Eric Thompson: Cheats tainting winning formula

At the beginning of the Formula One season I was over Formula One and suggested that unless something verging on the miraculous happened, people would stop watching in their droves.

Things have improved; especially the racing in the wet and the championship is tight at the top of the table, with five drivers in with a chance with five races to go. Heading to Singapore this weekend Mark Webber leads the race for the title on 187 points from a resurgent Lewis Hamilton on 182.

The perennial whinger Fernando Alonso appears to have found some backbone and is showing glimpses of why he's a two-time world champion and hovers in third place on 165 points, with Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel breathing down his neck on 165 and 163 points respectively.

Although the racing has improved and the title is open, some things in F1 haven't changed. After years of dodgy dealings, allegations of spying, sex tapes and a driver being ordered to plant his car into a concrete wall, the sport is still morally bankrupt. Even more so after Ferrari got handed a get-out-of-jail-free card after breaking the rules.

Cal, from Canada, made the point after my last broadside at Ferrari that, "Ferrari own the team and pay the drivers. The point of the season is to win the driver's championship and the constructor's championship.

"It's asinine to think that, after laying out all of that cash, the team should let the drivers decide who wins what. Stop hyperventilating about something this obvious. Let me know if you need a paper bag for a few deep breaths!"

I thank him for the kind offer of the paper bag but he did get me thinking. If all sport was to be given over to anarchy there would be no rules and you could do, take, deal, pay, manufacture, whatever the hell you liked.

It does have a certain attraction as entertainment though. Imagine watching the 100 metres final at the Olympics being won in 3.786secs only to watch each athlete drop dead over the finish line as their hearts exploded from a chemical overload.

I'm sure the ratings in certain countries would rocket but you'd get a bit bored after a while and run out of athletes. Thinking along the similar lines, maybe all race cars could be fitted with spikes that shot out from wheel hubs to shred the tyres of competitors who tried to pass ala Deathrace 2000, or such like.

Again, I'm sure that would appeal to certain sort of fan who spends too much time in a darkened room playing video games. I'll stick to my guns, thank you, and not sink to the gutter level of unlevel playing fields and rules being bent, if not smashed to pieces.

I do not want to see the sport I love turning into cricket where it appears the results are pre-ordained months out, or cycling, which is not about cycling but about what sort of new drug can go undetected.

As for team orders? Bring them back but I'll not be watching.

Who wants to watch a 72-lap race where the finish order has already been decided? And anyway, in the Ferrari Alonso/Massa matter, I'd rather have watched to see if indeed Alonso could have passed Massa under racing orders. Rather than Massa being told to pull over by his dad so his younger brother could win a race.