Ferrari deserves to be penalised by WMSC on Sept 8

There have been discussions and counter discussions from the past few weeks on whether Ferrari should be penalised or not for their alleged team-orders at the German GP ordering Felipe Massa, to relinquish his position to Fernando Alonso.

A section of observers feel that Ferrari broke the rules, which clearly states no team orders, hence deserves a penalty. There cannot be an argument against it.

Another set of people believe that team orders are a norm in Formula One, as it's a team game, and the drivers have to work for the benefit of the team, whether they like it or not.

Both the groups have their valid and logical arguments, and on it's part, FIA have already penalised Ferrari with a fine of $ 100,000 (for carrying out team orders, banned under section 39.1) and more might be in store when the World Motor Sporting Council meets to discuss on the issue on September 8 (for bringing the sport in to disrepute, section 151.c )

FIA are spot on in penalising Ferrari for breaking the rule of "no team orders". However, are they right in referring to WMSC for bringing the sport to disrepute?

I would say, yes. They did bring the sport in to the disrepute.

Formula one, like any other sport, stands on the hinges of it's fan base, and it's the fans who have been hurt and felt cheated by the whole episode.

Fans who throng to the circuits, who are glued to the television sets, weekend after weekend, to see their favourite teams and drivers racing to glory.

A huge chunk of these fans just love pure racing and are not concerned about the business or strategy attached to it.

It is these fans, spread worldwide, who felt robbed by the action of Ferrari and it's drivers.

They went to watch drivers race each other and not trade positions for whatever reason. By doing this, the basic concept of racing is taken away.

When fans feel cheated and robbed, it brings disrepute to that sport, impacting negatively on it's core fan base, which might prove detrimental to its very existence in the long run.

There is no doubt that F1 is a team game, and teams make strategy for their benefit, but it is a very fine line which teams have to tread so that it doesn't lose the confidence of the sports enthusiast, on which any sporting structure stands.

Team orders in formula dates back to many decades back, as the Ferrari President claimed, when he ridiculed the punishment to Ferrari. However, it was always dealt very strategically by teams.

The first team that made it more clear in public was none other than Ferrari in 2002, when Rubens Barrichello slowed down just before the finish line to help Michael Schumache win the Austrian GP.

This had brought lot of criticism to Ferrari and in general F1 teams, that prompted FIA to ban 'team-orders' to instill confidence back in fans, that such things won't be allowed in future.

Teams have continued to favour their favourite/best drivers, but under coded messages and during pitstops etc., but not as blatantly as 2002 incident.

Fans understand supporting a driver or team, under certain circumstances, where it becomes absolute necessary, like in 2007 when Felipe Massa was smartly delayed during the pitstop to help Raikkonen win the final race and the championship.

However, to announce the same on radio in a way that anyone could make out that they were team orders, and more importantly, when the season has just crossed half-way, is what has created the uproar against Ferrari.

Whatever logical reasons Ferrari might come up, it is only for their team's benefit, and it doesn't take in to consideration the damaged it has brought to the sport in general.

Hence, FIA has rightly referred the matter, and it all depends how WMSC views it, in the best interest of sport.

Belgium GP Preview - Ferrari's chances

The summer break has come to an end, and teams are all geared up for remainder of races.

First up, is the Belgian GP held at the Spa Francorchamps circuit. The circuit is the most exciting of all tracks and the most unpredictable too, as the long circuit and dense forest surrounding it has seen rains at one end and completely dry at the other, at the same time.

The track is rigourous on engines, as the cars spend almost 70% of the lap on full throttle, due to the two long straights. The top speed of cars can go up to a maximum speed of 330km/hr. It also has a few slow and one super-quick turn.

This means, cars with most aero efficiency, along with strong and powerful engines would tackle the track better.

Ferrari engines, after the intital bust ups, have performed the best so far, and hence the team can rely on it for a good result this weekend, though the mercedes engine has been top of the crop this year.

Further, straight line speed advantage gained by the f-duct, might come in to handy here, but team would go for it only after evaluation during the free practice sessions on friday and saturday morning.

This track has the longest lap of all the circuits for the season, which would benefit teams having good fuel efficiency, that would play a crucial role during qualifying, as cars with the lightest amount of fuel stand to gain the most.

Though Ferrari engines have been said to have an disadvantage on that front, there were rumours last week of Shell supplying Ferrari a new formulation of gasoline and lubricant that could reduce consumption by 7% and increase power by 5%.

Nothing has been confirmed, but if even a slight improvement in that area would be good for Ferrari's chances in the coming races.

The Spa track is also severe on tyres, especially when coming downhill from the Eau Rouge, that puts immense pressure, degrading the tyres faster.

Here again it's advantage Ferrari, as it's cars have been the most gentle on tyres, thus lesser tyre wear, as compared to say, McLaren, who are most severe on it's tyres.

Ferrari are bringing further upgrades to the blown double diffusers, hence aero efficiency-wise it will stand better than earlier, though Red Bull has been the best in that department so far.

Driver's Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso are upbeat on their chances and quite optimistic about the upgrades.

“We look in good shape, with some new parts coming as part of our constant development programme on the F10", said Massa.

While Alonso, speaking on his blog at Ferrari.com, had good feeling going in to the race, "I have a good feeling following on from the positive results obtained in Germany and Hungary."

If all goes well, Ferrari can hope for a win, or at the least hope both it's drivers end up on podium this weekend.

What should be Felipe's next move?

An emotional comeback in to the team, after an life-threatening accident last year, has turned sour so far for the Brazilian, Felipe Massa, who is in to his fifth year with Ferrari.

Once considered the blue-eyed boy of of Ferrari, Massa is no longer in the favoured books of the team.

Nurtured under the legedary Michael Schumacher in his first year, one witnessed more applause and roar from the pitwall of Ferrari for Massa than their new million dollar recruit Kimi Raikkonen.

The story has since changed it's script, with the coming of Fernando Alonso, as Massa was not only out-performed on track, but the Spaniard is now the more favoured driver in the Italian team.

What are his options now?

Felipe has signed contract extension with Ferrari up until the end of 2012 season, but competing with Fernando would be tough task.

Fernando, unlike, Raikkonen, is a complete workaholic, who gels and build quick rapport with his team.

Moreover, Felipe has yet not come to terms with the set-up of the car, which doesn't seem to his liking. Fernando, though in just his first year at Ferrari, has quickly adapted to the car.

It is not just one or two races, but Fernando has performed consistently better than Felipe over majority of the races so far. The graph below depicts the qualifying performance of both drivers.

(Alonso leads 9-3, while he didn't run qualifying at Monaco due to crash on Friday)

In modern formula one races, qualifying has become extremely important, and to get a good qualifying result, a good grip and handling of the car is important.

There is no doubt that Felipe might come up triumphs in the coming races, or by the next season. However, with Ferrari already impressed with Alonso's performance, there would be no doubt that next year the car would be even more to Alonso's liking, than Felipe's.

One is witnessing how the great Michael Schumacher is struggling with the car, which was built around the team's former driver, Jenson Button. Yes, Michael has come back after three years, but the fact that he is still struggling suggest that the car set-up and design has more to say than the driver's performance in this sport.

The ban on in-season testing is also limiting drivers to iron out their problems.

The car, as we say in formula one, is 90% of the performance, and hence, it is imperative for Felipe to get acclimatised to the car as soon as he could, or Alonso would better him race after race.

The second option for Felipe would be to look at an equal opportunity in some other team. The good thing about this is that he would start the season on equal footing with his team mate.

Except, Renault, however, all other top teams have both their seats blocked.

Renault has improved quite a lot and won podiums too this season. Hence, there is little doubt that this team is moving forward and might be even challenging for championship next year.

Then, there were rumours of Mark Webber's interest in driving for a Ferrari, which was fuelled further when his manager, Flavior Briatore, visited Ferrrari. However, with Sebastian Vettel being the team's firm favourite at Red Bull, a switch wouldn't be much sensible.

The likes of Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica etc., are also eyeing a drive for Ferrari in the very near future. With binding contracts of drivers to teams not holding much water these days, this becomes again a threat to Felipe's future at Ferrari.

The best move for Felipe then, since the team has unofficially announced Alonso as No.1 driver of the team this year, is to get the maximum out of the car and fine tune his driving to adapt to the set-up, so that he is running on par or better than his team-mate come next season.

We might see the Brazilian having an extensive and extended sessions on Ferrari's F1 stimulator during off-season.

Lauda slams Ferrari, but misses the point

Former, Ferrari driver and world champion, Niki Lauda has again blasted Ferrari for using team orders.


He is right, in that, technically Ferrari has broken the rules.


Speaking to formula1.com, the former champ said, "What they did at Hockenheim was against all rules. Either the rules are changed or everybody observes them.


However, he missed a thing or two when he gave example of Red Bull being fair in letting their drivers race each other, and stated Ferrari's actions as political.


"If you approach it politically then you are in the Ferrari mould. Or you try to give both your drivers equal opportunities and the fans an exciting sport, as Red Bull are doing in letting their drivers compete with each other," he said.


After the Turkey incident, Red Bull had made a statement to it's fans that it supports both drivers equally, but just two races later at the British GP, the team removed the new front wing of Webber and handed it over to the German, in a brazen act of favoritism.


These two incidents, combined by Webber's constant comments to the media, brought lot of criticism to the team from fans all over, and along with the fact that Webber was leading Vettel, forced Red Bull to provide equal machinery and support to both drivers.


Infact, Red Bull are more guilty in this regard, as they supported a driver who was behind his team-mate on points, while in contrast, Fernando Alonso was clearly ahead of Massa, out-performed the Brazilian so far in qualifying and race trim, and much closer to challenging the title than Massa, hence more logical for the team to support him (though they handled it very immaturely).

Hence, Lauda's slamming of Ferrari while at the same time supporting Red Bull's act is far from right.

It is a suprise that Lauda opted to choose the example of Red Bull, and not Mclaren, who have so far played it very well, in managing the two drivers. Though the incident of Jenson Button being told to back off after overtaking Lewis Hamilton at Turkey did raise some eyebrows of team orders being played (in a coded langauge - again, fuel consumption).

However, it can also be due to the fact that a better understanding among the team and drivers are at place in Mclaren.

Ferrari might be in for more penalties or fine, at the WMSC meeting next month, but team orders are a norm, and one way or the other we fans have to come to terms with it, whether we like it or not.

Should Ferrari have kept Kimi Raikkonen?

Kimi Raikkonen would have been the best option for Ferrari this year, if they hadn't rushed in to cancelling his contract.

The iceman though expensive, compared to new recruit and (unconfirmed) No.1 driver Fernando Alonso, would have fared equally or better than the Spaniard, and Ferrari would have stood to gain much more this season.

Ferrari have now put all their efforts to achieve the world championship for Fernando Alonso this season, as witnessed by Felipe backing out to give the win to Alonso at German GP.

With just 20 points adrift of the leader, Mark Webber of Red Bull, Alonso has a good chance to win the championship if he is consitently on the podium, as there are a whopping 175 points up for grabs, under the new points system, for the remainder of races.

However, chances of Ferrari winning the constructor's championship, which is of more value and status to the sporting team, looks very slim, as Felipe Massa is not performing to his best.

The biggest disadvantage Felipe having this season, is that he isn't able to bring the tyres up to temperatures (heat up the tyres) faster, and hence losing out on initial pace. The second reason, is Felipe has always struggled with cars when fuelled heavy, and this season, with no-refuelling, he has to start with full tank, which is again to his disadvantage.

If you are unable to balance the car, it becomes rather difficult to heat up the tyres too.

These two factors would have, however, helped, his former team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen.

Kimi was always comfortable at handling a heavy fuelled car, whilst struggling when it was lighter, a factor that played in to the hands of Felipe, who outclassed him in 2008, as re-fuelling was still in place, meaning, a much lighter car to handle.

Kimi, hence, used to qualify with heavier-fuelled car than Massa, but always, more or less, made up lost places quickly, during races.

Hence, in the present situation, with all cars fuelled to the brim, Kimi would not only have had a great advantage due to superior balance of car at the start, but would have also able to heat up the tyres faster, giving him an extra pace advantage over the others.

This would have ensured he being atleast on par with Alonso at this point of time, (or we say better, if we count the number of mistakes Alonso did so far), thus propelling Ferrari chances to fight for the Constructor's Championship too.

Alonso-Kimi pair would have been a huge burden, financially, for Ferrari, but it isn't gaining much either too. Also, for fans, an Alonso-Kimi duel would have been a mouth-watering prospects. Sadly, money rules in F1, and Ferrari decided to part with the iceman.

Rumours are rife in the paddock of Kimi joining Renault. It then wouldn't be a surprise if he performs straight out of the box on his return, and also ably helped by the fast improving technical team of Renault.

The iceman has denied it so far, but nothing is permanent or sure in F1. If that happens, Ferrari would regret not utilising the full potential of this super quick finn.