Formula 1’s hypocrisy in the spotlight

Hypocrisy has always been around, whether that be in sport or in business. Sadly, there is no getting away from it, and that is no different in Formula 1.

With the presence of social media now, hypocrisy will always be a thing in every light. And motorsport can be a large realm for this particular offence. A recent incident involving one George Russell has recently shoved this into the spotlight in Formula 1.

Formula 1 returned to the infamous Imola circuit after a 14-year hiatus and the race was…meh. It was not the most memorable nor remarkable event, but that was expected, especially with the current era of cars. But that is a different subject, and a long one at that.

During a safety car period, due to an impressive tire failure for Max Verstappen on lap 50, second-year Williams driver George Russell had found himself in a solid position to gain his first points in Formula 1, but it wasn’t to be.

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Rather then pitting for fresh tires like most of the others, Williams and Russell decided to stay out on the hard compound. This meant that for any chance of keeping himself in the points, Russell had to be aggressive with the tire warming. But he was too aggressive.

To the delight of the cars behind, especially the Alfa Romeos, Russell hit exit stage left and experienced a taste of the Imola walls, ultimately retiring from the race behind the safety car — a rather embarrassing moment for any driver, wouldn’t you say?

The response to this incident was heartfelt with warming messages being thrown Russell’s way from plenty of directions, including from now seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Despite what is said, incidents like this can be amusing. Professionals making rookie errors can be amusing; it makes the average feel a whole lot better.

A bit like Tiger Woods shooting a 10 on a par 3…

Anyway, this mistake by Russell was dubbed as a learning curve, an error that will make him a better driver, etc. Although those points may be correct, the difference in reactions between this mistake compared to Romain Grosjean’s error at Baku in 2018 is staggering.

There is minimal difference between the two shunts. They happened behind the safety car while pushing to warm the tires and led to hitting the wall, leading to the now famous Ericsson line.

However, when Grosjean dropped it, everyone laughed. Bellows of resignation or a firing ran wild after his error. And even to this day, the crash is very familiar in everybody’s minds, no less Grosjean’s. But why was it laughable then but not now? Of course, Grosjean’s reputation at being a crashmeister does not help him, but surely Russell shouldn’t have made the same mistake, no?

It is wrong that the same mistakes by drivers at different ends of their careers are faced with completely different reactions.

It comes down to drivers who have more support than others. But why should the popularity of the driver matter? They made the same mistake.

And contrary to some beliefs, experience is not an argument here. If a driver has made it to the level of calling themselves a Formula 1 driver, they have more than a good amount of experience, period.

This is just one occasion in recent seasons where hypocrisy stands tall. Everyone remember the whole Ferrari engine debacle during the second half of the 2019 season?

You know, when they suddenly gained a whole lot of engine power, were even more suddenly involved in an inquiry, agreed to a debatable private settlement with the FIA and were then fined before losing all of their gains in engine power and dropping back? Yeah, that one.

Quite clearly something was fishy there, with some going as far as to claim cheating was happening. So, the fair play award did not go to Ferrari and that, ironically, is fair. After turning a page, however, Ferrari have been quoted this season as wanting a fair championship, with more equality throughout the teams and teams being more open. Hypocrisy cannot scream louder here.

But, as said previously, it will always be around due to the fact that everyone involved in the motorsport industry looks out for themselves and their teams. Anything that favors them is the correct way to go.

A big problem is the fact that social media increases this. It can also make people more aware of what is happening and what is being said. In other words, there is no escaping it, and it is something that definitely needs to be avoided for everybody’s sake, especially for the sake of the drivers.