I hope that all the teams do a no-go during the Aus weekend if the FIA doesnât play open cards with this shitshow
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Fairly predictable response, and technically, all above board in terms of the regulations. But, as the comment at the end of the post says though, not nearly enough to satisfy the other teams. And certainly not enough to make this all just go away.
The FIA are basically admitting that they do not have the ability to police the technicalities of the sport properly. ââŚfurther action would not necessarily result in a conclusive case due to the complexity of the matter and the material impossibility to provide the unequivocal evidence of a breach.â
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The 7 NFTs have sent another letter to the FIA, following the FIAâs less than forthcoming reply. This time itâs a confidential letter demanding answers into why the investigation results are being kept confidential. I guessing that the reason that itâs being kept confidential is because it probably contains something along the lines of âif you donât tell us we may be forced to do xyzâ type threats.
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Didnât their first âopen letterâ talk about how open and transparent they are/ 
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The way the FIA are dealing with this is farcical. And if itâs not resolved soon, itâs going to cause big problems for F1 in a season that is already under threat from changes being forced by Covid-19. And at a time when so much of the future of F1 rests with the teams agreeing to the new 5 year participation contracts and the big changes from 2021.
Why FOM and Liberty Media have been so quiet about things is also baffling to me. As the commercial rights holders, they stand to lose a fortune if things go pear-shaped and thereâs a rebellion amongst the other teams, or if any of the big teams, including Ferrari, decide that the politics and bs are just not worth it, and withdraw from the series entirely. Theyâve spent the last 3 years building the sports profile - very successfully I think. To let all that work potentially be undone because the sportâs regulatory body is being a dick about things seems daft to me.
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I think the situation is somewhat complicated. FIA seems to know Ferrari has cheated, but I donât think they can prove it without reasonable doubt. Ferrari also cannot disprove that they have not cheated.
Either that or Ferrari found a loophole that other teams can exploit, and the FIA donât want anyone to know about it yet
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Decent long read in todayâs Mail & Guardian:
TL:DR - Thereâs good levels of interest in the F1 community for an African GP. Morocco and South Africa are the more obvious potentials. It will cost a lot of money (âestimate the annual hosting fee begins at $31.5-millionâ) and thatâs before the added costs of anything else. It wonât happen without significant financial support from government, and that wonât happen if organizations like the Jody Scheckter led South Africa GP canât show the government the additional value that hosting a F1 GP could bring.
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3 different global motorsport seriesâ, three different approaches:
(Paywalled, but the headline says enough)
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Finally, a sensible decision to end off the week on a positive note:
https://www.racefans.net/2020/03/06/f1-scraps-ban-on-drivers-changing-helmet-designs/
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And in relation to the lifting of the stupid helmet design restrictions, you can now enter a design competition for Landoâs helmet for the British Grand Prix.
The winning original design will be used by Lando at his home GP and the winner will receive a full size signed version as the prize.
Entries must be hand-drawn, no design agency, high-tech render stuff. But you only have until 15 March to submit your entry/entries (up to 4), so break out the colored pencils and highlighters soon.
Templates and all the details here:
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Plain white with a trollface
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Bahrain F1 race to go ahead without spectators
Probably the best option in a bad situation. No idea what ticket sales for Vietnam have been like, but honestly wouldnât be surprised if they do the same thing. With Round 4 in China already postponed, that will give F1 (and the world!) through until the Dutch GP in early May to get a better handle on things and see where they stand.
That said, the Aussies are still pretty adamant that Melbourne will happen as scheduled in a weeksâ time. And the Aussies in general donât seem too perturbed by all the cancellations around the world. Thereâs 80 000-odd people in the MCG right now watching the Womenâs T20 World Cup Final. I just canât seem the F1 teams being all that willing to allow the normal levels of fan interaction with their drivers and other team personnel that we normally see at a GP.
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Little bit of Red Bull/AlphaTauri succession planning being implemented here?
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HAHAHAHA!!!
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