Rules are for breaking
Call us boring, but rules are essential to the success of a major sporting championship (snore-fest, we know). What we also know, is that changing rules can be quite a challenge, but recently this doesn’t seem to be the case.
The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team have not been subtle in their desire to get the young Italian Kimi Antonelli behind the wheel of their car, particularly since the announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s departure. However, they have been faced with two challenges: one, Antonelli is only 17 years old, and two, he doesn’t hold a legal driving licence. Both of which are requirements for drivers to be granted the hallowed FIA Super Licence… that was until the rulebook changed.
Last week, the FIA announced amendments to the rules, stating that minimum age is no longer required and that it will allow drivers to enter the sport ‘at its discretion’. Now don’t get us wrong, the prospect of young talent having a greater opportunity to join the sport is encouraging, but the sudden change is jarring to that of two years ago.
Towards the end of the 2022 season, Red Bull was denied the opportunity of signing seven-time IndyCar winner, Colton Herta, to join its junior team, Alpha Tauri, despite him being eligible in all categories aside from points (which are dished out in quite an unbalanced fashion). Alpha Tauri eventually signed Formula E Champion Nyck De Vries - that went well, didn’t it?
Similarly, yet at the opposite end of the age spectrum, Tiger Woods has recently been granted a lifetime exemption by the PGA, which will see him permitted entry to all its signature events despite Woods only competing in nine tournaments since his car accident in 2021. Citing his ‘exceptional lifetime achievement threshold of 80-plus career wins’ as the reason, for some players who compete week-in, week-out to qualify, it may leave a sour taste in the mouth.
Potential and historic talent seems to be a valid case for changing the rules (along with the revenue increases they could create), but how does it reflect on the integrity of these sports? Both sports love rules, and historically do not like to break them, so to see both so quickly change them has come as a surprise to some. Whilst rules are for breaking, they also set a precedent and a safer place for brands to make their mark. Will we see more rules being bent to allow big names to enter (or stay) in the sporting arena? We hope so.