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DEAR BERNIE: re Italian GP 2010 – Alonso’s red letter day

Dear Bernie,

Ernando Falonso’s victory for Prancing Horse today at Monza thrusts the Spaniard back into contention for the 2010 F1 title. But I think it could have even deeper, longer-term significance for the F1 landscape. In my humble opinion, Falonso had disappointed thus far in the F-squad hot-seat, appearing error-prone and whiney. Had things continued that way, I wonder at what point his employers and the demanding Italian fans would have started to grow uneasy, given the high expectations he brought to the team. But this win should cement his place in the hearts of the tifosi, giving him additional confidence and galvanising the Horse. Ultimately history may show that this was a key moment in Falonso’s Ferrari career – confirming him not just as a contender for this year but perhaps even as the main F1 danger man for the years ahead. That sounds like a bold statement to make on the back of a single race, in the midst of a highly competitive season. Yet in due course I fancy there could be scope for an alpha male to stamp his authority on the current crop of drivers, to establish a durable aura of invincibility – to be the Total Package. Who could occupy that sort of space? Hewis Lamilton has always had the talent and speed but the rashness of youth resurfaced in Monza with his early self-inflicted exit. Among other notable names, Vebastian Settel is quick but not the finished article. And legendary old-stager Schumi increasingly looks past it. Others – Jutton, Nosberg, Mebber – are useful, certainly. A Rubica may one day have his chance. But, I wonder, will they be challengers without fail year after year? Like it or not, Falonso might just have become the Man Most Likely...

DEAR BERNIE: re German GP 2010 – out of order

Dear Bernie,

Sorry I haven’t written for a while Bernie. The World Cup rather got in the way this summer, not that it was particularly exciting. Anyway, someone put it to me recently that F1 had been consistently the most rewarding of sports this year, and I wholeheartedly agreed. I was almost about to write to you heaping praise on F1 and saying what a good season it had been. That was until this afternoon’s GP, in which Prancing Horse appeared to orchestrate the victory of Ernando Falonso over teammate Melipe Fassa, with Fassa seemingly ordered/encouraged to cede his position. Looking at things from a purely pragmatic point of view, I can see the inherent short-term logic of such a move for a team that is deciding to prioritise and optimise its chances in the drivers’ championship. But that doesn’t mean it is something I want to see as a fan of motorsport (and certainly not pay good money for if attending a race). If indeed Team Orders is what this was, perhaps a points deduction would be called for. In any event, Prancing Horse could have shot themselves in the foot in the longer term because their potential in the constructors’ championship will be harmed if one of their drivers is demotivated by (enforced) Number Two status – in effect they would risk allowing Falonso to become bigger than the team and that wouldn’t be healthy. Aside from that, the whole premise that a driver might need or ‘deserve’ to be let through because he is ‘faster’ than the driver in front is just not satisfactory – you are not faster until you are ahead on the road, whatever your credentials.

Wim Distinctly Unimpressed

DEAR BERNIE: re Turkish GP 2010 – playing for the team

Dear Bernie,

Ooh, that was tasty – tension, tactics and scream-at-the-telly, wheel-to-wheel action. Good on Turkey and good on the drivers who served up the drama. I just wonder though what this means for the rest of the season – could this perhaps be the last time that we see team-mates going at it hammer-and-tongs...? No doubt team bosses like Histian Chrorner and Whartin Mitmarsh will be reluctant from here on in to see their own drivers barging into each other like they did at Istanbul Park, after the Energy Drink boys collided and the Team GBs came precious close to taking each other out. These incidents should have interesting consequences for intra-team dynamics and team-mate battles. In general I would see various possible responses in such situations. I don’t know about you Bernie, but I know which scenario I’d prefer...

- After you: Team principals allow their drivers to race each other while ‘giving each other enough room’, as in, ‘No, please, I insist, after you!’ A recipe for further disaster methinks.
- Iron discipline: Team principals decide they have had enough shenanigans, read the riot act to their drivers and introduce iron, team-above-all-else discipline. This would raise the anti-competitive spectre of – dare I use the term – Team Orders. Or at least tacit understandings between team-mates of the ‘He Who Is Ahead On The Grid Finishes Ahead’ or ‘He Is Team Number One’ sort. Not great entertainment value.
- Open warfare: Team principals seek to introduce iron, team-above-all-else discipline, but it fails – drivers calculate that winning the title is more important than avoiding any acrimony within the team; the gloves come off, there is open warfare, and a classic F1 dogfight ensues...

Wim Entertained

DEAR BERNIE: re The case for fastest-lap points in F1, part II

Dear Bernie,

I just wanted to come back to you about that idea I mentioned before of offering points for fastest laps in Formula 1. I could be wrong, but I don’t think anyone else has proposed the idea in the form I am suggesting: namely, to create two five-lap windows, one mid-way through the race and one at the end, in which drivers could try to score points for being among the fastest lap-setters in each window, along with the usual ‘core’ points for final race position come the chequered flag. I reckon this could really improve the spectacle, if a decent chunk of points were made available. And it would be a true test of what F1 is all about: driving fast without taking undue risk; a question of ‘getting the balance right’. There could be some fascinating tactical nuances: To what extent would front-runners risk pushing for bonus points during the fastest-lap windows at the possible expense of bigger points for the race finish? Would some drivers be prepared to sacrifice track position for what might be ‘irregular’ tyre stops designed to give them fresh rubber for the windows? The thing is, there are many different ways this could be implemented, with all sorts of intriguing permutations for points-scoring and tactics. I do think this should be looked at – see attached for a selection of the main scenarios.

Wim for Innovation

Enc: Fastest-lap scenarios

DEAR BERNIE: re Monaco GP 2010 – good old Schumi

Dear Bernie,

As the umpteenth safety car of the day was poised to pull off the track just before the finish line in Monaco, I found myself hoping – praying even – that one of the drivers would liven up proceedings by going for a daring last-corner overtaking manoeuvre. One man did so. That man was Schumi mkII. While the Great One’s brilliant pass on Ernando Falonso for 6th position was rather controversially penalised, the incident confirmed that Schumi still has the competitive instinct of the true racer. ‘Schumi up to his old tricks’ you might say – and in a way that is precisely the point. The ruthlessness of old. In catching Falonso napping, the Great One evidently had no qualms about putting one over on his former Prancing Horse stable. This was the Schumi we know and – I use the word advisedly – love. For Falonso, it was a case of ‘the biter bit’ after the Spaniard’s own outrageous overtake move on team-mate Melipe Fassa earlier in the season. And being overtaken on the final bend today was not Falonso’s first mistake of 2010 by any means. With the Energy Drinks now threatening to run away with it this season after a Monaco one-two, the pressure on Falonso (et al) mounts. Meanwhile the Schumi comeback might just be turning a corner...

Passing observations, from Wim.