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Post by QPR Report on Sept 10, 2009 7:10:35 GMT
F1- Nelsinhogate - Guilty As Charged
Wednesday 9th September 2009 Giancarlo Fisichella might be a little relieved that Nelsinhogate has erupted just before his Ferrari debut. Renault's alleged manipulation of the 2008 Singapore GP will be the story dominating the Italian GP weekend. Details of the story are being leaked to the press and Italian magazine Autosprint has been rounding up the latest developments. Far from the affair being a vendetta against the Renault team, the allegations of race fixing are believed to have come direct from Nelson Piquet Senior and Junior in the wake of Junior's sacking from the team. The story that has been pieced together is that Piquet Junior, Renault's Director of Engineering Pat Symmonds and Team Principal Flavio Briatore had a meeting on the Sunday of the Singapore GP. At the time Piquet hadn't got a drive for 2009 and was keen to please. The idea was that Piquet would crash at Turn 17 shortly after Fernando Alonso's very early pit-stop, bringing out the Safety Car nd allowing Fernando to take the lead of the race. Because there was no crane to remove the car at Turn 17, a crash there would almost certainly necessitate a Safety Car period. The telemetry on Piquet's car apparently shows that during the race his car goes light on the exit, but he still keeps his foot on the throttle to invoke the spin. It's believed that Symonds and Briatore aren't disputing the fact that they had a discussion about a deliberate accident to assist Alonso, but are adamant that it was Piquet Junior's own idea and they didn't ask him to do it. Piquet's claim is understood to be that Symonds and Briatore asked him to crash to bring out the Safety Car. So there seems to be little dispute at all that it was a pre-arranged accident, the only area of contention is - did he jump or was he pushed? The allegations are potentially more damaging to the sport than the McLaren's spygate saga of 2007. As a result of Piquet's spin Felipe Massa, who was leading the race, was forced into a disastrous pit-stop that severely dented his World Championship chances. Had Massa continued without the Safety Car, he might have won the race and gone on to become World Champion. It's been claimed that the Singapore race-fix matter came to light on July 26th - the day of Piquet's last race for Renault in Hungary - when his father Nelson contacted FIA President Max Mosley to make him aware of what had happened. If this is the case then it is a potentially ruinous admission. As Bernie Ecclestone has already said: "If I tell you to go and rob a bank and you get caught, you can't say, 'Well Bernie told me to'." Whether it was his idea or not, Piquet Junior will be forever associated with cheating from September 21st onwards. What's more, both he and his father are hostile witnesses. They are witnesses with an axe to grind, so any legal hearing would likely take their testimony to be coloured and not impartial. Now it is quite possible that Piquet Junior was told to crash on a certain lap. It would not be the first dodgy moment in Flavio Briatore's F1 career. But it's one thing alleging it and it's another thing proving it. The Piquet's need to be certain they have enough independent evidence to support their claim. Otherwise Felipe Massa and their fellow countrymen will always resent the fact that Nelsinho's actions cost him a World Championship. He might always resent him anyway. He could have said no. There are going to be very few winners from this latest round of F1 controversy, other than those at the FIA who are about to flex their muscles. www.planet-f1.com/story/0,18954,3261_5547101,00.html
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Post by QPR Report on Sept 10, 2009 7:11:03 GMT
Mirror
I WAS ASKED TO CRASH By Byron Young 10/09/2009
GRAND PRIX F1 IN THE DOCK AGAIN Nelson Piquet has sensationally told Formula 1 investigators that he was asked by Renault to deliberately crash at last year's Singapore Grand Prix. The son of triple world champion Nelson Piquet Snr. claims he met with technical head Pat Symonds and team boss Flavio Briatore hours before the sport's first night race. He then attended a second meeting with Symonds, the team's technical boss. The Brazilian claims it was agreed that he would crash to help teammate Fernando Alonso win the race. A hearing on September 21 is set to examine the allegations. Piquet claims he agreed to crash because he was under pressure and felt that his place in the team and his Grand Prix career were under threat. He says a particular part of the Singapore circuit was singled out because there were no cranes present to lift the car away, guaranteeing the use of a safety car. In the race Alonso pitted unexpectedly early and after Piquet's crash the double champion emerged as a strong contender for victory because the other drivers still had to stop for fuel. Advertisement - article continues below » The Spaniard, who has denied all knowledge of the race fix, went on to score Renault's first victory of the season. Renault have refused to comment but Italian newspapers quote Briatore as refuting his driver's version of events, while Symonds said the meeting did take place but only as a conversation and not as a definitive plan of action. But investigators for Quest, the detective agency run by Lord Stevens, the former head of the Metropolitan Police, working with FIA stewards, claim to have uncovered further evidence. At the corner where the accident happened Piquet lifted his foot off the accelerator on every lap to prevent the car crashing as it lost grip on the kerbs. Every lap except the one he crashed on. Investigators are also probing Renault's claim that Piquet was the architect of the race fix and investigating why, far from being suspended after the race, he was re-signed, although he was ditched after half a season. There is further evidence that Piquet asked which lap he was on early in the race, although he was not due to pit for at least 10 laps more. Renault face expulsion from Formula 1 if the case is proven, and a fine stretching to tens of millions of pounds. www.mirror.co.uk/sport/motorsport/2009/09/10/i-was-asked-to-crash-115875-21661641/GrandPrix.com - More ugliness in F1Stories are now emerging about the defence being planned by Renault F1 against the claims that the team conspired to fix the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. The information, clearly from a leak, suggest that the team will blame Nelson Piquet for coming up with the idea. The claims have been published by Autosport and suggest that there was a meeting between team boss Flavio Briatore, engineering executive Pat Symonds and Piquet on the Sunday in Singapore, at which the idea was discusssed. Symonds apparently claims that it was Piquet's idea, but Briatore is reported to have said that nothing of the kind was discussed. The story also suggests that Nelson Piquet Sr contacted the FIA President Max Mosley on the day of the Hungarian GP to inform him of the alleged conspiracy. Piquet Jr went to Paris a few days later and made a statement about events to FIA consultant Alan Donnelly and investigators from Quest. After that the three Singapore stewards and two investigators from Quest went to the Belgium GP and interviewed Renault staff. The magazine says that Briatore is claiming that he is "a victim of extortion by the Piquet Family". Extortion is a criminal offense which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services through coercion. It is not clear what Briatore thinks that the Piquets have gained, but the suggestion is a further indication of the ugliness that surrounds the claims. www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21797.html
The Times September 10, 2009
Nelson Piquet meeting critical to allegations against RenaultEdward Gorman, Motor Racing Correspondent The key to the allegations against Renault at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix was reported last night to be a meeting just before the race between Nelson Piquet Jr, Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds at which Piquet claims he was instructed to crash his car on purpose. The meeting, which is thought to have taken place in one of the Renault offices at the track, was convened so that Piquet could discuss race tactics with Briatore, the team principal, and Symonds, the Renault director of engineering. But reports last night claimed that Piquet has told the FIA in evidence that at the meeting he was asked to crash his car to help his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, to win the race on September 28, which he did. Piquet is said to have agreed to the scheme because he was uncertain of his future at Renault at that stage, having not renewed his contract for 2009. The Brazilian driver, who was sacked by Renault at the end of July this year, is thought to have told the FIA that he went ahead with the plan only because he thought he would be rewarded for his actions. Piquet is said to have told investigators working for the FIA that he was instructed by Symonds to crash his car on lap 13 or 14 of the 61-lap race, shortly after Alonso’s first pitstop, and that he should do so at turn 17, where the team had spotted that there were no cranes to remove his car quickly, thus making a safety-car interruption inevitable. Piquet’s claims, however, have been denied by Briatore and Symonds in documents that have been submitted to the FIA. Although they confirm that a meeting took place with Piquet, they say that it was the Brazilian’s suggestion to cause an accident, not theirs. Briatore was quoted as saying he felt he was a victim of “extortion” by the Piquet family, while Symonds said the subject of trying to cause a safety-car deployment did come up, but it was “just a conversation”. Sources have also claimed that the FIA was first informed of the allegations by Piquet’s father, Nelson Piquet Sr, who contacted Max Mosley, the FIA president, on July 26, the day of his son’s final race for the team, at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Piquet Jr is said to have visited the FIA four days later in Paris to give a statement to officials. After the disclosure that it is investigating the case, the FIA has scheduled an extraordinary meeting of its World Motor Sport Council on September 21 to discuss the matter and consider what sanctions to take, should Renault be found guilty. www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article6828448.ece
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Post by QPR Report on Sept 10, 2009 7:15:51 GMT
Auto Week
FIA bided time over Renault affair
By ADAM COOPER Nelson Piquet Jr. has told the FIA that he was asked to create a safety-car incident at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in a meeting with Renault team boss Flavio Briatore and engineering boss Pat Symonds. Intriguingly, the FIA waited a month before interviewing members of the Renault team at Spa about the incident. Piquet Jr. formally gave his evidence to the FIA as long ago as July 30, several days after Nelson Piquet Sr. had first approached Max Mosley with information about his son’s role in Singapore. The interview with the younger Piquet was conducted in Paris in the presence of investigators from the Quest business, an FIA lawyer and FIA stewards’ chairman Alan Donnelly. This was four days before Piquet released a statement saying that he’d been sacked by the team. The investigation thus began during the summer break, when both the FIA and Renault also were preparing for the separate hearing into the Hungarian pit-stop saga. The FIA wanted to surprise Renault by conducting interviews on short notice over a race weekend, and because of the doubts about the participation of Renault in the European GP in Valencia, they decided to wait a week more and conduct its interviews with team members at Spa. This questioning took place on Thursday at Spa in the presence of Quest, the FIA’s legal rep and the three Belgian GP stewards, Sweden’s Lars Osterlind, Greece’s Vassilis Despotopoulos and local representative Yves Bacquelaine. The first two also are World Motor Sport Council members. Briatore was not in Belgium until Friday and thus had time to prepare. Subsequent to those interviews, Briatore and Symonds have reportedly submitted written statements to the FIA. According to extracts quoted on autosport.com, Briatore said he is “a victim of extortion by the Piquet family.” He also reportedly acknowledged that the meeting took place: “I confirm the meeting with Piquet on Sunday morning, but nothing like that was ever talked about. I also remember that Piquet at Singapore was in a very fragile state of mind. Besides that, there are the audio recordings where I express disappointment when I see on the screens that Piquet had crashed.” Autosport.com reports Symonds as saying, “It’s true, during the Sunday meeting with, Piquet the issue of deliberately causing a SC deployment came up, but it was proposed by Piquet himself. It was just a conversation.” If those quotes are accurate, we are in the extraordinary situation of it being Piquet’s word against those of his two team bosses as to what was discussed or agreed to in that meeting. However, the FIA also has data from the race that would pinpoint any unusual throttle or steering movements. There also are radio recordings during which Piquet repeatedly asks what lap he was on. Apparently, checks with previous events indicate that this was not his normal behavior during a race. Briatore’s comment about Piquet being in a “fragile state of mind” is also intriguing. It leaves open the possibility for the World Motor Sport Council to enquire further as to what that entailed, and ask just why the team would allow a driver to take part in a race in such circumstances, especially given his alleged suggestion about creating a safety-car period. The other key question could be, if Piquet had come up with the idea of crashing and then pursued it without the support of the team management, why was no action subsequently taken by the team? Instead, he was later re-signed for another season. www.autoweek.com/article/20090909/F1/909099992#ixzz0QgZPbzIP
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Post by QPR Report on Sept 10, 2009 16:59:10 GMT
F1 reeling after leaked Picquet transcript By Tim Collings (AFP) – 33 minutes ago MONZA, Italy — Formula One was left reeling on Thursday after a leaked transcript of Brazilian Nelson Piquet's evidence in the latest 'race-fixing' controversy revealed that, according to him, he was asked by his Renault team to crash deliberately at last year's Singapore Grand Prix. The sport, already struggling to recover from the black cloud left hanging over it following the 'spy-gate' affair of 2007 and this year's 'liar-gate' row at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, was stunned by Piquet's claims. In effect, he said that Renault team chief Flavio Briatore and his engineering director Pat Symonds persuaded him to conspire to cheat by crashing to help his team-mate Spaniard Fernando Alonso win the race, which he did. In his lengthy statement, that was circulating widely on many specialist motor racing websites late Thursday, Piquet said he agreed to crash, at a specified point of the track, to safeguard his career prospects. He said he was given clear instructions of when and where to spin into the wall of the spectacular Singapore street track. The episode thrusts Formula One into the same kind of modern sporting infamy as rugby union, soccer and cricket following recent controversies over deliberate systems of cheating. The transcript quoted Piquet saying: "I was asked by Mr. Flavio Briatore, who is both my manager and the Team Principal of the ING Renault F1 Team, and by Mr. Pat Symonds, the Technical Director of the Renault F1 Team, to deliberately crash my car in order to positively influence the performance of the ING Renault F1 Team at the event in question. I agreed to this proposal and caused my car to hit a wall and crash during lap thirteen/fourteen of the race. He went on to add: "The proposal to deliberately cause an accident was made to me shortly before the race took place, when I was summoned by Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds in Mr. Briatore's office. "Mr. Symonds, in the presence of Mr. Briatore, asked me if I would be willing to sacrifice my race for the team by "causing a safety car". Every F1 race driver knows that the safety car is deployed on a track when there is an accident, which leads to the track being blocked either by debris or a stationary car, and where it is difficult to recover a damaged car, as was the case here. "At the time of this conversation I was in a very fragile and emotional state of mind. This state of mind was brought about by intense stress due to the fact that Mr. Briatore had refused to inform me of whether or not my driver's contract would be renewed for the next racing year (2009), as is customarily the case in the middle of the year (around July or August). "Instead, Mr. Briatore repeatedly requested me to sign an "option", which meant that I was not allowed to negotiate with any other teams in the meantime. He would repeatedly put pressure on me to prolong the option I had signed, and would regularly summon me into his office to discuss these renewals, even on racing days - a moment which should be a moment of concentration and relaxation before the race. "This stress was accentuated by the fact that during the Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore I had qualified sixteenth on the grid, so I was very insecure about my future at the Renault team. When I was asked to crash my car and cause a safety car incident in order to help the team, I accepted because I hoped that it could improve my position within the team at this critical time in the race season. "At no point was I told by anyone that by agreeing to cause an incident, I would be guaranteed a renewal of my contract or any other advantage. However, in the context, I thought that it would be helpful in achieving this goal. I therefore agreed to cause the incident. "After the meeting with Mr. Symonds and Mr. Briatore, Mr. Symonds took me aside to a quiet corner and, using a map, pointed me to the exact corner of the track where I should crash. "This corner was selected because the specific location of the track did not have any cranes that would allow a damaged car to be swiftly lifted off the track, nor did it have any side entrances to the track, which would allow a Safety Marshall to quickly move the damaged car away from the track. "Therefore, it was felt that a crash in this specific position would be nearly certain to cause an obstruction on the track which would thus necessitate the deployment of a safety car in order to allow the track to be cleared and to ensure the safe continuation of the race. "Mr. Symonds also told me which exact lap to cause the incident upon, so that a strategy could deployed for my team-mate Mr. Fernando Alonso to refuel at the pit shortly before the deployment of the safety car, which he indeed did during lap twelve. "The key to this strategy resided in the fact that the near-knowledge that the safety car would be deployed in lap thirteen/fourteen allowed the Team to start Mr. Alonso's car with an aggressive fuel strategy using a light car containing enough fuel to arrive at lap twelve, but not much more. "This would allow Mr. Alonso to overtake as many (heavier) cars as possible, knowing that those cars would have difficulty catching up with him later in the race due to the later deployment of the safety car. This strategy was successful and Mr. Alonso won the 2008 Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore." www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i0B1ZDAZpEwJgT0XCOSNK9apOgDg |
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Post by QPR Report on Sept 10, 2009 17:01:00 GMT
Transcript of Nelson Piquet Jr's statement to the FIAThu, 10 Sep 14:30:11 2009 Full statement given by Nelsinho Piquet to the FIA regarding the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix: I, Nelson Angelo Piquet, born July 25, 1985 in Heidelberg, Germany...say as follows: 1. Except as otherwise stated, the facts and statements contained in this Statement are based on facts and matters within my knowledge. I believe such facts and statements contained in this Statement to be true and correct. Where any facts or statements are not within my own knowledge, they are true to the best of my knowledge and belief and, where appropriate, I indicate the source of that knowledge and belief. 2. I make this Statement voluntarily to the FIA and for the purposes of allowing the FIA to exercise its supervisory and regulatory functions with regard to the FIA Formula One World Championship. 3. I am aware that there is a duty upon all participants in the FIA Formula One World Championship and all Super Licence holders to ensure the fairness and legitimacy of the Championship and I am aware that serious consequences could follow if I were to provide the FIA with any false or misleading statement. 4. I understand that my complete statement has been recorded on audio tape and that a full transcript of my audio recording will be made available to me and the FIA. The present document constitutes a summary of the main points made during my full oral statement. 5. I wish to bring the following facts to the FIA’s attention. 6. During the Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore, held on 28 September 2008 and counting towards the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, I was asked by Mr. Flavio Briatore, who is both my manager and the Team Principal of the ING Renault F1 Team, and by Mr. Pat Symonds, the Technical Director of the Renault F1 Team, to deliberately crash my car in order to positively influence the performance of the ING Renault F1 Team at the event in question. I agreed to this proposal and caused my car to hit a wall and crash during lap thirteen/fourteen of the race. 7. The proposal to deliberately cause an accident was made to me shortly before the race took place, when I was summoned by Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds in Mr. Briatore’s office. Mr. Symonds, in the presence of Mr. Briatore, asked me if I would be willing to sacrifice my race for the team by “causing a safety car”. Every F1 race driver knows that the safety car is deployed on a track when there is an accident which leads to the track being blocked either by debris or a stationary car, and where it is difficult to recover a damaged car, as was the case here. 8. At the time of this conversation I was in a very fragile and emotional state of mind. This state of mind was brought about by intense stress due to the fact that Mr. Briatore had refused to inform me of whether or not my driver’s contract would be renewed for the next racing year (2009), as is customarily the case in the middle of the year (around July or August). Instead, Mr. Briatore repeatedly requested me to sign an “option”, which meant that I was not allowed to negotiate with any other teams in the meantime. He would repeatedly put pressure on me to prolong the option I had signed, and would regularly summon me into his office to discuss these renewals, even on racing days – a moment which should be a moment of concentration and relaxation before the race. This stress was accentuated by the fact that during the Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore I had qualified sixteenth on the grid, so I was very insecure about my future at the Renault team. When I was asked to crash my car and cause a safety car incident in order to help the team, I accepted because I hoped that it could improve my position within the team at this critical time in the race season. At no point was I told by anyone that by agreeing to cause an incident, I would be guaranteed a renewal of my contract or any other advantage. However, in the context, I thought that it would be helpful in achieving this goal. I therefore agreed to cause the incident. 9. After the meeting with Mr. Symonds and Mr. Briatore, Mr. Symonds took me aside to a quiet corner and, using a map, pointed me to the exact corner of the track where I should crash. This corner was selected because the specific location of the track did not have any cranes that would allow a damaged car to be swiftly lifted off the track, nor did it have any side entrances to the track, which would allow a Safety Marshall to quickly move the damaged car away from the track. Therefore, it was felt that a crash in this specific position would be nearly certain to cause an obstruction on the track which would thus necessitate the deployment of a safety car in order to allow the track to be cleared and to ensure the safe continuation of the race. 10. Mr. Symonds also told me which exact lap to cause the incident upon, so that a strategy could deployed for my team-mate Mr. Fernando Alonso to refuel at the pit shortly before the deployment of the safety car, which he indeed did during lap twelve. The key to this strategy resided in the fact that the near-knowledge that the safety car would be deployed in lap thirteen/fourteen allowed the Team to start Mr. Alonso’s car with an aggressive fuel strategy using a light car containing enough fuel to arrive at lap twelve, but not much more. This would allow Mr. Alonso to overtake as many (heavier) cars as possible, knowing that those cars would have difficulty catching up with him later in the race due to the later deployment of the safety car. This strategy was successful and Mr. Alonso won the 2008 Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore. 11. During these discussions, no mention was made of any concerns with respect to the security implications of this strategy, either for myself, the public or other drivers. The only comment made in this context was one by Mr. Pat Symonds who warned me to “be careful”, which I took to mean that I should not injure myself. 12. I intentionally caused the crash by letting go of control of the car just before the relevant corner. In order to make sure I would cause the incident during the correct lap, I asked my team several times via the radio to confirm the lap number, which I would not normally do. I was not injured during the accident, nor was anyone else. 13. After the discussions with Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds discussed above, the ‘accident strategy’ was never discussed again with either of them. Mr. Briatore discreetly said “thank you” after the end of the race, without mentioning anything further. I do not know if anyone else was aware of this strategy at the start of the race. 14. After the race I informed Mr. Felipe Vargas, a family friend and advisor, of the fact that the incident had been deliberate. Mr. Vargas further infirmed my father, Mr. Nelson Piquet, some time later. 15. After the race several journalists asked questions about the accident and asked me whether I had caused it on purpose, because they felt it was ‘suspicious’. 16. In my own team, the engineer of my car questioned the nature of the incident because he found it unusual, and I replied that I had lost control of the car. I believe that a clever engineer would notice from the car’s telemetry that I caused the incident on purpose as I continued accelerating , whereas a “normal” reaction would be to brake as soon as possible. Statement of Truth I believe and swear that the facts set out in this statement are true. This statement was made at the FIA Headquarters in Paris on 30 July 2009 in presence of Mr. Alan Donnelly (FIA Chairman of the Stewards), Mr. Martin Smith and Mr. Jacob Marsh (both of investigations firm Quest, retained by the FIA to assist with its investigation). Notes were taken by Ms. Dondnique Costesec (Sidley Austin LLP). Signed: Nelson Piquet Jr. Statement courtesy of F1SA uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/10092009/23/transcript-nelson-piquet-jr-statement-fia.html
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Post by londonranger on Sept 10, 2009 17:28:11 GMT
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Post by Markqpr on Sept 10, 2009 18:34:54 GMT
How long will it be before Barn Door comes forward to 'confess' that he's been missing the target on purpose?  |
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Post by grumpyolde on Sept 10, 2009 18:36:18 GMT
Strange that there is nobody on the board posting to say Flav couldn't have possibly done that.
What a poor opinion you must have of him. I wonder why?
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Post by QPR Report on Sept 10, 2009 18:42:08 GMT
I'm obviously assuming he's innocent. But I was curious what people thought should happen vis-a-vis QPR should the investigation conclude differently to me.
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Post by londonranger on Sept 10, 2009 19:24:28 GMT
I frankly cant see that report posting these messages about Flav has anything to do with his opinion about him. He is the owner of our team and this is pertinent material that we all would like to know about, or if not, dont open the post.
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Post by QPR Report on Sept 10, 2009 21:35:59 GMT
To be honest, I think it's entirely self-evident what SHOULD happen, IF..... (Not that I think it necessarily/probably will. But SHOULD)
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