• The Inside Line

We flip, flop, don't stop

The FIA has had to backtrack on rulings this weekend © Sutton Images

Enlarge

In the not too distant past I have used this blog to make mild mockery of Formula One teams as a group, and of a few individual drivers, for the simple fact that teams and drivers alike often behave in a manner not dissimilar to naughty children.

While I stand by such mockery - for what is love but the ability to gently tease those you admire? - on reflection it should not come as a surprise to any of us that the current era of Formula One is rather juvenile, with teddy-bears being flung into corners left, right, and centre.

Consistency is a vital part of good parenting, after all, and one thing that has been severely lacking in this sport of late is consistency, particularly as regards discipline and boundaries.

The FIA's announcement that Singapore would see significant restrictions on allowed radio traffic between cockpit and pit wall was widely welcomed by fans and media, with the bulk of drivers saying that it wouldn't affect their ability to race and race hard. But the teams pushed back, and the FIA has now agreed to delay the bulk of changes to allowed radio transmissions until the start of the 2015 season, to give the teams more time to prepare. Flip, flop.

According to FIA race director Charlie Whiting, who spent Friday evening in Singapore answering media questions on the forthcoming radio revisions, the idea was first raised during the F1 Strategy Group meeting which took place in Monza two weeks ago. The Strategy Group is comprised of representatives from the FIA, FOM, and half the teams on the grid: Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, Williams, and Lotus. The teams who liked the idea in Monza loathed it come Singapore. Flip, flop.

The FIA is Formula One's regulatory body. In theory, the Federation should make rules and enforce them. But at the moment - and with the laudable yet impossible aim of pleasing everyone - the FIA is proposing rules, publicising them, then moving onto the consultation phase and making modifications requested by the teams. Such as delaying enforcement till next year… Flip, flop.

That the FIA is keen to consult with all its stakeholders with a view to ensuring that the championship is both well-regulated and harmonious is a positive thing. But the fact that the Federation has had to backtrack on its own decisions of late has not been beneficial to the sport as a whole.

The finger of blame can be firmly pointed at the F1 Strategy Group, although not specifically at its members. The very fact that a body exists in which changes to regulations are proposed, discussed, and agreed in principle - yet which does not include among its members representatives from every team on the grid - means that it is inevitable that when concepts move from the Strategy Group into the wider world, pushback and further discussions become necessary. Flip, flop.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Feeds: Kate Walker

• Email
• Feedback
• Print

Email