Crazy When You Start Putting Things Together

We know how corrupt Formula One used to be and thought we had moved on from that era, but oh no there has been no change and will it ever change? Bernie Ecclestone was the main man behind Formula One for decades rising from a second hand car salesman to the sports supremo before selling out.

Preventing Lewis Hamilton from winning his 8th World Title was part of the agenda it seems as Bernie Ecclestone who owned Formula One was dead against him. One has to think who was around then that cares and Jean Todt would be another.

The problem is they didn't want Lewis beating Michael Schumacher's record as that is his legacy. Bernie openly admits he was happy Hamilton never won and achieve his 8th World Title. Jean Todt is the president of the FIA and a close friend of Schumacher from his Ferrari days. He remains close to this day as he is the only one allowed to still make family visits.

Think back on what regulations the FIA have introduced this season in order to try and prevent this from happening. Mercedes are or were so dominant in the sport they tried to handicap them every step of the way.

Regulation change after regulation change taking away the Mercedes team strengths such as the reduced down force. Taking away what the team had been superior on is not their fault and should be welcomed. Any development to be the best you possibly can is what the sport is all about. Every team has the same opportunity but it seems Mercedes were just that much better.

So this season started with reduced downforce for everyone but didn't hamper the others so much as they were not in the same league. DAS or Drive Assist System which heated the front tyres was banned as Mercedes were the only ones who had it.

Banning of engine modes which Mercedes were past masters of and was somehting other teams had been struggling with. Mercedes as engine manufacturers somehow knew how to get the best performance out of their power units and why they were so dominant.

It wasn't as though the other teams were not developing and copying things but the truth is they just aren't as good. Red Bull with the flexi wing was a huge question mark that was allowed to slide as it was as though it was ok if it helped beating Mercedes.

The FIA must have been in a cold sweat last weekend as everything they had done up until that point had not worked. The manipulation of breaking their own regulations regarding the safety car was the only way they could prevent Hamilton from winning. I do think Massi the Race Director was a pawn in a much bigger game and was ordered to make the call.

You can call it cheating or manipulation or whatever you like but every racing fan knows what happened and why. Many sports are crooked in the way they are run and Formula One is exactly the same. The FIA saying that the racing fans don't understand the regulations is a little condescending thinking everyone is stupid. The truth is we all know what went down and why and sweeping it under the rug won't make it any better.

As a sportsmen I detest cheating of any sorts as that is not how things are done. Doing it live blatantly on live tv in front of 100's millions was never going to be a smart move either. We are 4 days since the scandal and social media is still a buzz and this is not going to magically disappear. The sport does have a problem and the only fans who are happy are the Dutch who don't follow Formula One normally. This week even Verstappen fans have been asking questions as it is now tarnishing what he won.

Hamilton may or may not race again which will suit the FIA if he does walk away and retire. He is disillusioned about the sport and who can blame him with what happened. I am no Hamilton fan and hope he wins next season as this has made him even more popular than he was before.