Friday, November 16, 2007

First an election, now a World Championship... what's next?

What's that old saying, "possession is 9/10ths of the law" or something like that? Once you someone have something, it's almost impossible to get it back.

When Gore conceded the presidency in 2000, there was no way the Supreme Court was going get it back for him.

The FIA track stewards forced Lewis Hamilton and McLaren to concede the driving title in Brazil, and now we know that the FIA Court rejected McLaren's appeal. This amidst a bunch of trash talk about "winning on the track" versus reversing the title on a mere technicality. Make that disputed technicality. Actually, make that ignored and discredited technicality. In any case, there was no way the FIA Court was going to give that title to Lew and Mac "after the fact."

Guess it'll be colder fuel from here on out, since it can't be detected and no one really knows how to determine the ambient temperature anyway. Or that's what I read. And I didn't read it in the FIA rulebook.

I never really understood why they even have rules in top-level professional motorsports. You build a great track, you get the best builders in the world and let them "run what they brung" and you market it to the world... who cares whether the floor flexes or the wings move or they refrigerate the fuel? Besides, if you have no intention of enforcing the regulations, why have them at all?

Oh yeah, there's that thing about being able to surreptitiously influence results through selective enforcement... that's a good reason to have rules, I guess...

Well. I truly feel sad for young Lewis Hamilton, for a minute or two at least. His incredible debut, his fantastical rookie season is indelibly marred NOT by the loss of the title, but by the rulebook shenanigans and the faux espionage debacle. After such an unbelievable first season in Formula One, it is a shame that most of the media conversation was focused on barristyrical bullshit. Yes, I am attempting to channel Don King...

And strangely enough, I also feel a little sorry for Kimi Raikonnen, the actual World Champion. As good a driver as he is, he will never be as popular as Lewis Hamilton.

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