The Italian Grand Prix takes place today at Monza. It is widely expected that Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher will announce his retirement from F1 today after the race. If he does so this would be his last Italian Grand Prix in a Ferrari.
There have been many decisions taken by the F1 authorities in recent years that ‘favoured’ Ferrari and Schumacher and penalised his main competitors to engineer close finishes to the F1 championship but today I have seen the most blatant fix yet.
Fernando Alonso is leading the championship by 12 points making Schumacher and Ferrari’s job difficult to say the least. So it seems awfully convenient that at Ferrari’s home Grand Prix Alonso should receive a ridiculous penalty for something that he in the opinion of many didn’t do.
Alonso has had his fastest three laps from qualifying dropped for blocking Ferrari driver Massa dropping him five places down the grid to tenth.
This is without doubt THE most blatant pro Schumacher and Ferrari fix I have ever seen.
The Spanish press think so also with headlines such as “The FIA fixes the championship with another penalty to Alonso” and “Low blow to Alonso”.
It saddens me that a once great sport has to resort to such obvious and blatant fixing to engineer results. Are Max Mosely and Bernie Ecclestone really that scared of losing Ferrari from F1? Do they really think that fans and viewers will accept being treated as idiots? But I guess the most important and telling question is do they care?
Alonso has said today that he no longer considers F1 a sport and sadly I and many others will join with him.
In the year when F1 has lost the last great racers and individuals Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneauve it seems that they may yet drive away another great driver.
RIP Formula One