So much for all the Mercedes lies, we had permission, we haven't done anything wrong, it wasn't secrete.

Now the truth is out and they have the punishment they wanted it's all accept the verdict, regrettable we disguised the drivers and no longer protesting their innocence.

So they think the punishment was worth the gains so they don't even care that they are cheaters.

Not the best few weeks for the sport's image for sure As ever with Ross Brawn I think you can say he knew exactly what he was doing...

I think the same can be said of Christian Horner too.

Yes... the words 'F1' and 'sport' sit together uneasily these days...

I'd say the two of them are different. Ross Brawn is a very intelligent man who uses every trick in the book, and quite a few that aren't in the rulebook. Christian Horner is a smarmy weasel who relies on the brilliance of others. His job mostly consists of running after Seb and excusing his behaviour.

That's a bit harsh.

I've no doubt that Horner is perfectly competent as a team boss but I'd have to agree that he is also a smarmy weasel.

Let's face it, he knew about the Merc' test before it happened so he could have lodged an objection beforehand and got it cancelled but, instead, he waited for it to happen and, as a result, he gets to hassle Merc' and also RBR gets the benefit of any improvements Pirelli might make as a result of the test.

Maybe a trivial point but it seems like Ferrari, at least, are being more straightforward.
Their car isn't really suffering with tyres at the moment so you can see why they might object to anything which changes the tyres.
RBR, on the other hand, are suffering with tyre wear so you'd think they'd be happy to let Merc' help revise the tyres to prolong their life.

Course, this way he has scored a bullseye. He's got the tyres changed how he would want and he's got another team into trouble which will, undoubtedly, have distracted them from the championship.
Certainly clever but also very weasel-ish.

Except Pirelli haven't made any changes (barring a change in the adhesive used). Ferrari, Lotus and Force India blocked it after the rain in Canada meant they couldn't run on the tyre enough to be satisfied the performance wouldn't change. Red Bull gained nothing, the only people to benefit from this test were Mercedes.

As for Horner, he may be 'competent' but it is Adrian Newey and Sebastian Vettel who are the reason that team is successful. Horner's main job is to not interfere with Adrian Newey and to try and keep his drivers from murdering each other (which they still come close to doing). You could take pretty much any team principal in F1 and they would be able to do his job. Ross Brawn elevates his team in the same way Newey and Byrne do/did.

Well, if they've changed that it probably helps RBR because they can run the tyres harder.
Even if nothing has changed, a test carried out by Merc' is only ever going to improve RBRs chances whereas changes that suit Merc' might actually hurt Lotus and Ferrari.


To be fair, I suspect that, having spent his time dealing with Adrian Newey, Helmut Marko, Vettel and Webber, Horner would be qualified to get a job as a UN peace envoy or something.

I bet that's a full-time job, even if he doesn't do anything else within RBR.

I think the adhesive change was simply to stop the amount of blowouts, the fact that Ferrari, Lotus and FI approved it means it won't have any real impact. Since the Mercedes test didn't result in any changes to this years tyre, I don't see how it could help Red Bull. The reason I said Mercedes gained is because they got to run the car in the tests and that will have helped them (especially since Hamilton will have had more time in the car to get used to the feel)


He doesn't even do that too well. Marko still mouths off publically about everything and Webber and Vettel still want to kill each other.

I cant help but feel that Merc have dodged a bullet here. They are very lucky to get away with the testing.

Either way back to racing now.

Many are saying now that Mercheatdes did a deal with the fia. The tribunal was basically invalid. Mercheatdes had threatened to withdrawn if they were punished. With Mercheatdes due to supply so many of the teams with the 2014 turbo engines the fia was to scared to do anything even with incontrovertible evidence of a serious and fragrant breach of a rule fundamental to the nature of the competition.

I think it is highly questionable wither it is worth watching the racing in a formula where the sporting integrity is so complicated.

F1 does not exist as a sport if the likes of Mercheatdes are going to be able to break the rules and then bully their way out of getting punished. Corruption like this destroys any sport.

I'd congratulate you for your superb use of irony if I thought it was deliberate.

I ask as a fellow Ferrari fan and with close links to the team... please stop posting this esoteric bullsh1t.

Thats how bad F1 is now nobody cares if the teams cheat or not.

I think everybody except Ferrari fans have felt like that for well over a decade.

Forza, Hamilton has said he wants to drive for Ferrari at some stage. How do you feel about that?

As an F1 fan for well over 30 years I have accepted that teams and individual drivers exploit loopholes, bend the rules and on occasion break them for as long as I've been watching the sport. In that respect it's exactly the same as any other professional sport. The issue is the way the FIA allow the politics and economics of the sport to influence their disciplinary procedures. Again, this has been part of the sport for as long as I can remember but has become far more prevalent in the last 10-20 years as the sport has grown into the global success it is now. Teams are able to exert undue influence on the FIA, both actively and passively. Mercedes may have got off lightly because of their importance to the sport at the moment, although personally I think the FIA didn't have a leg to stand on as they'd effectively ratified the test anyway. However Red Bull and Ferrari both exerted influence on the FIA to get Mercedes in the dock in the first place when really there was no case to answer.

Interesting point there.

I suspect that was the reason Merc' delayed when it came to signing the new Concord Agreement as well.

Ferrari have constantly trotted out the tired old rhetoric about how "F1 needs Ferrari more than Ferrari needs F1" for decades, and enjoyed preferential treatment as a result, for decades so, given that there are really only two "factory" teams* in F1 at the moment, it's hardly surprising that Merc' seeks to be accepted as a "major player" in the same way Ferrari is.


*Granted, McLaren, Lotus and Caterham can also be considered "factory" teams although probably not at the same level as Merc' and Ferrari.

Speaking of which, I dunno why Renault insist on badge-engineering the "Lotus" rather than consolidating their position as a team and an engine supplier under the Renault brand.
Maybe they think failure would damage the Renault brand?

Well I can't speak for all Ferrari fans but I know I am against cheating. Don't understand why the fans of the other teams are not also against it.

Hamilton may want to come to Ferrari but I don't see it happening. He says himself that his best years are behind him already. If the team decide he is the best available then there would have to be some major errors in driver strategy to arrive at that situation. It would be regrettable for such a frivolous unfocused driver to arrive at Ferrari. I suspect by the time Hamilton has got as many million possible from Mercheatdes then he might be bored with F1 altogether and be concentrating on his singing carrier.

Didn't Renault sell the team to Genii after/due to the Singapore scandal?
Renault was damaged goods by that point and ING and other sponsors had walked away.

Therefore the team is actually Genii sponsored by Lotus and using Renault engines.

It certainly isnt a remote a possibility as you make you.

OK, hypothetically speaking, how would you feel if Hamilton signs for Ferrari?

Ah, right ho.

I didn't know that, and I didn't realise the whole "Singapore" thing was such a big deal that it might've caused the rebranding either.

Now you mention it, I suppose it does make sense.

Maybe I'm too easy-going?
Very few teams do truly evil things.
It's usually just a case of doing slippery things to exploit circumstances and, TBH, even if I think it's underhanded I can usually applaud their initiative.

Really?

Link?

There was also the confusion of the lineage of the team - were they Renault or were they Lotus?

I remember interviews early last season with Kimi and team personnel referring to team as just the 'guys back in Enstone'