Monday, March 25, 2013

Racing to come second

To normal people, the fuss over Sebastian Vettel's win in the Malaysian Grand Prix will seem bizarre.  Vettel apologised to team-mate Mark Webber for overtaking him to win the race, contrary to their team's instructions.

I always thought the idea of a race was that the fastest competitor comes in first.  Apparently in the weird world of Formula 1, that's not the case.  Then what is the point of racing?  In any other sport, fixing the result would get you disqualified.

2 comments:

Private Beach said...

The following comment came in from "Anonymous". I accidentally deleted it, so I'm recreating it here from my email:

Yes, it's an uncomfortable situation and a shameful truth of the sport that team orders are widely accepted.

It's made all the more uncomfortable by the fact that Mark Webber has ignored orders from the very same team (and with the very same teammate) multiple times, and is on record as believing he doesn't need to abide by team orders.

"Do as I say, not as I do, mate."

Private Beach said...

Things get crazier. Vettel was subsequently asked to apologise to F1 fans - presumably for creating a more exciting spectacle by making a real race of it. If motor racing fans want to see a parade of cars in fixed progression, they can visit Queen's Road Central at peak hours. The whole point of a race is supposed to be that everyone tries to be the fastest.