Wasn't there some news a while back of Marco Andretti maybe getting into a Honda F1 car at Indy on Friday?

 

http://www.crash.net/news_view.asp?cid=1&id=148696

Formula One's governing body the FIA has announced that it is investigating 'incidents' involving McLaren-Mercedes on the back of the team's 1-2 finish in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton dominated the race in the principality, running out front for the entire event having qualified on the front row of the grid – with the pair lapping the entire field bar third placed Felipe Massa.

However, a fine result for the team was somewhat overshadowed by suggestions that team orders had been employed to ensure that the result wasn't put at risk, with Hamilton being brought in early for his second pit stop and then instructed to hold position behind Alonso as the Spaniard took his second win of the season – despite the young Brit closing in on the double champion in the closing stages.
Hamilton had been pulled in early for his second stop in case a Safety Car was deployed in order to protect the team's position at the front, but it also cost the youngster the chance to take his first F1 win as he was unable to make up the time on track to jump ahead of Alonso, despite being fuelled to go as many as six laps further than the Spaniard.

It led to some head-scratching from Hamilton afterwards who admitted he was 'looking forward' to speaking to his engineers to see where his chance of victory had gone, although team boss Ron Dennis claimed that what had happened on track was down to strategy and wasn't a case of the team manipulating the race to favour Alonso – who went into the weekend trailing his rookie partner in the title race.

“We don't have team orders, we had a strategy to win this race," he told Reuters. "I make no excuses for instructing the racing drivers to slow their pace after the first stop and to effect our strategy.

"You can all give whatever twist or headline you want on it, my job is sometimes difficult and today was one of those times. There will be places where they will be absolutely free to race, but this isn't one of them. This is a place where one driver pushing another driver is the way to induce a mistake.

"Everyone in the pit lane would be saying what an idiot the team principal of McLaren is for allowing their cars to compete to a level where one of their cars and maybe two of them are in the barrier."

However, the FIA appears to have taken a different view to Dennis, with a statement issued by the governing body announcing that it was to investigate a possible breach of the sporting code – which states that there should be no team orders employed to try and manufacture a certain result.

 

Wait, what?

Aren't all the teams trying to manufacture a certain result?
I thought that was the point of racing.....
I understand where Hamilton would be pissed, he probably could have won, or at least have been a little more competitive, but at the expense of putting your teammate in the fence? Schumi put a lot of people into barriers over the years, but did he ever make his teammates crash?
If Massa had been second and closing, and they brought Hamilton into the pits so that he could come out in front of Massa, that might be different, but trying to get your team to finish 1-2, why exactly is that bad?

 

Scott did well for sure. However, I just read in Autoweek that Sebastian Bourdais had a test with the team and lapped .4 seconds faster than Speed did. It's not good news when someone new gets into your car and turns quicker laps than you.

 

But, would Bourdais want to leave a series where he is on top, to go to a crap team in F1?

 

Its not like its a bum off the street who showed up and ran a faster time. Champ cars are no joke. Not quite F1 car fast, but its not like Dale Jr. ran a faster time than him in his car. . .

Scott Speed hasn't exactly had the best of luck in his time in F1.

 

Yeah, I'm trying to see the logic in the FIA's investigation.

 

Because Ferrari is having a tantrum.

"Sir Jackie Stewart says McLaren did nothing wrong in preventing Lewis Hamilton challenging team-mate Fernando Alonso for victory in Monaco.
Formula One rules say "team orders which interfere with a race result are prohibited" and governing body the FIA has launched an investigation.

But former team owner Stewart said: "I saw nothing wrong with what occurred."

The triple world champion said asking drivers to back off to make sure of the GP win "was the wise thing to do". The 66-year-old said Alonso was "on pole oposition, he made a very good start, he took a lead that allowed him to have a good clear bit of air behind him. It's very difficult to start telling team owners that if you are running first and second that you should keep driving your drivers to the absolute limit of their ability

"He set the fastest lap, and he won the race. It was fairly straightforward."

Stewart said Monaco could not be compared with Ferrari's infamous decision to ask Rubens Barrichello to move over and hand Michael Schumacher the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix. That decision led to the current rule on team orders being added to F1's sporting regulations.

"The Schumacher-Barrichello case was blatant - he reduced his speed by maybe 30 or 40mph to have Schumacher pass him before the finishing line," Stewart said. "It was a pretty blatant thing, it wasn't enjoyed by the crowd, it wasn't enjoyed by the media.

"But it's a very difficult thing to start telling team owners that if you are running first and second that you should keep driving your drivers to the absolute limit of their ability.

"I think it was a great result for Lewis Hamilton to finish second in the Monaco Grand Prix and get another podium finish.

"What if he had tried a little bit too hard in these last laps in Monaco and slid off the race track, hit a barrier and taken the Mclaren out of the race?

"Valuable world championship points would have been lost by McLaren."

Stewart added that he believed Hamilton would win races in his debut season.

"He is a remarkable young man and I think we are going to see him winning Grands Prix," he said.

 

1. Scott Speed: Until he joins his teammate in Q2, you can't say he's doing very well in F1. Bourdais is an accomplished driver in Champ Car, but he should not be able to get into an F1 car and be faster than someone who has been driving it for the past 2 years.

2. Why would Bourdais leave Champ Car for STR? I can think of four reasons: money, fame, respect, challenge. Not necessarily in that order.

3. Why is anyone crying about McLaren's "team orders" at Monaco when they could be protesting their movable front wing instead?! I'm not a McLaren fan, but I didn't see them doing anything wrong at Monaco. It was quite clear in Spain, however, that their front wing qualifies as a "movable aerodynamic device."

 

Except that the FIA has already given them their blessing for that wing. Dead issue.

 

Absolutely! Sébastien wants a shot at F1. All he has to do is trounce his teammate and he'll get a shot at a seat with a better team. Allot of drivers started with an F1 crap team, including the current world champion.

Alan

 

Really? Wow. It looks like the exact thing the "moveable element" language outlawed: deflecting differently under braking than during acceleration. That's what led to the requirement of a center support between rear-wing elements, too. It seems far more serious than Ferrari's front wing from last year. Looks can be deceiving, though.

 

I haven't seen that noted in the press. Did they file a complaint with the FIA?

I don't particularly care for Ron Dennis. A rule is a rule, whether or not it was the product of a Ferrari crime several seasons ago. All that matters is that it is relevant to the '07 FIA regs. If Lewis wanted to contest Alonso for the race win . . . under these rules . . . then he should've been allowed.

The FIA can not simultaneously strive to make the sport more competitive while allowing teams to play a hand so conservative that competition is stifled.

Despite this, I don't think this particular instance of team orders requires such scrutiny. The finishing order should stand.

 

Because he wants to compete against the best

 

... remembering what became of Michael Andretti when he went to McLaren in one of their "off" seasons.

 

I must have been watching a different race...

 

As much as I wanted M Andretti to succeed in F1 back in '92 (?), he didn't commit to the series like I know Seebass will. The dude is French! He'll take to F1 like Paris Hilton takes to booze....

 

Good point. Michael Andretti's dreadful attempt at F1 was at least partially the result of his not being able to focus 100% on the task.

I saw something recently where he stated that he preferred Marco make the move into F1 only if he could do so in an environment that would allow him to do just that.

Granted some drivers appear content to remain in North America, but I can't believe for a second that Bourdais considered Champ Car anything more than stepping stone or temporary detour.

 

FIA is banning traction control for the umteenth time next year (at least until the newest technology overcomes the FIA's ability to police it). If they were really serious about banning drivers aides, there would be three pedals and a gear shift in each and every F1 vehicle. Eliminate teh semi-auto, paddle shifter techology and let the racin' begin.

 

1993. It will be remembered as a year where McLaren had switched from Honda power to Ford power, and for some of Senna's greatest drives (Donnington anyone?) against a much better Williams Renault piloted by Alain Prost. Andretti was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still he managed a podium for third at Monza, his last race in F1.

 

Thanks, but I was referring to the specific issue Kimi has allegedly had adapting to Ferrari's traction control. Apparently it works different than the McLaren's.

I was curious if anyone knew what that difference was.

 

McLaren cleared over team order charges.

Motorsport’s governing body has cleared McLaren of any improper conduct during the Monaco Grand Prix. After launching an investigation on Monday into whether the team’s tactics had breached F1’s sporting regulations banning team orders, the FIA concluded that McLaren’s actions were “entirely legitimate”.

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.a...39437&PO=39437

I agree 100%!

 

That happened so quickly, I wonder if the FIA just made the "investigation" a formality to make the press and Ferrari happy.

 

His first F1 race in Monaco. In his previous three races there he took pole, led every lap and won!

 

"Dennis’ comments sparked a backlash in the British press, which claimed Hamilton had been unfairly shackled."

. . . Ferrari had nothing to do with this.