Managed to catch the London triathlon on TV yesterday – what an excellent antidote to the nonsense that is Formula 1. The triathlon was all about individual competitors pushing themselves to the limit (and in Alistair Brownlee’s case a little beyond). No team orders, no large scale business interests, just, honest world class competitive sport.
Just a couple of hours earlier, team orders that deprived Massa of a potential win easily allowed Formula 1 to reach its own ridiculous nadir, robbing fans of justice as its own rules were flouted again. What is the point in watching any kind of event that doesn’t allow the endeavours of the competitors to dictate the result. One classic excuse I heard trotted out was that Alonso was the fastest out on the track – funny, I thought that overtaking (and defending your position) was actually part of what made Formula 1 at least a little bit interesting. If not, don’t bother running the race, just have a series of one lap time trials (i.e. qualification).
Seems a combination of corporate interests and the whining and moaning of his teammate deprived Massa a victory a year after his horrendous crash at the circuit. Formula 1 drivers are undoubtedly still incredibly courageous individuals, but I still don’t know how Alonso can look Massa in the eye. And just let’s call it a multi million pound business and marketing exercise and drop the pretense that it has anything to do with sport. Oh, and how about giving money back to all those fans who paid to see a race!
I have now officially gone into grumpy old man overdrive 🙂