Yet another Formula 1 season starts with a number of cheating accusations. For some fans and journalists, this makes things more exciting; others are just getting tired of it.
Teams often blame one another for not playing by the rules. Red Bull and Lotus both accused Mercedes AMG of using fancy aero kits, while the latter suspects the defending constructors' champion of tricking its engine management system.
Cheating in Formula 1 is nothing new. In fact, the sport's head honcho candidly admitted that ''everybody's doing it'' in No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone, a book that was published last year.
This is getting seriously annoying, though. It seems like every single race is marred by disqualifications, sanctions, injunctions, protests, and appeals. The real action, the one on the track, is relegated to the background.
Since F1 teams have to build their own car, each one has a unique interpretation of the rules. In the book I just mentioned (and strongly advise you to read), we learn that the almighty McLaren has an army of engineers exclusively working to find loopholes in the supposedly rock-solid rules.
It only makes sense that all those involved in F1 keep fighting on and off the tarmac.
Personally, I prefer NASCAR's approach. Steve Hallam, a former engineer of Ayrton Senna and now the executive vice president of competition at Michael Waltrip Racing, once explained to me how Sprint Cup cars go through several inspections on a daily basis.
NASCAR wants to make sure that they're all legal at all times. So, should a controversy arise after a race, there won't be any disqualifications (like in F1). If the winner cheated, he still gets the win, but he loses the prize money and/or the points that come with it. It's a good system,'' he said.
Indeed, my friend. Let's hope that the FIA soon takes a page out of NASCAR's book.
Teams often blame one another for not playing by the rules. Red Bull and Lotus both accused Mercedes AMG of using fancy aero kits, while the latter suspects the defending constructors' champion of tricking its engine management system.
Cheating in Formula 1 is nothing new. In fact, the sport's head honcho candidly admitted that ''everybody's doing it'' in No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone, a book that was published last year.
This is getting seriously annoying, though. It seems like every single race is marred by disqualifications, sanctions, injunctions, protests, and appeals. The real action, the one on the track, is relegated to the background.
Since F1 teams have to build their own car, each one has a unique interpretation of the rules. In the book I just mentioned (and strongly advise you to read), we learn that the almighty McLaren has an army of engineers exclusively working to find loopholes in the supposedly rock-solid rules.
It only makes sense that all those involved in F1 keep fighting on and off the tarmac.
Personally, I prefer NASCAR's approach. Steve Hallam, a former engineer of Ayrton Senna and now the executive vice president of competition at Michael Waltrip Racing, once explained to me how Sprint Cup cars go through several inspections on a daily basis.
NASCAR wants to make sure that they're all legal at all times. So, should a controversy arise after a race, there won't be any disqualifications (like in F1). If the winner cheated, he still gets the win, but he loses the prize money and/or the points that come with it. It's a good system,'' he said.
Indeed, my friend. Let's hope that the FIA soon takes a page out of NASCAR's book.
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| Photo: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images for NASCAR |