MIND GAMES
Any sport in a storm for Alonso?
JULY 28, 2010
BY CLYDE BROLIN
Fernando Alonso, German GP 2010**©*The*Cahier*Archive
"I am a sportsman. I love sport. I love the fans. But I don't consider Formula 1 any more a sport."
These were Fernando Alonso's words on the morning of the 2006 Italian Grand Prix. Hours earlier he'd been given a five-place grid penalty for 'blocking' Ferrari's Felipe Massa in qualifying - though Massa was 100 metres away. This was part of a bizarre run of difficulties he faced as he fought off the Ferrari of retiring Michael Schumacher for his second championship.
Alonso's public statement earned admiration from many F1 followers, who were glad to see someone with such profile taking a stand against outside manipulation. But any hope that this was the new Senna, a voice to challenge authority, now seems sadly misplaced. Instead the words sound like the declaration of a man abandoning his own sporting ambitions to reap all he can from this 'non-sport'.
Alonso's involvement since - from tantrums at McLaren to two manipulated victories - hasn't exactly reinvigorated Formula 1 as a 'sport'. In case anyone needs reminding, battles between team-mates are the only truly sporting element of F1 because they are the only two guys with, supposedly, the same equipment.
Hamilton, Alonso, Belgian GP 2007**©*The*Cahier*Archive
There are plenty of F1 bigwigs who see no problem with Sunday's German GP, they just wish it could have been done more subtly. Similarly, many were disgusted when Nelson Piquet blew the whistle on Singapore 2008. If they believe they are covering their own backs they could not be more mistaken.
Sport is a glorious dance between moments of order and chaos, helped by a sprinkling of a magic ingredient called luck. Team orders aim to take this lucky chaos out of the equation and impose their own pre-stamped order. The resultant public outrage seems to surprise the perpetrators every time. So for future reference, please note: sports fans love watching the capricious ups and downs of this 'luck'. Feel free to make your own luck but don't mess with it because without luck, sport is not sport. It's business. And we won't waste our Sundays watching that.....
http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft22478.html