Formula 1 discussion

["John Barbera" <j_barbera@domain.elided>]

Okay, folks, it may be a little late, but I just gotta chime in on this
F1 discussion...

We are all aware of the long-standing argument over which motorsports
series are superior/more fun to watch, and we are certainly not going to
come to any new conclusions here.  Personally, I prefer F1 racing, but I
realize that some people have strange obsessions with large ovals, and
that's fine by me.  I just wish that the American media would cover
something besides NASCAR...

As for Ferrari's antics at Austria, it really didn't surprise me.  I was
in Italy two years ago when "i rossi" won the constructors championship
but gave up the driver's championship to MacLaren.  You'd think that
somebody had died.  There was some token celebration, but, in spite of
the fact that their top driver had been taken out of the running with
a broken leg, Ferrari fans were quite distraught over replacement Eddie
Irvine's failure to win.  Among the fans, it seems (and possibly also for
the team?), the driver's championship is the more important of the two.

Was the decision at Austria bad form on Ferrari's part?  Certainly.  I am
a Barichello fan and I would love to have seen him win an honest race. 
But the decision was not based on sentiment, it was based on politics,
and politics are based on money.  Ferrari will easily shrug off the bad
PR when they collect both championships at the end of the year, along
with all of the financial benefits.  

And let's face it, we Italian car fans will continue to root for them.

-John Barbera

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