With the reconvened meeting of the World Motor Sports Council due in two days' time, it is hard to think of anything else in connection with F1. I am sure that all F1 fans hate to see their sport airing its dirty linen in this way, but I suppose it is a necessary part of the process that puts things back where they should be. Hopefully it will be sorted out in a manner that is not too damaging to F1 as a whole.
Jean Todt
I detected a slight lifting of the gloom surrounding the affair over the weekend, however. Although it began with the FIA getting tough with the drivers over their emails and the publication of a bogus version of one of those emails in an Italian newspaper, things seemed to turn a corner just as the McLaren team were driving to victory at Monza. Perhaps it was the first smile we have seen on Ron Dennis' face for a long time, as he accepted the constructor's race trophy on the podium, or it might have been the reminder that this is really what it is all about, highly skilled drivers locked in battle on the track.
I suspect, however, that the change in mood came from one of the men most responsible for increasing the sound and fury of the furore right from the beginning: Jean Todt. Even as he denied that the frantic activity of Messrs Ecclestone and Briatore amongst the motorhomes meant a possibility that agreement could be reached between Ferrari and McLaren, his stated awareness of the damage that was being done to the sport seemed to indicate some regret that he had been quite so loud in his accusations and denouncements. It may even be that he has begun to think that his case is not as strong as he once thought it.
Obviously, the news that an Italian reporter had been responsible for concocting the email that seemed so damaging to McLaren's cause was a large part of the lifting of the mood too. The fact that the FIA still think that they have evidence in the emails given to them by the drivers is not forgotten but looks less earth-shattering now.
The affair has given rise to some curious events that receive less notice, however. Early this morning as I was on my usual trawl through the F1 websites, looking for news and interesting points of view, I came across a fascinating article that examined Todt's present circumstances within Ferrari and his relationship to the espionage saga. It was pure speculation and made no secret of that fact; yet later today the article had disappeared.
This is not the first time I have seen this happen. At times I wonder whether I have imagined everything because no mention is ever made of the vanished article - oh wait, I think someone did once refer to an episode of the Mole that had mysteriously gone missing. There have been others as well, however.
And it makes me wonder how it is that Italian journalists can happily print whatever they like, from leaked documents to inflammatory forgeries, yet a few websites are apparently leaned upon when their speculation ventures a bit too far. Whether it is editorial concern or some other mysterious outside force that causes these sudden disappearances, I have no idea. But it does seem rather appropriate now that the Ferrari documents affair is referred to as "the espionage case".
Enough of the cloak and dagger nonsense; let us remember that the sport is bigger than McLaren, Ferrari, Mr Todt and Mr Dennis. What happens at the meeting on Thursday has more serious implications for the sport than the loss of a few constructors' points or even a season's ban. I can only hope that the WMSC realizes the ramifications of any decisions they make and are duly cautious as a result.
Jean Todt
I detected a slight lifting of the gloom surrounding the affair over the weekend, however. Although it began with the FIA getting tough with the drivers over their emails and the publication of a bogus version of one of those emails in an Italian newspaper, things seemed to turn a corner just as the McLaren team were driving to victory at Monza. Perhaps it was the first smile we have seen on Ron Dennis' face for a long time, as he accepted the constructor's race trophy on the podium, or it might have been the reminder that this is really what it is all about, highly skilled drivers locked in battle on the track.
I suspect, however, that the change in mood came from one of the men most responsible for increasing the sound and fury of the furore right from the beginning: Jean Todt. Even as he denied that the frantic activity of Messrs Ecclestone and Briatore amongst the motorhomes meant a possibility that agreement could be reached between Ferrari and McLaren, his stated awareness of the damage that was being done to the sport seemed to indicate some regret that he had been quite so loud in his accusations and denouncements. It may even be that he has begun to think that his case is not as strong as he once thought it.
Obviously, the news that an Italian reporter had been responsible for concocting the email that seemed so damaging to McLaren's cause was a large part of the lifting of the mood too. The fact that the FIA still think that they have evidence in the emails given to them by the drivers is not forgotten but looks less earth-shattering now.
The affair has given rise to some curious events that receive less notice, however. Early this morning as I was on my usual trawl through the F1 websites, looking for news and interesting points of view, I came across a fascinating article that examined Todt's present circumstances within Ferrari and his relationship to the espionage saga. It was pure speculation and made no secret of that fact; yet later today the article had disappeared.
This is not the first time I have seen this happen. At times I wonder whether I have imagined everything because no mention is ever made of the vanished article - oh wait, I think someone did once refer to an episode of the Mole that had mysteriously gone missing. There have been others as well, however.
And it makes me wonder how it is that Italian journalists can happily print whatever they like, from leaked documents to inflammatory forgeries, yet a few websites are apparently leaned upon when their speculation ventures a bit too far. Whether it is editorial concern or some other mysterious outside force that causes these sudden disappearances, I have no idea. But it does seem rather appropriate now that the Ferrari documents affair is referred to as "the espionage case".
Enough of the cloak and dagger nonsense; let us remember that the sport is bigger than McLaren, Ferrari, Mr Todt and Mr Dennis. What happens at the meeting on Thursday has more serious implications for the sport than the loss of a few constructors' points or even a season's ban. I can only hope that the WMSC realizes the ramifications of any decisions they make and are duly cautious as a result.