2000s: Greatest impacts on F1 part 1

I thought I will write certain things which I feel impacted F1 the most this decade. Feel free to comment

 Ferrari

They had arguably one of the largest impacts on F1 this decade both on and off the track. Here are some of the important moments

      a)      Lows:

1.       Austria 2001/ 2002

Action:  They supposedly ended what was and will always be a very controversial aspect in Formula 1 racing. It began in Austria 2001 with Barrichello allowing Schumacher to go ahead in order to take second place.

There was not much noise made about this as this had been seen various times before. But when the same was repeated the next year on the same track and between the same two, but for the victory, the crowd could not take it anymore. Michael Schumacher was left highly embarrassed by the move and he got Rubens to come onto the top step of the podium leading to him being fined due to interfering in the podium ceremony.

Repercussion: Ferrari was forced to apologize to the crowds and symbolically “team orders “were banned from the sport.

There is still no confirmation as to whether team orders still exist or not with drivers and teams diplomatically avoiding any direct acceptance.

Presently: Team orders were reinstated into Formula 1 as per 2011 regulations.

2.       Spy-gate scandal 2007:

Action: This got the sport into large disrepute with reports coming out that Ferrari man “Nigel Stepney” had been caught having given confidential information to Mclaren through Mike Coughlan.

This is the only thing that is widely known, but there is no denying that those two were actually made scapegoats of this scandal. Renault too might have been involved along with other teams possible, and even other employees in Mclaren.

Repercussions: Mclaren were handed a large fine along with exclusion from that year’s constructors championship. But were Ferrari totally innocent??

Presently: Mike Coughlan has been announced as Williams F1’s chief Engineer on May 2011, whereas Nigel Stepney is currently the head of Sumo Power. McLaren offered Ferrari compensation for above scandal in 2009.

      b)      Highs:

Champions from 2000 to 2004:

Being the oldest team existing in F1, they are the most popular F1 team with clearly the largest fan following. But being the oldest team alone doesn’t make them the most popular, it is also their ability to build competitive cars, and in this decade they were at their competitive best winning back to back championships between 2000 (2001 in case of constructors) and 2004. In the following years too they regularly challenged for wins with Raikonnen winning the 2007 WDC and Ferrari the 2007 (due to Mclaren’s exclusion) and 2008 WCC.

      Repercussions:

F12002 and 2004: While their consecutive championships made them popular. The 2002 and 2004 seasons stand out with their dominance taking them to about 30 races in those two years. This made them more loved among their fans but caused critics much irritation with many telling that such dominance was making F1 “boring”.

So views vary based on the eyes of the beholder. With doubts (by Luca Di Montezemolo) being cast on their future participation, one thing that will always be true is Ferrari has had the largest impact on F1 since its inception, and if Ferrari does eventually leave the sport, it will leave the sport in tatters.

Presently: Though Ferrari havent been the dominant force they used to be since then, but by frequently fighting for the titles or wins, they have lept their own and all their fans hopes alive.

d)  Reliability

Action: This has been the least talked about aspect but is equally important. While in the previous decades completing 75% of races was considered nominal, Ferrari largely achieved their dominance thanks to their reliability.

Repercussions: With seasons coming and going, there has been an ever increasing focus on reliability which has lead to season results dependent largely on the performance, hence making many races a procession, which has lead to frustration for fans.

Presently: With the world moving towards green, it id=s becoming more and more important to conserve engines and machinery with engines expected to last 4-6 weekends together, disputing which drivers face grid penalties.