15/09/2012
FEATURE BY MIKE LAWRENCE
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There was a time when I really enjoyed the Silly Season, it began around Silverstone and was over by Monza. It was like a fruit which came into season for a short time and was the more enjoyable for not being a year-round commodity.
Back in the day, if some promoter wanted to get a rumour started, they first had to get it past a small number of informed journalists. In the UK, there were two weekly magazines devoted to the sport and the situation was no better anywhere else, although France and Italy have long had daily papers dedicated to sport.
There was a time when Formula One was a minority interest so newspapers published only race results, they did not publish gossip. A story like Lewis Hamilton's contract negotiations simply would not have appeared anywhere. Now, of course, Lewis is a celebrity whose private life is picked over by the press. There are papers who use any excuse to print pictures of his toothsome girlfriend.
There has always been paddock gossip the year round, but publication was reserved for the summer months and usually came with a disclaimer.
With the Internet there has been a democratisation of outlets and I am not complaining since Pitpass.com exists because of it. It has, however, brought pressure to print gossip as though it was news. Not long ago we were told that Mark Webber would move to Ferrari for a year to keep the seat warm for Sergio Perez in 2014.
This was on the evidence of a handful of races. Mark was being written off while Sergio had scored a fine second place in Malaysia. The reasoning went that Perez could have won, but he allowed Alonso to take the flag so that he, Perez, would be in the good books of Ferrari.
This is rubbish. Ferrari, like any team, would have been more impressed had Perez won. Every team wants to hire winners. If you have an Alonso, a Hamilton or a Vettel in your camp, it means that the opposition does not have them.
In my view, Fernando Alonso is the most complete driver in Formula One today and he does not need a compliant team-mate. Ferrari, however, has a policy of employing a second driver whose role is to support the Number One. Ferrari does not want to employ a makeweight since its aim is to win the Constructors' Championship.
Media attention centres on the drivers, but team bosses look at the constructors' title. Team bosses and engineers want to win, it is the reason why they are in motor racing and not in any other line of business. Sir Frank Williams knows that he could never be an F1 driver, but he has won championships.
Ferrari has the same agenda, but for a different reason, it sells cars and faces competition from Lamborghini and Aston Martin, both of which have been revived, and McLaren, which now offers direct competition. Away from the track, Ferrari is a business which also owns Maserati. They are both in the Fiat empire, sort of, but the paperwork says that they are independent.
Rubens Barrichello fulfilled a special role at Ferrari and he also won races. Eleven Grand Prix wins and 68 podiums is an impressive tally. It is hard to see how he could have fared better with any other team. Rubens is a terrific driver, but not a natural Number One with a top team. At any one time there are only three or four top teams at the beginning of a season. There is usually only one or two at the end.
Luca di Montezemolo has dismissed stories about Perez joining Ferrari and has said that the Mexican has not sufficient experience. Actually, he has a lot of experience, just not that of finishing races in one piece.
For a long time, Ferrari has made it policy to employ only proven drivers, it has not taken a punt, like Ron Dennis did with Lewis Hamilton. The last time that Ferrari took a chance was with Gilles Villeneuve in 1977. Contrast that with the record of Williams.
Ferrari has a mystique which makes it uniquely attractive even when going through a bleak period. The pay and the company car aren't bad, while to be a Ferrari driver is to occupy a special place in Italy.
John Surtees was beloved by the tifosi, six of his seven motorcycle World Championships had been with MV Agusta. The downside was that, after a race at Monza, he had to hide in the team truck (no motorhomes then) until it got dark. John is a genuine star and he tolerated the inconvenience because he understood the wider picture.
I would like to know how the Perez/Ferrari link got under way because. I detect the hand of a shrewd promoter feeding the gullible. As soon as Sergio made the podium, in Malaysia, the rumours began. Someone, somewhere, starts every rumour and they gain currency if there is a grain of, if not truth, then at least possibility.
That particular rumour had Mark Webber going to Ferrari for a year to keep the seat open for Perez. Since then, Mark has won two Grands Prix for Red Bull, against the single win of Sebastian Vettel, has renewed his contract and is still in contention for the title.
It was always a daft story. One podium does not make a star. Just about everyone was struggling to come to terms with 2012 tyres. No question, but Sergio Perez can be quick on his day, but nobody on the grid is actually slow.
What has upset me is that Felipe Massa has been written off. I have a lot of time for Felipe and it pains me to see his talent discounted so that some promoter could make a point. Felipe has been the victim of other interests.
Away from the races, motor racing is deeply political and, like politicos, there are leaks to the media. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in Lewis Hamilton's contract negotiations. We are told that Mercedes has put sixty million quid on the table for a three-year contract.
I have no idea if this story is true, but it smacks of political leaks and bargaining. Mercedes has been quiet on the subject so I ask who released the information? Who benefits? Lewis does, if he gets an improved wage, and so does the agency who manages his affairs.
At one time, such negotiations would be secret, but there is now a broader media and even newspapers are susceptible to gossip.
My view is that when Lewis signs his name to a contract, that will be a news story, ditto Sergio Perez. Until then, it is idle gossip plus manipulation by interested parties and people in the media so naive as to fall for it.
Many people in the paddock are drooling over the possibility of a spare drive at Ferrari, but we do not know that there is one. It is rumour, generated by self-interest, which has Felipe Massa out of a drive. There has been no word from Maranello.
Within the next few weeks, contracts will be signed and teams will be decided for 2013. When that happens, it will be news. Until it happens, it will be pointless speculation fuelled by personal managers and their PR people.
Mike Lawrence
mike.lawrence@pitpass.com
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