ANOTHER WORLD

by RAY FLEMING
IT'S often said that politicians don't live in the real world, so detached from the man and woman in the street do they often appear to be. But there surely is a good case to be made out for the world of Formula One racing to be regarded as the ultimate in unworldliness. Bernie Ecclestone's stated admiration for dictators' ability to get things done and the revelations of Max Mosley's private proclivities seemed pretty weird but the scandal of the Renault team's cheating at the Singapore Grand Prix one year ago elevates the unreality to a different level altogether. Stated briefly, Renault instructed their number two driver to fake an accident so that the favoured Fernando Alonso could win a race he was likely to lose. This astonishingly amateur intrigue was masterminded by boss of the Renault team, Flavio Briatore and the director of engineering Pat Symonds -- both men able to command huge salaries for their skill but apparently unable to distinguish between right and wrong. The wrong in their case was not just that of winning a race by cheating. In the nature of Formula One, a dangerous sport at the best of circumstances, the simulated crash could have led to serious accidents and even to death.