“Dirty, Thieving Cheats?”

HOCKENHEIM, GERMANY - The 2010 Formula 1 series is certainly not lacking for controversy. After comments posted on the Ferrari website called the FIA a “federation of thieves,” this week at Hockenheim, the Sunday Press is referring to Ferrari as “dirty, thieving cheats.” What has caused the uproar this time? It appears to many that Ferrari is playing the “team order” game by asking Felipe Massa to stand-down to Alonso’s apparently quicker car. Though banned in 2002 as the result of Rubens Barrichello’s obvious move allowing then Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher to win the 2008, Ferrari allegedly ordered Massa to allow Alonso to pass on lap 49 of the 67 lap race. Massa finished 4.1 seconds behind Alonso, with pole-sitter Sebastien Vettel following 1 sec behind in 3rd place.

The “smoking gun” is Massa’s race engineer Rob Smedley’s radio message to the Brazilian "Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?" Despite leading the race from the start, Massa had been struggling on hard tires. So he “decided to do the best thing for the team,“ Massa continued, “and a one-two finish is the best possible result, isn’t it?” Ferrari needed to have this 1-2 win, worth 43 points, as they are only 3rd in the Constructors Championship with Alonso 5th for the Driver’s Championship.


The press is not the only ones who think Ferrari cheated, as the FIA race stewards have fined Ferrari $100,000 for imposing illegal team orders, also finding them guilty of “disrepute.” The matter has been directed to the World Motor Sport Council for review. Ferrari is not appealing the verdict. "In the interests of the sport, we have decided not to go through a procedure of appealing against it (the decision), confident that the World Council will know how to evaluate the overall facts correctly," said team boss Stefano Domenicali. Or does Ferrari believe that $ 2,326/point is worth it? Less than a bottle of 1998 Dom Perignon Lagerfield!
Other comments by the press and colleagues have been derogatory towards both Alonso and Massa. The Swiss newspaper Blick correspondent wrote: "There are different ways for Alonso to return to the throne. Lying and cheating should not be one of them." And a scathing remark from three-time World Champion Niki Lauda. "…Nobody was fooled by Alonso's argument that he wasn't aware of the fix. I've never heard a driver talk such (junk). He has no character," said Austrian great Lauda. And Rubens Barrichello quipped, "I will speak to Felipe myself. Nothing has changed at Ferrari.” He later commented, "I think you can read my opinion better from my face." Even Massa did not escape scrutiny. Rio de Janeiro's Lance writes: "We regret writing it, but from Massa it was a lack of courage."

But not everyone is down on Ferrari. Italy’s Corriere dello Sport states “It is fair to recognize that the problem is with the regulations. Renault’s Fabric Lom speaks of the “hypocrisy” of the regulations. It seems that F1 is always embroiled in controversy. Is it me, or does this year seem to have a little something extra? Stay tuned.

Alonso Accuses FIA of "Manipulation."

VALENCIA, SPAIN – The Spanish Grand Prix is being termed by some as “one of the darkest chapters of modern Formula One.” A horrific accident involving Mark Webber in the opening laps of the race was caused when Webber tapped Kovalanien’s Lotus which sent him airborne slamming him into the tire wall. By God’s grace, Webber was able to walk away from the accident unhurt, but the events following the accident has resulted in reports on the Ferrari’s official website quoting fans as saying Hamilton is a liar and a cheat, McLaren "thieves", and the FIA a "Federation of clowns". In fact, Fernando Alonso even accused the FIA officials as “manipulating” the outcome.

What has caused this virulent outcry? When the safety car came out for Webber’s accident, Lewis Hamilton running in 2nd place, overtook the safety car resulting in a pit drive-through penalty for the McLaren driver. The penalty however allowed him to stay in 2nd place. The Ferraris were running 3rd and 4th and per rules, followed the safety car around the course before a pit stop to take on hard tires. This resulted in Alonso dropping from 3rd to 10th. Ferrari maintains that Hamilton’s penalty was anything but a penalty and cost Ferrari a strong finish since the track is not amenable to overtaking. “I think it was unreal this result, and unfair this result as well,” said the Spaniard. “We had been fighting for podium. We were one meter behind Hamilton, we respect the rules, we don’t overtake under the yellow, we finish ninth and he finishes second. So that’s something to think about. It completely destroyed the race. We need to say sorry and apologize to the fans who came here, 60-70,000 people, to see this race… We need to improve for the next race, we need to be a little bit more competitive, hopefully start on pole position, and maybe avoid these problems. Silverstone will be the next chance for us to recover these positions we lost.”
Nine other drivers were handed out 2 second penalties for driving too fast behind the safety car. This was little satisfaction to Ferrari as it moved Alonso only 1 spot from 9th to 8th place.
Webber’s teammate, Sebastien Vettel need not make any apologies as he was the dominant force of the race winning from the pole position. “We had a sensational race weekend last year and we try to repeat that. One more thing. Most important of today is the fact that Mark (Webber) had quite a big shunt but he is fine. It shows that the cars get safer and safer but still there is a lot of risk. I am happy. I asked on the radio, so I am happy to hear he is all good.” At least there was one class act in Valencia.

1-2-3 For Audi and Heartbreak for Corvette Racing.

LE MANS, FRANCE – 24 hours is a long time in racing, and anything can happen at any time. The championship defending Peugeot LMP1 cars started 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th on the grid and had an amazing run that day and into the night. During an interview with Romain Dumas, the Speed commentator prophetically asked if the Peugeots could keep up their amazing speed during the whole race. Dumas replied that he did not know, but that the Audi teams just need to concentrate on running a clean race. Well, that strategy certainly paid off as the Peugeots one-by-one began to drop out of the race. First, the pole-sitting #3 car of Pedro Lamy dropped out with a suspension failure. Then, in the early morning hours, Montagny’s entry retired. With only two hours to go, Wurz’s Peugeot dropped out with an engine failure. Finally, the Oreca entered Peugeot had to drop out leaving the victory to the Audi contingent. The 3 factory Audis swept the 1, 2, and 3 spots with the Bernhard /Dumas/Rockenfeller entry claiming the top tier of the podium. The Audi set a new distance record of 3,362.19 miles. "To come here and drive for a factory team like Audi with such a long history of victories - now nine in the last 11 years - is something special to be here as a driver," Bernhard said. "I felt very strong team spirit from the beginning of the weekend. We shared every bit of information and improved the car. It was a combined team effort and we put it all together. All three cars ran perfectly." Audi has tied Ferrari for the number of manufacturer wins at Le Mans with 9 wins. Porsche claims the top spot with 16 wins.
GT2 also turned out to be a race of attrition. The favorite, Corvette Racing dominated qualifying and much of the race. The #82 Ferrari of Risi Competizione fought the Corvettes in an intense battle but dropped out in the seventh hour with a transmission issue, ending the 6-race winning streak for Ferrari. Running 1 and 2, it appeared to be clear sailing for the American team as BMW was plagued with problems and the venerable Porsche’s did not have the speed necessary to challenge the ‘vettes. But as fate would have it, a little after 7 am, the #63 C6R retired due to an apparent engine failure. "Unfortunately it appears to be an engine failure, our first in 11 years of racing at Le Mans," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "We'll get the car back, take it apart, determine what the problem was, resolve it, and move forward. The engine was running perfectly one minute, and then not perfectly the next. There wasn't any indication leading up to it - no loss of oil pressure, no degradation in performance. The cause could be any number of things, so we'll look into it further before reaching a conclusion."
Then, at 8:42 am, an aggressive pass by the first place Peugeot LMP1 car, Emanuel Collard hit the wall in the Porsche curves. Limping the car back to the pits, the Corvette Racing crew was able to repair the damage, including replacement of the gearbox and clutch, and return the car to the track in an amazing 31 minutes and in 6th place. Amazingly enough, Oliver Gavin turned the fastest lap of the event - even faster than his qualifying run - following the repairs. But at 9:42 am, the second C6R also had to retire due to another apparent engine failure. "The guys fixed the car brilliantly after the crash, and I was able to run my fastest lap of the race with a rebuilt car," Gavin said. "The Corvette Racing team is fantastic, and I literally trust them with my life. I'm impressed with their spirit, guts, and determination to take on everybody. We had the fastest car for 18 hours, but unfortunately it wasn't enough."The retirement of the last C6R paved the way to the podium for the Porsche entry of Felbermayr-Proton. "After two hours, we thought it would be very tough to beat the Ferrari and Corvettes today," driver Henzler said. "We couldn't go the speed, but we pushed from the beginning and treated it like a sprint race. The only thing we could have done was run our own race and stay out of trouble. Finally we had a car which was very reliable with absolutely no problems. We saw what happened to the other cars, and that's how we won the race."

Dixon surpasses Amato’s record with 53 Top Fuel Titles

JOLIET, IL - With Sunday’s win at Route 66 Raceway, Larry Dixon passed Joe Amato by claiming his 53rd Top Fuel title. “As for Joe Amato, I’m not worthy; that’s all I can say,” said Dixon “He has so many wins and so many championships. To pass guys like ‘Snake’ [Don Prudhomme] and [Don] Garlits, these are all people I looked up to as kids. For a lot of years Joe Amato was the guy. Like I said, I’m not worthy.” After posting a 3.78 in his semifinal win over Doug Kalitta, Dixon returned to stop arch rival Tony Schumacher, 3.773 to 3.823 in the final round. Now Larry sets his sites on Schumachers record of 62 wins. But as “The Sarge” is still racing, Larry has to hit a moving target!

In Funny Car, Matt Hagan paired with Robert Hight in the final round after his semifinal win against Ashley Force Hood. Matt’s 4.022 in the semifinal was a new national record. Hagan halted Hight’s 3 win streak with a 4.035 sec blast against Hight’s 4.069 sec run. “In the first race we won in Houston, I had to pedal the car but not here.” Commented Hagan. “ This weekend, I had a great race car. We tested some stuff recently, but they put what they know back in the race car this weekend. I told Tommy, ‘That’s the race car I’m used to.’”

The outcome in Pro-Stock was not necessarily surprising, but Mike Edwards had to work hard in the final round. Edwards was No. 1 qualifier with 3 6.60 runs in eliminations. Paired against Jason Line in the final round, Edwards lagged off the light with a near perfect .007 sec reaction time against Line’s .006. “The first thing Jason said to me was ‘Man, you were late.’” Edwards was first across the finish line by four-thousandths, 6.594 sec to Line’s 6.599 sec. Line had a better top speed of 208.46mph vs. Mike’s 207.94mph. “What a great way to finish the day” exclaimed Edwards, “We weren’t at our best today, but we managed to pull off another win. It just feels great. To think that I’m having a better year than last is just incredible. I can’t believe what is taking place. It is all very humbling to me.” Mike has won an amazing six of the season’s first 10 events, while surpassing last year’s victory total of five.

Dario Franchitti Collects a cool $2.75 Million at Indy

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Dario Franchitti wins his second Indy 500 race and the fourth for team owner Chip Gannassi. After the championship win with Andretti-Green Racing in 2007, Dario signed with Ganassi to explore the realm of stock cars. After suffering a broken ankle in an unfortunate accident in a Nationwide series race, and lack of sponsors for the car, the effort was ended in June. It turned out to be a stroke of luck when Ganassi driver Dan Wheldon departed to Panther Racing giving Dario a shot at his seat. The rest is now history.

Starting from 10th position with a strong car, Dario was able to claim the lead from pole sitter Helio Castroneves by the end of the first lap and went on to lead 155 of 200 laps. "Congrats to Dario. What an awesome car he had. Ganassi did an incredible job to put him up there. It was the car to beat today. We tried. Unfortunately, silly mistakes put us in the back. I’m very disappointed. I’m more disappointed with the mistake. Certainly, I am very upset for my guys. They did an incredible job the whole month long. They should walk out of here with their heads high,” commented Castroneves on Dario’s performance.

Thrilling 6-Hour Endurance Race

MONTEREY, CA – In what was a thrilling 6-hour endurance race, Patron Highcroft Racing again took top honors with the HPD ARX-01c piloted by Brabham/Pagenaud/Franchitti. Starting from 33rd position, the Patron team had to work hard. Only 78 minutes after the start, Pagenaud managed to claim the lead. “The opening laps were pretty exciting. Starting at the back you have to find motivation and that was getting to the front” commented Pagenaud. Though the Patron car ran strong, by no means was it an easy race to win. Four cars led the race – Patron Highcroft, Dyson Racing, Muscle Milk Team Cytosport and Intersport Racing – but the Highcroft vs. Dyson match was the most exciting. The Dyson Lola-Mazda, also battling to the front after an early spin, gave the Highcroft car a run-for-its-money. The cars were 1 and 2 for over 2-1/2 hours. A cunning pit strategy by the Patron team placed Franchitti 30 seconds over the Lola with 45 minutes left in the race. Foregoing new tires, Franchitti stated that “it was a bit like drifting.” The LMP-2 Muscle Milk Porsche RS Spyder placed second overall.

The GT-class promised to be a thriller – and it was! Eight different cars led the race including three Ferraris, 2 Corvettes, 2 BMWs, a Porsche and a partridge in a pear tree. But on the final restart, an aggressive pass of Joey Hand’s BMW by Patrick Long, the Flying Lizard Porsche was at the front when the 6-hours were up. “It was definitely a bit more relaxing for me,” said Bergmeister, who got to watch this year. “I knew Patrick would do a good job because he has been good all week long. There were some who thought it wouldn't work out because the BMW was charging but I knew that Patrick would work it out and pull away.” Joey Long had a different perspective: “It was unfortunate,” Hand said of the finish. “We had the car to beat in the second half of the race. That last restart, that gaggle. I went when they said ‘green’ and by that point Long was past me. His green was at a different time than mine, I think.” He went on to say “I’m not going to say [he jumped it], but I can tell you when I was told ‘green’, he was by me, slamming me in my door. It was disappointing because you could tell that I could get back the Corvette and hunt down Long. He’s a good racer. We’ve raced together since we were kids.”

Webber dominates Monaco GP

MONACO, MONTE CARLO – It seems like old times. Controversy at the Grand Prix of Monte Carlo was sparked by former teammates Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello has been faulted for throwing his $50,000 steering wheel onto the race line following an incident on lap 31 while climbing the Beau Rivage. It appears that a technical problem caused his Williams to impact the Armco barriers on both sides of the track. Karun Shandock and Bruno Senna both ran over the wheel during the race. Some argue that Barrichello recklessly endangered his fellow drivers by throwing the wheel in frustration. Rubens’ commented “I threw the steering wheel because I wanted to get out of the car as soon as possible… After the shunt I was facing the wrong side of the track and the car was on fire," Williams co-owner Patrick Head defended his driver, "If you are standing in the middle of a 120mph corner, you tend to think 'let's get out of here as quickly as you can'." William’s driver Hulkenberg also crashed out of the race following a failure. No champagne at Williams this weekend!
Seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher appears to be back in the swing of things in F1. Never mistaken for a milquetoast driver, the German was penalized for an aggressive pass of Fernando Alonso in the final corner immediately after the safety car exited the track. The move placed him in 6th place. The stewards deliberated for four hours on Sunday deciding to drop the German out of the points to 12th position. Mercedes reserve driver Nick Heidfeld told Sky television: "The move was very clean… The rules are different this year. In the past you could only overtake from the start/finish line, now it is from the safety car line. Alonso was a little bit asleep," As of the time of this writing, Mercedes has not decided if they will proceed with an appeal of the decision.
What was not controversial this past weekend in the Principality was the utter dominance of The Red Bull car driven by Mark Webber. Though the race was marred with crashes, with 4 appearances of the safety car, Webber kept his cool and the performance of the Red Bull did the rest. What makes the win extra sweet for Webber is that it is the first time in 52 years that an Australian has won at Monte Carlo and it moves Red Bull in the lead in the Constructor’s title. The last Aussie to win at Monaco was the great Sir Jack Brabham. “To win in Monaco is a dream for any Formula One driver. It is a very, very special event and every Formula One victory is special but to win on the streets here fair and square off the pole, no attrition again, that’s nice and control the race from the front. To join such great winners here is a real special moment for me. I was reminded yesterday that Jack Brabham won here in 1959, so it has been a while for the Australians. A special day.” Webber is certainly in good company.