Formula One can have an impeccable sense of timing, and for all his questionable scheming for tweaks to the rules Bernie Ecclestone is so often the unwitting spearhead of a question well answered.
In 2014, after a two-week pummelling at the hands of Ecclestone and an assorted list of the sport’s high-fliers, the sport pulled a thrilling Bahrain Grand Prix from nowhere. Heads were forced from the sand, cages were appropriately rattled, and the sport’s critics were silenced.
It took just one 2015 race for disquiet in the sport to grow to a crescendo, thanks largely to a dull Australian Grand Prix and Red Bull’s threats to pull out of the sport because, frankly, it put together a disappointing car.
Re-enter Ecclestone, who arrived in the Malaysian paddock over the weekend in an admittedly conciliatory but no less downcast mood. The sport, he said, was “sick” and the cure was beyond his reach. But Formula One resuscitated itself on cue with a weekend of high drama.
The Malaysian Grand Prix was thrilling in every way Melbourne wasn’t, and it satisfied in every way Melbourne couldn’t. There could have been no greater tonic for the sport’s purported ills.
Go on, admit it: you enjoyed it. You got a kick from seeing Ferrari win. Maybe you were once a card-carrying subscriber to the anti-Vettel club, but now you’re considering membership of his bandwagon. Sebastian won and it felt good. It’s OK, this column is a safe space.
Few teams can create an occasion that elicits quite the same emotion. Maybe you felt it when Williams won its first race in almost eight years with that most anomalous of victories in 2012 at the hands of Pastor Maldonado. Possibly the sight of that great Formula One stalwart Sauber, as driven by Sergio Perez, chasing down Fernando Alonso in Malaysia that same year gave you a similarly warm and fuzzy feeling. I suspect, despite its clinical approach to existence, the eventual resurgence of the Honda-powered McLaren will likewise tug at the heartstrings.
These are the stories Formula One craves. New winners and minnows mixing in with the big boys are the spice of the sport, but its bread and butter is goliath versus goliath – and in the land of the giants, none stands taller than Ferrari.
This is not to undervalue the achievements of the midfield and backmarking cars, who give colour and context to the annual, yearlong battle. Ecclestone himself used to liken the battle between the big and small teams to the fight between Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal and anyone game to challenge their authority at the top of the tree – but no-one can deny the blockbuster value of one versus two.
Chapters written by newcomers are similarly valuable to the grander narrative of the sport. Red Bull Racing, though relatively young, did much to shake up the standard order in a way and came to characterise the height of the sport’s aerodynamic, frozen engine era. There was much excitement when Red Bull won its first race and maiden title, but in five years, if its form doesn’t recover to something resembling those heady times, will the sport long for it to retake the top step of the podium with any of the fervour that greeted Vettel’s shock win last weekend?
Ferrari’s win in Sepang means more to Formula One than the glimmer of hope for a season previously scheduled to be a Mercedes whitewash, because Ferrari at its best sets the bar. Likewise McLaren and Williams, who have earnt the authority over their decades of trendsetting in the sport, have the potential in them to lend credibility to the championship. Not to forget Sauber, of course, which is as pure a Formula One team as has ever been, and which has acted as a barometer for the health of the midfield for almost 30 years.
The sport is listless without these teams – but if they’re firing on all cylinders, the championship is only more valuable. A win in Formula One is an achievement in itself, but victory is that much sweeter when you know you’ve taken Ferrari on at its own game and pipped them at the post.
That’s not to say Formula One is absolved from dealing with its very real and largely financial ills – problems both Bernie Ecclestone and Ferrari’s Maurizio Arrivabene admitted this week must be solved beyond the scope of the questionable attempts made in recent months. But Malaysia was a glimpse of Formula One poised to move in the right direction.
McLaren is taking strides in its recovery, Williams is continuing to stay well ahead of the midfield and, most of all, Ferrari is battling with Mercedes, one of the world’s most significant car manufacturers, for victory.
“Mi senti? Mi senti?” shouted Sebastian Vettel over team radio after taking his first win in red overalls, and Formula One did hear him. The stands, paddock, media centre and pit lane burst into applause; after a fortnight of soul-searching the sport found a reason for optimism.
Even if it proves to be only temporary, it does feel good to have Ferrari back.
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