F1s meritocracy undone by letting richest teams write the regulations | Richard Williams
Money always talked but once you could rise from sweeping the floor to running teams built from scratch. Now, as Marussia and Caterham teeter, the best-funded have all the power
One by one, the legendary figures of a golden era Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Tony Brooks, Jackie Stewart rose from their chairs to pay tribute to one of their great contemporaries. Above them as they stood at the microphone was a giant black and white photograph of the late Jack Brabham, captured in a moment of glory as he celebrated one of his 14 grands prix victories. Addressing a large audience gathered at Silverstone for a memorial to the three-times world champion, who died earlier this year, his old rivals recounted the still-compelling tales of their battles on the track.
But it was later in the afternoon that the best story of the day was told by a man in his late 60s, whose name would be known to few outside the inner circles of motor racing. This was a story that, in the end, said a lot about how Formula One has changed in the past half-century.
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