Fortuna Ferrari

By Charles Oladeji.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso’s fast in an F1 car. Regardless of whatever else one may deduce from the young man’s character that fact remains constant.  The 29 year old temperamental Spaniard’s speed in a Ferrari, and his indomitable Latin spirit is definitely delivering results, despite the occasional hiccup; albeit, with explicit help from illegal team orders. When all goes well Alonso’s speed is undeniable.  With a Ferrari car, and team that seems to in pursuit of this year’s Championship with the zeal of an Italian renaissance sculptor, Alonso keeps bouncing back from the edge.  This weekend at Monza, as if by design Alonso and Ferrari are on pole leading into the fourteenth race of the season in Ferrari’s backyard.  Alonso qualified ahead of Jenson Button and Filipe Massa, Scuderia Ferrari’s very own ‘Step Child’.  

It’s been a good week for Ferrari.  However, the legendary Italian F1 team’s good fortune had begun earlier this week. Despite feigned and genuine outcry over Ferrari’s overt use of team orders at the German Grand Prix, in direct conflict of article 39.1 of the Formula One Sporting Regulations, no further punishment was meted out to Ferrari in Paris by the World Motor Sport Council on the 8^th of September.  The original $100,000 fine that had been imposed by the Race Stewards at Hokenheim was upheld and a review of article 39.1 is in the works.  

The truth as I see it is this, the current rule regarding team orders couldn’t be any clearer. The question is whether the prohibition of these so called team orders was being observed by all teams or being surreptitiously ignored...by all teams.  One could justifiably assume that Ferrari came out fighting and turned the argument on its head, luckily forcing   the motor sport business establishment to question its own clear cut rules.  Ferrari’s competitors, both Red Bull Racing and Mclaren had probably been hoping for some punitive action such as a point’s deduction, but the chances of that were rather slim.  Lady Luck is riding with Ferrari right now, but then again Alonso might not like her company because ‘there can only be one’.