FUMES

August 5, 2009

BMW fires the second volley as the FIA remains totally clueless.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

(Posted 8/3, 11:30am) Detroit. When BMW announced it was pulling out of F1 last week, it wasn't just the fact that they were pulling out at the end of this season that was a shock, it was the reasons given for the pullout. Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, put it this way: “Of course, this was a difficult decision for us. But it’s a resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment. Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. In line with our Strategy Number ONE, we are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability. Our Formula One campaign is thus less a key promoter for us."

What's wrong with this picture? Everything, basically. The FIA is the most archaic, moribund, paralyzed - and polarizing - racing organization this side of NASCAR, and that's saying something. But the difference is that the FIA controls all of racing with their juvenile squabbles and nonsensical missives, and thus their abject incompetence spreads like a dark cloud over the entire sport. You would have thought that when Honda pulled out at the end of last season it would have set off alarm bells in the hallowed halls of the FIA in Paris, but noooo, they're perfectly content believing that the world revolves around them, while the entire sport is collapsing on their heads.

Yes, collapsing.

Anyone who things that BMW's pullout of Formula 1 is just another little speed bump for the grand circus dominated by Max Mosley - ably assisted by his vertically challenged compatriot, Bernard Ecclestone - is woefully out of touch. What these manufacturers are saying point blank is that the old F1 model is flat-out obsolete, and that they cannot and will not compete again until the sport is aligned more with where their massive research and development budgets are aimed, which is high-performance with fuel-efficiency, sustainability and environmental responsibility.

In other words, the FIA had many, many warning signs that the world was going in this direction, and the manufacturers made it very clear that they needed to focus on these new environmentally-oriented parameters in order to transform their corporate missions for the future. And the FIA should have anticipated and responded to the changing winds by throwing out the traditional rule book and totally reinventing the sport.

And yet what do those brainiacs at the FIA do instead? They focus on a series of Byzantine directives designed to cut costs, which in turn has sent the sport into a tailspin, while the manufacturers start packing up and going home.

The simple solution needed? Create a new forward-thinking rules package that revolves around one fundamental requirement: that the racing machines have to achieve a minimum of 10 mpg over the course of an entire racing weekend (that requirement could be gradually increased over several years). Employ minimal other requirements too, for instance, like dictating the size of the "envelope" that the car has to fit through, etc., but other than that bring the wild creativity back to the sport and in turn give the manufacturers a new raison d'etre for Formula 1. In other words, give them something to sink their teeth into - like a direct link to what they're doing in their future product development programs, for starters - so that they can justify devoting a large chunk of their R&D budgets to their boards of directors. Because as of right now no scenario exists in F1 that will allow them to do that.

Make no mistake, the BMW pullout is not just a little "blip," folks - it's the next step on the way to the ultimate implosion of F1.

The bottom line? Never have so few been responsible for so much widespread destruction to the sport than the dullards who wallow in a state of perpetual mediocrity at the FIA.

The incompetents at the FIA have proved once and for all that they're not only incapable of getting "it" or coming up with the serious answers to the myriad problems facing the sport, they're incapable of understanding the fundamental questions being asked in the first place, which translates into a heaping, steaming bowl of Not Good.

Well, enough is enough. It's time for a new governing body for the world of racing to emerge.

And we needed it yesterday...

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and friends this Thursday evening, August 6, 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

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Sebring, Florida, 1964. The Lew Spencer/Bob Bondurant Shelby American 289 FIA Cobra (CSX2301) in the pits during a stop near the end of the famous 12 Hour race. The duo would finish fifth overall right behind the Shelby American-entered Cobra Daytona Coupe (CSX2287) driven by Bob Holbert/Dave MacDonald, but ahead of the 289 FIA Shelby Cobra team car (CSX2260) driven by Phil Hill/J.P. Schlesser. The factory Ferrari team swept the top three positions that year led by the Parkes/Maglioli Ferrari 275P.