Formula 1 - HoopsCorner.com

H o o p s C o r n e r . c o m

HoopsCorner

<< Previous Next >>
--------------------
January 17, 2008

This particular piece isn't much about basketball. That's a lie. It isn't about hoops at all. Rather about our other sports passion; motor racing. More particularly Formula 1.

Basketball fans, forgive us. But our gift of gab has gotten the best of us.

We have no factual evidence to speak off, and no special sources, other than the common knowledge everyone else has. So we only claim this to be a fictional account from our perspective. This the true "fiction".

We enjoyed the 2007 season of Formula 1 until it got to the last 2 races in China and Brazil. We still can't fathom how Lewis Hamilton who pretty much only needed to finish in the point positions in both races to claim the championship, managed to put himself out. We don't believe it was accidental.

If anyone has followed Lewis' season very closely they would've been able to tell that he's a very driven and focused individual, and has a really good grasp of "the big picture".

Here's what we think happened. McLaren being excluded from the manufacturer's championship, it wouldn't make sense to anyone that a new champion wins in a car that has been disqualified for the year would it?

So why was McLaren allowed to keep contending races in 2007? Their whole season should've been annuled.

But if the FIA had decided to annul McLaren's season, it would've been a huge blow to Formula 1 itself.

Here are the reasons why:

- Without McLaren, Ferrari wouldn't have any competition in the driver's championship.

- Each Grand Prix would not be as competitive because the winners would always be from the Ferrari camp.

- Of course they needed to keep Lewis and Fernando Alonso trading blows with each other, as that was priceless publicity. A rookie giving a 2 time defending champion a run for his pride? There's no better press than that.

- And sadly, the whole season would've been decided right then, since Ferrari would have a firm hold on both championships. There wouldn't be any reason to watch anymore. Most fans would already be looking forward to 2008.

All those reasons could've been a marketing disaster for the sport. So the McLarens were allowed to keep running in order to keep the season entertaining for the fans, but with the agreement that they would contend only to the point where they would just miss the drivers' title.

So why would Mclaren agree to such a deal, since they wouldn't be able to collect anything...? They wouldn't. But then they didn't have much of a choice because the penalties could've been harsher. AHA!

How else do you explain both McLaren drivers ending up with the same 109 points totals, just one point shy of Kimi Räikkönen's 110!? Too perfect.

So in effect while Lewis Hamilton could've been the first rookie to win the championship, the same hardware that gave him a chance at the historical feat, ended up also being his undoing.

This was a fictional account of Formula 1 from a fan's perspective.

<< Previous Next >>

2007-08 archive