Formula 1: Stop the politics and let’s just race!

It seems as though a week doesn’t go by without a new saga involving politics starting in Formula 1 at the moment, with the Racing Point “copying”, qualifying engine modes being banned and planned downforce cuts to name a few.

Racing Point have been the center of attention for most of the 2020 Formula 1 season, with Renault protesting the team’s brakes after the Styrian, Hungarian and British Grands Prix.

And the FIA, Formula 1’s governing body, punished Racing Point by deducting 15 world championship points, 7.5 each for car, fining them 400,000 Euros and reprimanding them.

For some teams, that still hasn’t been enough. Renault want Racing Point to lose all their points from the races they protested, and Ferrari and Williams have protested the penalty decision as well.

More from Formula One

• Formula 1: Top Red Bull threat identified for 2024
• Formula 1: Why the Max Verstappen retirement obsession?
• Formula 1: Williams ‘mistake’ hints Logan Sargeant’s future
• Formula 1 awaiting key confirmation for 2024 season
• Formula 1: The ‘championship’ Max Verstappen only leads by 3 points

McLaren were also involved but decided not to progress with their appeal. And Racing Point themselves appealed the “Renault Protest Decision”. Expect this to rumble on for some time.

Then the FIA recently sent a letter to all teams, explaining that the same engine mode will need to be run in qualifying to stop teams from gaining an advantage with a qualifying mode. While the governing body has said this is to help them monitor the legality of power units, this issue, of course, has also divided the paddock.

Six-time world champion and Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton has said “they’re always trying to slow us down”, while Ferrari star Charles Leclerc has said this rule is “only a positive” for Ferrari.

It’s an intriguing decision given how the FIA reached a private settlement with Ferrari over the legality of their engine, details of which have still not been published. Mercedes feel they’ve been hindered more so by this rule change from the FIA while Ferrari are benefiting.

Additionally, a plan to cut downforce levels for 2021 is being conjured by the FIA so Pirelli can use the same tires in 2021 following tire issues seen in the British Grand Prix which affected the two Mercedes drivers and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr.

That could have a knock-on effect to how the teams approach the major rule changes in 2022 as well, as teams may have to put more effort into their 2021 cars than they had initially planned on.

These are just a few of the storylines the sport has churned so far in its six-week-old season.

But aside from all that, why can’t Formula 1 do what they do best and focus purely on delivering the fans entertainment on the track, especially while we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic?

It feels as though the Formula 1 bubble has formed again after being burst in March on the eve of the Australian Grand Prix, and nothing is going to stop it this time.

Let’s not forget that at the start of July, we were all rejoicing at the return of the sport at the Austrian Grand Prix and that we had action to watch at all.

All of the teams and drivers are putting it on the line, more so than usual, to provide us with entertainment and to provide us with relief from the pandemic that has affected and continues to affect the world.

Sergio Perez tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago and was not able to race in the British or 70th Anniversary Grands Prix, highlighting just how fragile the situation still is not just with Formula 1 but with the world in general.

Instead of all the finger pointing and getting other teams in trouble, shouldn’t it be celebrated that the fans have something to enjoy and we even have a 2020 season?

Formula 1 is a sport where teams and staff will push the very limits; that is what it has always been about and that is what makes it one of the best competitions in the world with the stakes so high.

But perhaps a little perspective every now and again wouldn’t go amiss, especially as fans are still not permitted to watch the action from the grandstands just yet.

The Spanish Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live on ESPN from Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya beginning at 9:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, August 16.