***Official 2010 F1 thread***

[crazyDAJT]

regrettably this is such a mess that F1 has found itself in again.

but what ever happens Piquet carrier in F1 and racing is probably over. nobody wants a lose cannon on deck. even if he saying the complete truth who would take him on now?

he obviously wasn't that happy at Renault but in his debut session he finished 12th (according to Wikipedia) this is not that bad.

next year there are 3 new teams rocking up to the grid, sourly there would be a good chance to land an F1 drive.

 

[Burned_Alive]

If they (Renault) never asked Piquet to crash the car, how can there be any blackmail?

 

[NathanE]

Exactly they run the team and the head of any organisation is responsible for the antics of their employees, as we saw with Dennis in the Macca 'scandal'.

The most idiotic form of defense to say it was Piquets idea.

It will be interesting to see how they squirm around this one to keep Renault and Flav safe.

It will all get heaped onto Symmonds. In the same way that McLaren/Australia/Hamilton all got heaped onto that one guy, their sporting director.

Symmonds will get the chop and, I suspect, a rather large cheque from Briatore

I can't believe the FIA has granted immunity to Piquet. That's just wrong at such an early stage of the investigation.

 

[stockhausen]

. . . Nothing to say . . . - Alonso

In the build-up to the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Renault driver Fernando Alonso is not willing to answer questions about his team being charged with fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8249179.stm)

It is interesting to note that Briatore (and Renault) have chosen to initiate legal proceedings for blackmail against the Piquets rather than actually deny the story.


Meanwhile, on Nelson Piquet's website, we find:

Regarding the current FIA investigation, I confirm that I have co-operated fully and honestly with the sport's governing body. Because I am telling the truth I have nothing to fear, whether from the ING Renault Team or Mr Briatore and whilst I am well aware of the power and influence of those being investigated, and the vast resources at their disposal, I will not be bullied again into making a decision I regret. - (http://www.npiquet.com/news.asp?NewsID=338)

...
but what ever happens Piquet carrier in F1 and racing is probably over ...

Personally, I don't think that People Carriers should ever be allowed in F1.

 

[mleanz1]

I can't believe the FIA has granted immunity to Piquet. That's just wrong at such an early stage of the investigation.

Only if he's telling the truth!

 

[dannyjo22]

It will all get heaped onto Symmonds. In the same way that McLaren/Australia/Hamilton all got heaped onto that one guy, their sporting director.

Symmonds will get the chop and, I suspect, a rather large cheque from Briatore .

Not a chance, if they are proved to be guilty and told Piquet to crash Flav will go and Symmonds. It will be seen as far worse than Mclarens cheating when Ron eventually stood aside.

Flavs the head f the race team, if they are proven guilty they will probably be forced out. Its a tricky penalty to hand out because if they ban the renault team, others lose jobs and Renault would likely walk. The only option would be to remove Flav and Symmonds.

No doubt the FIA will pull another worthless penalty and disqualify them from this season

 

[Christo]

Im not sure what Renault / Flav and Symonds hope to gain from the lawsuit though

I understand either way its criminal from the Piquets to do this - but its keeping the "Renault" name in the news for very bad reasons (and if anything just made it even more high profile) - which is only bad news for them / their jobs imo

I cant believe how badly advised Piquet Senior has been in all this , yes its his son thats the main protagonist but Snr is still a big name in the sport and how to ruin your name in 5 minutes after years of dedication - it seems stupid

Offence is the best form of defence so the saying goes. They wont be able to prove Piquet was blackmailing them (I suspect) its just a way to demonstrate to the FIA that they are innocent - wouldnt you do the same if you were.

 

[stockhausen]

There is an interesting comment piece in today's Guardian, the following two extracts really rather sum up the present situation as I see it:

So once again the much-abused fans of grand prix racing are confronted with the morbid symptoms of the end of an era dominated by Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone, in which the acquisition of vast fortunes and the application of selective justice have taken precedence over everything. Mosley's decision to grant a 100-year lease on the sport's broadcasting rights to Ecclestone, who sold them on twice for vastly inflated sums, were a fine example of how they have taken Formula One for a ride. And the allegations against Renault, and the way they became public knowledge, show how poison seeps from every pore of a sport that once operated according to a code of honour.

...

The problem now in Formula One is that nobody believes anyone. Under its present rulers, it finds itself wrapped in a web of deception and sophistry spun by highly intelligent but totally unscrupulous people who have been encouraged to see it as a world in which vast sums of money can be accrued without too many questions being asked.

Regulations are changed on a whim, resulting in aberrant results that distort long-established competitive values. Six wins in seven races for the Brawn team and a pole position for Force India may be someone's idea of fun, but they are the results of a randomly rigged lottery, not of grand prix racing. One month Ecclestone swears that the British grand prix will never return to Silverstone, and the next he is behaving as if he never said it, just because it suits him.

Soon Mosley will be gone, to be followed one day by his little pal. Behind them the pair will leave a sport stripped of its integrity, its old values replaced by a superficial prosperity that can no longer conceal a putrescent core.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/sep/12/renault-formula-one-singapore-crash

There is also another curious observation:

... in the last 30 years there was a certain world champion who could barely be persuaded to get into a car unless convinced that his engineers had provided him with some sort of illegal technical advantage ...

I wonder who they could be referring to?

 

[Glaucus]

Replay talk thing of crash.

Renault to sue Piquet Jr over crash claims
The Renault Formula 1 team are taking legal action against former driver Nelson Piquet junior over his claims that he was asked to crash at the Singapore Grand Prix and help team-mate Fernando Alonso to victory.

 

[JRS]

There is an interesting comment piece in today's Guardian

Ah, the car-hating Grauniad. Written by bearded, sandal-wearing, vegetarian, Prius-driving morons for bearded, sandal-wearing, vegetarian, Prius-driving morons. Why am I so unsurprised to see them wade in on this one? I am surprised to see they aren't yet calling for Formula One to be banned and replaced by a series using battery powered cars, but I guess there's time yet.

 

[Hxc]

Interesting ideas there...Rosberg to Brawn, Barichello perhaps to Williams?

 

[stockhausen]

<rant>

With which bit(s) of what I quoted do you disagree?

Was it that "poison seeps from every pore of a sport that once operated according to a code of honour" or perhaps that "Mosley and Ecclestone have taken F1 [and the viewing public] for a ride"?

Maybe you are one of those rare people who would deny that "in F1 nobody believes anyone", that "regulations are changed on a whim, resulting in aberrant results" or most scary of all, you believe that Mosley and Ecclestone will go on forever and will not "leave a sport stripped of its integrity, its old values replaced by a superficial prosperity that can no longer conceal a putrescent core"?


Go on, do tell . . . and I really don't hold it against you that you see yourself as some hairless, bovver booted, carnivorous, Trabant-driving genius

 

[Ceryndrion]

Max Mosley on Saturday dismissed as "fantasy" Ferrari and other Formula One Teams' Association members' desire to field three cars per team next year.

Sir Frank Williams has already indicated that he will veto the suggestion, and the FIA president at Monza confirmed that the newly-signed Concorde Agreement does not include the possibility of three cars

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090912154316.shtml

 

[JRS]

Go on, do tell . . . and I really don't hold it against you that you see yourself as some hairless, bovver booted, carnivorous, Trabant-driving genius

Hairless I have to give you, since I started balding at 14 and haven't quite stopped yet. Bovver booted.....I'm wearing a cheap pair of trainers right now but generally wear Clarks 'normal' shoes. Carnivorous....I also have to give you, though unlike most of my mates I do quite enjoy sprouts. And cauliflower. And potatoes that haven't necessarily been made into chips or chrisps. And cabbages, leeks, chard, broccoli, spinach, corn, green beans.....actually, pretty much the only vegetable I can't stand is broad beans. As for Trabant-driving....I own a Fiat Seicento with a whopping 899cc engine, 'nuff said.

As for your intial question before you attempted to get abusive (nice try, but fell some way from the mark sadly) - I was just happy to see the Grauniad wade in on an issue that doesn't really concern them, aside from the fact that they'd love F1 to tear itself to bits. When the stupid sods start being able to spell properly, and realise that driving isn't in fact the 8th deadly sin, then I might pay a little more attention to their viewpoint. Until then, they can keep their nose out of the utterly horrific state that F1 is in right now. Because they aren't helping one bit. Yes, it's a mess right now. Mad Max has done some damage, as have his cadre. But we've got a hugely close season right now (i.e. more than two drivers are still in with a bloody good chance at the title) that doesn't need the ******* Grauniad of all papers making any mileage out of the idiocy of Renault/Piquet Jr. Hell, the sods can't even spell* properly.....



* - for once, I double-checked this post. Hope I didn't spell anything incorrectly, 'cause I'll cop it if I did.....

 

[Mr Jack]

Stepping away from the Flav's race fixing for a while. I see the BBC is full of rumours of Kimi returning to McLaren. Now that would be a treat! Probably the two best drivers in F1 sitting in the same car - assuming Kimi wakes up and drives like we know he can - and with Alonso - the other best driver in F1 - going to Ferrari we should be in for a treat of a season.

 

[FrankJH]

Never mind Renault, what about ING; aren't they bankers or something, what is it doing for their reputation?

ps - actually, I know that ING are bankers, I used to have money deposited with ING Direct until the recent unpleasantness

maybe a little hit momentarily - but I cant see it having any lasting effect on sponsors business, they had no direct control over what happened

Dont get me wrong , whatever happens those and other sponsors may have grounds to break contracts / think heavily about renewal etc, but I cant see it having a lasting effect

Offence is the best form of defence so the saying goes. They wont be able to prove Piquet was blackmailing them (I suspect) its just a way to demonstrate to the FIA that they are innocent - wouldnt you do the same if you were.

I totally get where you are coming from and I agree - the only thing that keeps on coming back to me is how dodgy Symonds answers to the Stewards where at Spa, as though he just didnt want to admit anything yet and was trying to protect Flav - which makes everything far more believable. So in that sense the launch of the criminal proceedings is more about "if Im /the team is going down, you are going down too" mindset to me

 

[Duke]

Stepping away from the Flav's race fixing for a while. I see the BBC is full of rumours of Kimi returning to McLaren. Now that would be a treat! Probably the two best drivers in F1 sitting in the same car - assuming Kimi wakes up and drives like we know he can - and with Alonso - the other best driver in F1 - going to Ferrari we should be in for a treat of a season.

And also possible Rosberg at Brawn in the mix too.

 

[FrankJH]

snip

I see where you are coming from and partially agree as far as you have gone, but any newspaper HAS to report the news on the day /week it happens otherwise its pointless printing it at all

Just like these forums, papers and websites have their own axes to grind undoubtedly, and some make it more obvious than others - but I still think everyone should be able to print their own thoughts, just because this season is a pretty close one with 4 drivers all potentially able to get the ultimate prize

Max and Bernie are like an old boys club - and both need to go before F1 can really cure itself. Both have done good for F1 in the past (Max supposedly forcing through a lot of safety measures after Imola 94, and Bernie actually making F1 available to the masses in the first place) but they have made millions if not billions from the sport , which to my mind I dont honestly think they deserve (the amounts we are talking are far beyond an "honest days pay for an honest days work")

 

[Mr Jack]

And also possible Rosberg at Brawn in the mix too.

That'd be good. Now Brawn have some decent backing in Mercedes they should stand a good chance of staying at the sharp end next season. I'd like to see Rosberg get a consistently good drive.

 

[JRS]

I see where you are coming from and partially agree as far as you have gone, but any newspaper HAS to report the news on the day /week it happens otherwise its pointless printing it at all

So fine. Print the news. Just don't make out that you want to see the sport fix itself when you'd quite happily see it disappear.