Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Tom Daley & Formula One
Every week we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.
HIT - TOM DALEY
Tom Daley is making a splash in 2022.
At the start of the year, the Olympic diver was made an OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List, using the honour to advocate for the LGBT+ rights across the Commonwealth.
Just over a month later, Daley completed his ‘Hell of a Homecoming’ challenge for Comic Relief to a hero’s welcome as hundreds of supporters cheered him on at the finish line.
The epic four-day escapade saw the 27-year-old rowing, swimming, cycling, and running from London to his home town of Plymouth, in Devon, as he visited places that have played a significant part in his life and career.
He began his Red Nose Day mission on Monday February 14, leaving the London Aquatics Centre in Stratford for a 9.5km row to Tower Pier, where he overturned his boat in the River Thames.
He then completed a 97km cycle to the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake in Reading, Berkshire, followed by a 5249ft open-water swim before starting a 101km cycle to Southampton.
A second 209km cycle from Southampton followed, with Daley braving heavy rain and wind during a 3000ft climb to raise funds for life-saving causes.
Finally, Daley set off on a 48km run from Bovey Castle in Dartmoor National Park, where he married his husband – film director Dustin Lance Black – five years ago.
Crowds gathered and a choir sang outside the castle as they waved him off on the final stretch of his money-raising mission to Smeaton's Tower on Plymouth Hoe.
As he crossed the finish line, the 27-year-old said the challenge was “the hardest thing” he had ever done in his life:
He later told BBC Breakfast: "I trained for the Olympics, I trained for all of those 20 years that I have been in diving; this is the hardest thing that I have ever had to do in my life.
"These last three days I have put my body through things that I never thought I would be able to do.
Daley continued: “If you can, please donate what you can to Red Nose Day because it would make a world of difference to so many families all across the country.
“To come home and see all my family here, as well as so many people, is pretty special, so thank you. I don’t really know what else to say other than I just need to go and sleep for about six years! Thank you all so much and love you.”
Celebrities and members of the public promptly flocked to social media to celebrate Daley’s achievement.
Dragon's Den star and Plymouth-raised entrepreneur, Steven Bartlett, has shared praise for his 'fellow Plymothian'.
Bartlett wrote on social media: "FaceTime with the incredible @tomdaley on his epic 4 day endurance challenge as he raises money for Red Nose Day!
"Go on Tom - a fellow Plymothian doing the city proud!"
Comedian and Comic Relief co-founder, Lenny Henry, tweeted: “Brilliant! Congratulations to Tom and the entire team. Well done everyone!!!”
Five-time Olympic gold medallist rower, Sir Steve Redgrave, said: “And on he goes... amazing progress by @TomDaley1994 in shocking conditions today! Donate if you can at http://comicrelief.com/tomtw #KinshipJourney #TomDaleyHomecoming”
While Eddie Izzard – who joined Daley for a portion of his gruelling final stretch – said: “Well done Tom! A great success to get it all done.”
Daley’s ‘Hell of a Homecoming’ challenge was captured for a BBC documentary airing ahead of Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day on March 18.
Since its inception in 1988, Red Nose Day has helped to support people to live free from poverty, violence and discrimination.
Over the last two years, it has raised funding to support 11.7 million people, including helping:
more than 750,000 people in the UK experiencing financial and material poverty to access advice and support
more than 29,000 people who have experienced or are at risk of domestic abuse to access safe accommodation and specialist services
more than 46,000 children and young people in the UK, and more than 8.1 million internationally
Among the charities supported by Daley’s trek is Baloons, an organisation that provides support and advice for bereaved young people, their schools, and their families.
Daley himself has admitted he struggled to grieve the death of his own father, who he lost to cancer at the age of 40 in 2011.
The mission showed the power of sport and gruelling physical activity, to captivate and engage the public to raise money for vital life-changing work, tackling issues including homelessness, domestic abuse, poverty and mental health problems in the UK and around the world.
You can still help support Daley’s journey by donating on his Comic Relief page, here.
MISS – F1
The conclusion of the 2021 F1 season in Abu Dhabi last November left plenty to be desired, to say the least.
The driver’s title was delicately balanced, with the winner of the final race set to become world champion after a season that had seen Mercedes’ seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, pushed to the limits by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Hamilton looked set for victory and the title with a commanding lead until Nicholas Latifi crashed with six laps to go, triggering a Safety Car.
That gave Verstappen the opportunity to close the gap and F1 Race Director, Michael Masi, then withdrew the Safety Car and allowed only the five lapped cars in between Verstappen and Hamilton to overtake it.
Masi had failed to correctly apply the rules in the way he managed the lapped cars and the timing of the restart, giving Verstappen the advantage on fresh tyres to overtake Hamilton on his old ones and win a first world title.
The manner of Verstappen’s victory left millions of F1 fans furious, with many believing that F1’s sporting integrity lay in tatters with what essentially became a one-lap shoot-out that Hamilton had no chance of winning, providing entertainment instead of fair play.
The race climax raised serious questions about Masi’s judgement under pressure and it was no surprise that Mercedes made two protests to the race stewards to overturn the race result.
The FIA, F1’s governing body, threw out the appeals, but in early February new radio messages came to light which shone a new light on the Abu Dhabi race and put further pressure on Masi.
In the recordings, Red Bull sporting director, Jonathan Wheatley, is heard advising Masi on how to deal with lapped cars that are on track between the leaders as he attempts to organise a restart before the laps run out and gave further credibility to the argument that Masi followed Red Bull's suggestions which ultimately benefited their driver.
When the messages were circulated on social media, they trended with the hashtag #F1xed and further highlighted how long it was taking F1 to review and respond to the final race debacle.
Mercedes and Red Bull team principals met with the FIA in London last week, with newly-elected FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem announcing new plans following a Commission Meeting and review.
Perhaps inevitably, Masi lost his role as Race Director, with an F1 statement which read: “Michael Masi will be replaced as Formula 1 Race Director and offered a new position within the FIA as part of a series of changes following the governing body’s analysis into last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.”
Masi’s sacking essentially confirmed the view that the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix restart had been undertaken incorrectly, but the fact that the FIA has not published the report of its investigation into what happened in Abu Dhabi and Masi’s level of culpability, leaves plenty of room for speculation, instead of addressing the situation with the comprehensive transparency the sport and its fans deserve.
F1’s investigation and Masi’s departure coincided with the announcement of plans to address some of the issues the Abu Dhabi race had brought to light.
A Virtual Race Control Room to support the race director to apply sporting regulations; stopping most direct radio communications between the race director and teams during the race; and reviewing unlapping procedures behind safety cars ahead of the new season were all announced by Ben Sulayem, who said: “Drawing conclusions from the detailed analysis of the events of the last F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and from the 2021 season, I proposed an in-depth reform of the organization of refereeing and race direction. It was unanimously supported by F1 CEO and teams principals.
“With this plan, FIA opens the way for a new step forward in Formula 1 refereeing. Without the referees, there is no sport. Respect and support of the referees is in the essence of the FIA.
“That is why these structural changes are crucial in a context of strong development and the legitimate expectations of drivers, teams, manufacturers, organizers, and of course, the fans.
“These changes will enable us to start the 2022 Formula 1 season in the best conditions, and our sport will be even more loved and respected.”
Those changes are all well and good and undoubtedly overdue, but overhauling the officiating of F1 races is tantamount to admitting mistakes were made and the Abu Dhabi race was not concluded fairly or correctly.
Without greater transparency and better communication, Verstappen’s maiden title is now further tainted when his driving last season warranted a title without question marks.
And if F1 accepts by these changes that they made mistakes, should there now not be a more thorough review of the race and a public apology to Mercedes and Hamilton?
No wonder Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told the BBC that Abu Dhabi was ‘in the past’ but admitted: "It's not something we will ever in a way recover from.“
Ben Sulayem’s statement was carefully scripted and pre-recorded, without giving the media the opportunity to ask the questions they and the fans still have about the Yas Marina race.
In doing so, Ben Sulayem gives the impression that he is not comfortable getting into a debate or addressing the difficult issues that the final race of 2021 raised.
Masi still remains a part of the F1 organisation, Hamilton still remains frustrated about the nature of his last-gasp defeat, and millions of fans wonder whether more races will be steeped in controversy which does a disservice to Formula One.