.
.
.
.
.
FORMULA 1: A SECOND TITLE FOR HAKKINEN. A DISAPPOINTMENT FOR MANY BUT NOT FOR EVERYBODY
.
That's right. It is difficult to admit it, mainly when considering the numerous and suffering supporters of Ferrari. But the victory that in Japan allowed Finnish Mika Hakkinen to win for the second time the Formula 1 world title seems to us a fair conclusion. Talking like a Ferrari supporter, the McLaren victory cannot be certainly considered a deserved victory. But if one reflects a little more on that, also taking into account the events that have characterized the whole season and particularly the final trial, maybe the subject can be dealt with in a more rational way and without prejudice.
The Suzuka Grand Prix also partially rehabilitated the credibility of this sport. For the Formula 1 fans, Hakkinen was the man who was able to reconcile them with a sport where it is not sufficient to have the fastest car or to be the most skilled pilot. Indeed, because of the the billionaire business involved and the will to spur the interest for an extraordinary season until the last race, the Formula 1 has run the risk of losing its credibility.
Let's sum up the facts: after Ferrari's victory in Malaysia the championship seemed to be have become really fascinating, with the prospect of a decisive showdown at Suzuka in the last Grand Prix. The decision to disqualify Ferrari some hours after the end of the race due to a possible irregularity in the car chassis (the notorious deflector) virtually assigned the world title to McLaren. This decision was followed by claims, counterclaims, clear regulations wrongly interpreted, testimonies and tip-offs. It is well known how the story ended. Ferrari was rehabilitated in Paris by a team of experts and that obviously meant a really exciting final in Japan to the great joy of Ferrari's fans but mainly of organizers and sponsors, ready to give and receive billions lire to promote an event that, otherwise, would have been absolutely unimportant. The last challenge between Irvine and Hakkinen, with Schumacher now playing the role of a simple witness, undoubtedly represented by far the most interesting event, to the full advantage of organizers. No matter if all that could compromise the credibility of this sport. It was more important to arrive at the end with bated breath.
It is at this point that maybe, and mainly if it really exists, the devil decided to uncover the pot of muddles, frauds and strange arrangements that had contributed to creating this long-awaited moment.
Hakkinen, who was judged as an incompetent, a coward and a man on the brink of an attack of nerves, demonstrated to be stronger than all the various arrangements related to the Formula 1. Hakkinen had to win in order to catch up and at the same time to gain the world title, and he just made it. He was always in the lead from the beginning to the end of the race, making no mistakes at a moment when he had to keep cool. In short, he has managed to win where the "resurrected" Ferrari has failed. His second world title also represents another success that goes beyond the strictly agonistic sense.
In the world of sport, suspicions and excuses are now very frequent. For example, if one asks football experts, he will hear them reel off a number of doubtful events that have charaterized countless football championships. Well, this year Ferrari ran the risk of sullying its reputation with this mess in the final. An error in building the notorious deflector of Ferrari cars has been made and regulations on the size of cars are very clear. It doesn't matter if then the experts have found out a tolerance threshold, or if it has been proved that the deflector itself did not affect the performance of Ferrari cars in the Malaysia Grand Prix. What is really important is that regulations must always be complied with, even in case one does not agree with them. Always referring to football, it never happened that a regular goal was reconfirmed some days after the match because the day after the moviola ascertained that there was not an offside. Also, a similar claim has never been upheld.
Then the Formula 1 world has really run the risk of being wrong-footed in terms of credibility before those who are not blinded by their love for a team. Among the other things, Ferrari has lost the world title for pilots but has won that for car makers. And perhaps the world of racing cars has woken up with some more estimators.
 
 

 Leadership Medica^®
Mensile di scienza  medica e attualita`
 Copyright 1997© All Rights Reserved