;)
FUMES
Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 07:51AM April 22, 2009
Chaos in Formula 1? It's a good thing.
By Peter M. De Lorenzo
Detroit. Most readers of this column know that I am not a big fan of what Formula 1 has become in The Bernard Years. The sport clearly devolved into a global marketing exercise with the benefits and rewards going to the participants, while the enthusiasts for real racing were shortchanged at every turn. And with every foray into a new market - where glittering racing palaces were built at the expense of any historical context - F1 became a caricature of itself, and frankly its appeal had diminished considerably.
And of course the fact that the powers that be continued to dismiss the U.S. market as more of a burden than a destination didn't help much either. Clearly that isn't going to change anytime soon, especially with the global center of the automotive universe shifting to China. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we are left without a F1 race on U.S. soil for a very long time to come, which is a travesty but a reality we better get used to.
But despite the fact that the new F1 cars are appalling to look at - achieving a new low in aesthetic design integrity in my book - predictability has taken a leave from F1, at least for the first half of the 2009 season, and that is a very good thing indeed.
I still believe there are myriad problems with F1, don't get me wrong, but at least we're able to see different blokes on the podium and the racing is free of the preordained outcomes that have become the norm for the last decade. And make no mistake, the rain has certainly helped in the early races, adding a nice measure of chaos to the proceedings.
Will it last? I seriously doubt it, because F1 has a tendency to screw things up for itself given even a modicum of prosperity.
But at least for the time being we can enjoy actual racing for a change.
Let's hope the rain continues...
See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and auto industry PR veteran Jason Vines this Thursday evening, April 23, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv. You can chat with us "live" too. Again, that's "Autoline After Hours"this Thursday evening, April 23, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.
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Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD
(Ford Racing Archives)
Brands Hatch, England, 1969. John Young Stewart - "Jackie" - sits on the tire of his Matra-Ford during practice for the Race of Champions. Stewart won 27 times in 99 Formula 1 races, winning the World Championship three times (1969, 1971, 1973). Stewart also nearly won the 1966 Indianapolis 500 as a rookie. He was leading the race by more than a lap with eight laps to go in his John Mecum-entered Lola T90-Ford when a broken scavenge pump failed. Graham Hill went on to win the race that year. Stewart became a safety advocate for all of racing, a television commentator and F1 team owner. Stewart received a knighthood in 2001.