Opinion: Formula 1, a motorsport under pressure

Shooting oneself in the foot. That old saying will never die if Formula 1 has anything to do with it. This time it was Sebastian Vettel.

Fans who were wondering how the Ferrari team would find a new way to not win a race watched as the team managed that by Vettel making yet another mistake under pressure.

In Vettel’s case at the Canadian Grand Prix, it was his mistake in losing control of his car, causing the episode and compounded apparently by the stewards noting that Vettel steered towards Lewis Hamilton after regaining some control.

The stewards deemed Vettel to be in breach of a rule and the automatic penalty was the minimum applicable. The judges of fact were correct but the loser was not only Vettel but also F1 racing.

A 12-gauge shotgun to the F1 foot.

It has also been reported that F1 owner Liberty Media is considering adjusting the way that F1 weekends are run, by moving a lot of official background stuff to Friday as well as moving the Friday practice sessions to later in the day.

The sting comes in the next suggestion that the cars will enter parc ferme conditions as of the first practice on Friday. That would mean nothing could be changed on the car for the rest of the weekend.

As Friday is the day when the teams try to fettle their cars with new parts and upgrades, this would have a significantly detrimental effect, especially for smaller teams.

Precious little track testing is allowed, so Friday is an important day to make sure the cars are in as good a shape to race over the weekend.

This move would send the wind tunnel, CFD testing and simulator costs through the roof.

At least for the bigger teams. The rest, the majority, would end up even further out of the competitive ballpark.

Load another 12-gauge here.

After almost two years of discussion and endless meetings, the new rules and regulations framework for the sport was supposed to have been signed off this month by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

That didn’t happen.

After more “constructive” discussion, more objections, more work needed and more chest-thumping by certain team principals, the earliest that sign-off will happen is October.As many have pointed out, not only the date but the process is looking eerily similar to that other political shambles in the UK.

Liberty Media is having trouble in getting these disparate teams, all with their own agendas, strengths and weaknesses, to agree on the greater good of the sport.

Pass me another 12-gauge.