular the manufacturer teams have provided assistance to the independent teams, a number of which would probably not be in the sport today without the FOTA initiatives. The FOTA teams have further agreed upon a substantial voluntary cost reduction that provides a sustainable model for the future.

Following these efforts all the teams have confirmed to the FIA and the commercial rights holder that they are willing to commit until the end of 2012.

The FIA and the commercial rights holder have campaigned to divide FOTA.

The wishes of the majority of the teams are ignored. Furthermore, tens of millions of dollars have been withheld from many teams by the commercial rights holder, going back as far as 2006. Despite this and the uncompromising environment, FOTA has genuinely sought compromise.

It has become clear however, that the teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship.

These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners. This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.

The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with the highest level of motorsport will all feature in this new series.

Note to Eds: Statement issued by FOTA on behalf of BMW-Sauber, BrawnGP, Scuderia Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toyota.

(FOTA)



And here is the rest of it.

Mosley jumps the shark

In what essentially boils down to a massive hissy fit, FIA president Max Mosley lost any credibility by lowering the FIA-FOTA struggle to a a personal battle between himself and Luca di Montezemolo.

The FIA released selected correspondence between its and Ferrari's lawyers and a long rambling justifications for it's recent actions. This statement, which essentially blames di Montezemolo for the whole current mess, is set on the premise that the whole of Formula1's success is based, in it's entirety, on the FIA's work. Apparently the reason people watch sports is not for the stars or the teams, it's because of the rules. Brilliant!

read it and weep for F1...

FIA Statement

And here is the rest of it.