OK, so the FIA, the governing body of Formula 1, is not rebranding as – Fraud Is Acceptable. However, by their very own statements, they may as well devolve into fraudulent practices after rubber-stamping Ferrarri’s cheating and then effectively saying there is nothing to see. It all started in the second half of the 2019 F1 season when Ferrari turned up with an engine ‘upgrade’. Ferrari appeared to have found a significant performance advantage. The team subsequently went on a glut of pole positions and wins.
In modern Formula One it’s rare for anyone team to find such a significant advantage mid-season. Especially so among the top-performing teams where one or the other is already pushing the limits of performance development. So when Ferrari began to run faster than before, questions began to be raised among rival team bosses.
The FIA – Fraud Is Acceptable – launched an investigation under duress from rival F1 teams. The suspicion was that Ferrari manipulated fuel flow rates, thereby boosting engine performance. This very act is deemed illegal in F1. Last week, after months of investigative work, the FIA’s technical delegate issued a statement declaring that it had “reached a settlement” with Ferrari.
The FIA refused to release the results of their investigation, apart from saying the matter is settled and no action will be taken. Teams not allied to Ferrari reacted with collective anger at the lack of transparency. Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Renault, Racing Point, Alpha Turi, and Williams united to condemn the FIA (Fraud IS Accapetable).
This is a very serious breach of the sporting code of conduct, by the FIA an organisation that is meant to be the arbiter of transparency and fairness. If the FIA is not willing to enforce its own rules, then moving forward, there are no longer any rules to follow. In addition, the FIA will be met with all manner of legal redress.
Red Bull’s Mad Dog Marko is already demanding the FIA pay $24 million USD in lost prize money. From another perspective, we here at DCB HQ have dealt with the FIA, attended and covered Grand Prix. We have experienced their ‘little Hitlers’ demand you follow all press rules.
As an example, written media can not stand in the driver’s media pen. Whenever you enter or leave the media center you must swipe your ID tag on the security barrier. In the end, we didn’t follow their rules and got banned, which is fair enough.
So for the FIA (Fraud is Acceptable) to coverup and dismiss clear evidence of cheating is simply unacceptable. What Ferrari is alleged to have done is take performance-enhancing drugs, and the FIA simply looked the other way. The FIA cannot expect to hide behind a wall of respectability and hope this matter will fade.
