doctorvee

Ross Brawn, technical director of that team that always plays by the spirit of the rules, Ferrari, has hit out at third cars. He reckons “big teams” like McLaren shouldn’t be able to run a third car on a Friday.

To have a team of the calibre of McLaren, or last year BAR, having the benefit of a third car on a Friday is a nonsense. And I don’t agree with it.

Err yeah. The rules are that any team that doesn’t finish in the top four of the Constructors’ Championship can run a third car on a Friday. The thinking behind this is that teams that don’t do as well in the championship can get more of a chance to improve. Did McLaren have a bad season last year? Oh yes they did. Do they deserve to run a third car? Well, it’s in the rules, so why not?

The third car rule is not designed to give the not-so-rich teams an advantage. If it was, it just wouldn’t make sense — save money by running more cars! It is designed to let those further back in the championship improve more quickly.

And who ever said that BAR was a big team in 2003? Nobody. They were distinctly mid-grid. They were in fifth position, sure — but they were a long way back with just 23 points. Hardly anything for Ferrari to be scared of. They were not too big to be given the chance to run a third car. Now they are. That is the rule, and it works.

So Ross Brawn can just shut his big yap, and stop trying to lecture people on who is acting within the rules when his own team has a highly dubious record itself.