Wherever
Formula 1 turns up on its tour around the globe, it always brings along its
own police force: during the Spanish Grand Prix, sport commissioners will
again be watching out to make sure the drivers and the teams are following
the rules. As soon as anyone commits a foul, the rapid response force reacts
immediately. This can come at great expense to the perpetrators.
Being an autonomous authority, the sport commissioners are subject only to
the pursuit of safety in Formula 1. For this reason they have the undivided
faith of the drivers, even though they do not always wholly agree with their
decisions. Like Juan Pablo Montoya at last year’s United States Grand Prix,
where, in the heat of the action, he was supposed to have forced Rubens
Barrichello into the gravel trap during an overtaking manoeuvre. The action
had major consequences: the BMW WilliamsF1 driver was given a drive-through
penalty, and by having to go through the pit lane his chance of becoming
world champion was lost despite his good performance throughout the season.
A tough decision, but on the issue of adhering to the regulations, the sport
com-missioners – as an independent tribunal – know no mercy. “Here and there
a decision will of course at first glance seem hard on those involved,” says
Detlev Kramp, who is race director of the German Grand Prix and who has been
a sport commissioner for the past 32 years, “but safety is an absolute
priority. And for everyone to follow the regulations is good for all
participants and the best thing for Formula 1.” |
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On the
appointment of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and in the
service of fair play, three sport commissioners are employed at every Grand
Prix. One of them is from the country hosting the Grand Prix, and he is
nominated by the national motor racing association. His colleagues are from
other countries and are selected by the FIA from a global pool of roughly 20
people. The trio works parallel to the respective national race director and
Charlie Whiting from Great Britain, the FIA’s permanent Formula 1 race
director.
Qualification for this not exactly easy task is provided in the form of the
FIA’s international sport commissioner licence. But this certificate alone
is no guarantee
that someone will be elevated to the ranks of Formula 1’s exclusive circle
of sport commissioners. Besides experience and know-how, diplomacy and a
sensitive instinct are required. The sport commissioners’ workplace has
little of Formula 1’s glamour. All they have is a room beside the race track
equipped with TV monitors on which they follow the live transmission of the
race, a time monitor providing a general overview and a video cassette
recorder to review controversial scenes in greater detail – a rather
sobering environment.
Usually, the sport commissioners only deal with the more difficult cases. If
there is an obvious violation, the Formula 1 race director and his national
counterpart step in. Such standard violations include things such as drivers
going too fast in the pit lane, crossing the white line when exiting the pit
lane or creating an illegal advantage for themselves by cutting across a
chicane. This is when drivers are given drive-through penalties in the pit
lane. The sport commissioners, being the highest judicial authority at the
race track, are responsible for the more controversial situations – for
example, when deciding whether a driver will be penalised for unfair driving
or causing a collision.
During their work, the sport commissioners have a nearly limitless amount of
freedom within the boundaries of the regulations and can exert a relatively
large amount of influence even on the technical commissioners. If, for
example, they were to notice a technical detail on a specific car that they
felt was prohibited by the regulations, they could cause that car to be
minutely examined again. The sport commissioners, being an independent
committee, are answerable to none other than the FIA itself. If they impose
a penalty during a race or reject a team’s protest against the decision of
the national or FIA race directors, the team in question can lodge an
appeal. The case is then heard before the FIA’s International Court Of
Appeal in Paris.
For standard road traffic autonomous, higher authorities who have committed
themselves to the pursuit of safety also exist. Thus, in the Allianz Centre
for Technology (AZT), engineers and scientists have been researching
accident prevention and damage causes for more than 70 years. This holistic
approach in itself again creates points of contact with Formula 1. “Allianz
has gathered a wealth of experience in risk research from which we can also
benefit,” says Brian O’Rourke, head engineer for composite materials at
WilliamsF1, confirming the immense trust that the experts at the team have
in the AZT.
This trust in independent authorities is the reason for the continuous
broadening of the conscious-ness of safety and fair play in Formula 1. And
this owes not the least credit to the work and efforts of the sport
commissioners, who represent a factor between pardon and penalty. |
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