When I first fell in love with Formula One, it was the racing that got me hooked.
I come from a non-sporty background, and hadn't seen a motor-race of any sort until my mid-twenties. But I was introduced to F1 and fell in love with it over the course of the 2007 season.
It was the action on track that first piqued my interest, but my obsession (and the throwing away of a stable career for a life in the sport) was triggered by the fact that Formula One feeds millions of my interests: history, politics, technology, drama, and psychology. Plus a bit of racing.
So I am always surprised when I run into people - particularly those who hold positions of power within the sport - who seem to be completely unaware of Formula One's historic legacy.
Christian Horner and Sebastian Vettel both wasted a lot of oxygen yesterday moaning about Lewis Hamilton's efforts to unlap himself during the German Grand Prix. To hear the Red Bull pair speak, Lewis' crime was akin to dancing on someone's grave - pointless and cruel.
Really? Really? Can they honestly be that ignorant of racing strategy, or of the possibility of dumb luck and a hell of a lot of effort meaning anything can happen?
Of course there was a point to Hamilton doing what he did. Strategically, he was gifting his teammate with the opportunity to catch and pass Vettel. At least, he would have been had Button not spent the bulk of the race asleep behind the wheel, failing to take advantage of opportunity after opportunity.
But on a personal note, Hamilton needed to unlap himself. Not only for pride's sake, but because - once he was on the same lap as the race leaders - there was also the (very remote) possibility that he could work his way back up through the field and into the fight for points.
Hamilton had one of the fastest cars on track yesterday. And because none of us can predict the future, it was in his interests to get as high up the pack as possible. One of the drivers could have taken out three colleagues with a stupid collision. All of the Ferrari-powered cars on track could have had a simultaneous engine failure. The stewards could have given half the grid drive-through penalties for various offenses.
This is racing. Anything can happen. And if a driver at the back of the pack is going to take advantage of those opportunities, he needs to be on the same lap as the leaders. Simples.
Just ask Jim Clark.
I come from a non-sporty background, and hadn't seen a motor-race of any sort until my mid-twenties. But I was introduced to F1 and fell in love with it over the course of the 2007 season.
It was the action on track that first piqued my interest, but my obsession (and the throwing away of a stable career for a life in the sport) was triggered by the fact that Formula One feeds millions of my interests: history, politics, technology, drama, and psychology. Plus a bit of racing.
So I am always surprised when I run into people - particularly those who hold positions of power within the sport - who seem to be completely unaware of Formula One's historic legacy.
Christian Horner and Sebastian Vettel both wasted a lot of oxygen yesterday moaning about Lewis Hamilton's efforts to unlap himself during the German Grand Prix. To hear the Red Bull pair speak, Lewis' crime was akin to dancing on someone's grave - pointless and cruel.
Really? Really? Can they honestly be that ignorant of racing strategy, or of the possibility of dumb luck and a hell of a lot of effort meaning anything can happen?
Of course there was a point to Hamilton doing what he did. Strategically, he was gifting his teammate with the opportunity to catch and pass Vettel. At least, he would have been had Button not spent the bulk of the race asleep behind the wheel, failing to take advantage of opportunity after opportunity.
But on a personal note, Hamilton needed to unlap himself. Not only for pride's sake, but because - once he was on the same lap as the race leaders - there was also the (very remote) possibility that he could work his way back up through the field and into the fight for points.
Hamilton had one of the fastest cars on track yesterday. And because none of us can predict the future, it was in his interests to get as high up the pack as possible. One of the drivers could have taken out three colleagues with a stupid collision. All of the Ferrari-powered cars on track could have had a simultaneous engine failure. The stewards could have given half the grid drive-through penalties for various offenses.
This is racing. Anything can happen. And if a driver at the back of the pack is going to take advantage of those opportunities, he needs to be on the same lap as the leaders. Simples.
Just ask Jim Clark.
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