|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 14, 2009 22:17:12 GMT
The Times -Pat Symonds offered immunity in drive to uncover events before ‘crash’ raceThe decision by the FIA to offer Pat Symonds, the director of engineering at the Renault Formula One team, immunity from punishment in the “Crashgate” scandal follows two interviews of him by stewards at the Belgian Grand Prix last month in which Symonds refused to comment on or deny claims made against him. However, he did admit, in an important answer, that the subject of causing a deliberate crash in the Singapore Grand Prix last year had been raised in a meeting with Nelson Piquet Jnr, the Renault driver. “Nelson had spoken to me the day before and suggested that,” he told the stewards. “That’s all I’d really like to say.”Symonds refused to discuss Piquet’s claims that he had told the Brazilian on what lap and at what point on the circuit to crash and nor would he go into further detail about what might have been said during a tactical meeting with Piquet just before the race, which was also attended by Flavio Briatore, the Renault team principal. In remarks which could be seen to presage a deal between him and the FIA, Symonds who has enjoyed a distinguished career in Formula One and is regarded as an old hand in the paddock, told the investigating stewards: “I have no intention of lying to you. I have not lied to you, but I have reserved my position just a little.” Reviewing the interviews, the stewards concluded that Symonds’s failure to answer key questions suggested that a meeting with Piquet before the race had taken place in Briatore’s office in the Renault motorhome in Singapore, that a deliberate crash was discussed and that Symonds had indicated to Piquet afterwards, as the Brazilian has alleged, where to effect the accident to ensure the safety car was called out. In their report to the FIA, which forms part of the basis of the case against Renault, the stewards said: “Had there been no substance to the allegations made by (Piquet) and put to Mr Symonds, it would have been straightforward for Mr Symonds to deny them.” Early in the interviews with Symonds, he was asked about the meeting with Piquet prior to the race. “What do you recall being said to Nelson Piquet Jnr at that meeting? This is shortly before the race?” Symonds replied: “I don’t really remember.” The investigator pressed him: “You don’t really remember?” Symonds: “No.” The exchange continued: Steward: “Nelson Piquet Jnr says he was asked by you to cause a deliberate crash. Is that true?” Symonds: “Nelson spoke to me the day before and suggested that. That’s all I’d really like to say.” Steward: “Mr Symonds, are you aware that there was going to be a crash on lap 14?” Symonds: “I don’t want to answer that question.” Then came questions about the specific allegations that Symonds took Piquet to one side after the meeting in Briatore’s office to show him on a circuit map where to crash. Again Symonds is determined not to be drawn:Steward: “Mr Piquet Jnr says, having had the initial meeting with you and Flavio Briatore, you then met with him individually with the map of the circuit. Do you remember that? Symonds: “I won’t answer. Rather not answer that. I don’t recall it, but it sounds like Nelson’s talked a lot more about it.” Steward: “Mr Piquet Jnr also says that at that meeting, you pointed out a specific place on the circuit where he was to have the accident and said it was because it was the furthest away from any of the safety or lifting equipment, and gave the most likely chance of a safety car being deployed.” Symonds: “I don’t... I don’t want to answer that question.” Later it was put to Symonds that the stewards may draw conclusions from, as they put it, his “unwillingness to assist them” in relation to what had gone on prior to the race. Symonds accepts this is a likely outcome of his failure to address the key issues. “I would expect them to. I would absolutely expect that,” he told them. Both Renault and Briatore strongly deny the allegations that they ordered Piquet to crash his car. www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article6834608.ece
|
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 14, 2009 22:18:28 GMT
From The Times Racing Transcript Excerpts Nelson’s off, Nelson’s had a crash. It’s huge. Is he all right? Is he all right?’Edward Gorman, Motor Racing Correspondent Today The Times can reveal extracts from the radio conversations between key Renault personnel during last year’s controversial Singapore Grand Prix leading up to, and including, the moment when Nelson Piquet Jr crashed on lap 14.This radio traffic between the Renault pitwall and Piquet, as well as among members of the pitwall, is a fascinating insight into the minutes leading up to the crash and the chaotic moments after it. The transcript will form part of the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council’s deliberations on Monday when it decides whether Piquet was told to crash his car, an allegation Renault and Flavio Briatore, the team principal, deny. The Renault group on the wall at races includes two race engineers, plus Briatore and Pat Symonds, the director of engineering who runs the management of the race. Related Links Formula One is the real crash victim Briatore comes out fighting in ‘cheat’ storm F1 is in shock over Piquet Jr's allegations Symonds has been offered immunity from prosecution by the FIA in return for full disclosure about the alleged scheme to have Piquet crash on purpose. The aim of the conspiracy alleged by the FIA was for Renault to cause a safety car interruption immediately after Fernando Alonso, who has said he was not party to any scheme to cheat, had made an unscheduled and early pitstop. Alonso pitted on lap 12 of the race, four laps earlier than originally intended, and Piquet’s car hit the wall two laps later. The safety car duly appeared and circulated for six laps. During that time almost all of Alonso’s rivals pitted, enabling the Spaniard to climb steadily through the field and win the race from fifteenth on the grid. In the early part of the race, there were several exchanges between Symonds and the engineers about Alonso’s race strategy, with Symonds preparing the ground to drop the original three-stop approach and change it to a two-stop strategy that would better fit with any plan for Piquet to crash. “I can tell you now we are not three-stopping,” Symonds is heard to say on the transcript made by the FIA as part of its evidence in the case, a copy of which has been seen by The Times. Later Symonds adds to an unnamed engineer: “Don’t worry about fuel because I’m going to get him [Alonso] out of this traffic earlier than that.” Not long afterwards comes an unusual intervention from Piquet, who was running towards the back of the field in the early stages of Formula One’s first night race. But the novelty factor for him was not the floodlights. It has now been suggested that he was worried about which lap he was on because he knew he had special instructions for lap 14. Piquet says: “What lap are we in, what lap are we in?” A few seconds later an engineer tells the others on the wall: “He just asked what lap are we in.” Symonds intervenes: “Yeah, tell him that he’s about to complete lap 8.” Symonds insists Piquet is then told something he should know from his pitboard, which is shown to him at the end of every lap. “No, just tell him, he is about, he’s just completing, he’s about to complete lap eight.” After Piquet is given the information, the discussion returns to the timing of Alonso’s first stop and Symonds makes his decision. “Right, I’m going to . . . I think we’re going to stop him just before we catch him and get him out of it, the reason being we’ve still got this worry on the fuel pump. It’s only a couple of laps short. We’re going to be stopping him early and we’re going to go to lap 40.”
This decision prompts a puzzled question from an engineer, who wants assurance from Symonds that a tactical option that would drop Alonso to last place it the right thing to do. “Pat, do you still not think that this is a bit too early?” he asks a few minutes later. “We only did six tenths that lap.”
Symonds replies: “No, no it’s going to be all right.”
“OK, OK, understood,” the engineer responds.
Once Alonso has made his stop, Symonds tells everybody that it is time to “concentrate on” Piquet. After assessing the Brazilian’s position, he and Briatore decide Piquet has to quicken up as the fateful lap draws near.
Symonds to the engineer: “OK right, you’ve got to push him really bloody hard now. If he doesn’t get past Barrichello, he’s going nowhere, he’s got to get past Barrichello this lap.”
“Tell him, push . . .,” Briatore says.
Piquet’s race engineer gives him the hurry-up: “Nelson, no excuses now, you’ve got to get past Barrichello. You’ve got four clicks straight-line advantage. Come on, you’ve got to push now, you must get past him.”
Moments later Piquet crashes at turn 17, where there are no cranes to lift the wreckage, making a safety car inevitable, and at the point at which he alleges Symonds told him to do the deed during a meeting before the race.
Multiple voices: “Nelson’s off. F***ing hell. Nelson’s had a crash. I would say that would be a red flag. It’s huge [all speaking at the same time] .
Piquet: “Sorry guys. I had a little outing.”
Engineer: “Is he all right, Is he all right?”
Symonds: “Ask him if he’s all right.”
Engineer: “Are you OK? Are you OK?”
Engineer: “Fernando’s just gone past it.”
Engineer: “OK, yellow flag.”
Piquet: “Yeah, I hit my head in the back. I think I’m OK.”
Engineer: “OK, understood.”
Symonds: “Right [inaudible], stop him.”
Engineer: “Safety car, safety car, safety car, safety car. Fernando, safety car, mixture three.”
Symonds: “Tell him to be careful, turn 17 I think it is.”
After several exchanges about Alonso, an engineer expresses concern, presumably after seeing the crash on the television monitor, but Briatore seems unconcerned and is angry with Piquet.
Engineer: “F***ing hell that was a big shunt.”
Briatore: “F***ing hell . . . my every f***ing disgrace, f***ing, he’s not a driver.”
Then Symonds asks about Alonso’s improving prospects.
Symonds: “What position is Fernando in?”
Engineer: “Well, we were 20, and we’re first guy to pick the safety car up.”
Symonds: “Yeah, we’re not . . .”
Engineer: “He will get away past it but he’s got to wait.”
Later Briatore and Symonds discuss Alonso’s chances. “What position we are now in all this?” asks Briatore.
Symonds replies: “To be honest, I don’t know Flavio. It’s got to have been good for Fernando. But I honestly don’t know where he is.”
In the final part of the transcript, several minutes after the crash, the team return to the subject of Piquet and his condition and at this stage Briatore adds his own concern for the Brazilian driver’s welfare.
Engineer: “Where is Nelson? Have you seen him?”
Briatore: “Is he OK, Nelson? Is he OK?”
Alonso: “The pitlane is closed until we arrive?”
Engineer: “He climbed out, mate, and ran across the track.”
Engineer: “Yeah, the pitlane is still closed.”
Taken as a whole the transcript does not provide a killer-blow against Symonds or Briatore and could be read either way.
The FIA is known to be particularly concerned that the alleged conspiracy not only amounted to cheating but also involved a reckless act that could have resulted in injury or loss of life.
The pitwall recording shows that, on this score, the Renault team were also extremely concerned about Piquet’s safety.
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article6834552.ece |
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 14, 2009 22:19:28 GMT
The Times
From The Times September 15, 2009
FIA backs Renault into a corner
Team's second-in-command is offered deal to disclose all about Nelson Piquet Jr's crash at the Singapore Grand PrixEdward Gorman, Motor Racing Correspondent In a dramatic development in the Formula One “Crashgate” scandal the FIA has offered the Renault team’s second-in-command immunity from punishment in exchange for full disclosure of how the alleged plan was executed. The Times also understands that the FIA’s own investigators have concluded that claims that the team asked Nelson Piquet Jr, their former driver, to crash his car deliberately at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix do stand up. Pat Symonds, the director of engineering at Renault, who reports to Flavio Briatore, the team principal, has been told by the sport’s governing body that if he comes clean over how and why Piquet drove his car into the barriers in Singapore he will escape sanctions, which could include a life ban from the sport. The development means that of the three key players in the scandal, Piquet who first alerted the FIA about the plan, Briatore, who has denied all knowledge of it, and Symonds, only Briatore will go to the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) in Paris on Monday without being offered immunity. Related Links ‘Nelson’s off, Nelson’s had a crash’ Renault’s line of communication is radio gaga Formula One is the real crash victim The decision to present Symonds with a lifeline follows initial interviews of him by FIA stewards investigating Piquet’s claims that he was asked by both Symonds and Briatore to crash on lap 14 of the floodlit race in Singapore last September. This provoked a safety car intervention that helped Renault’s other driver, Fernando Alonso, win the race. Symonds initially stone-walled when questioned in detail by FIA investigators about claims that he not only asked Piquet to crash but even went through with him where he was to effect the accident. After refusing to answer a series of key questions, Symonds remarked at one point: “I have no intention of lying to you. I have not lied to you, but I have reserved my position just a little.” The Times understands that the stewards who carried out investigations during the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps at the end of last month came to the conclusion that, having noted Symonds’s refusal to answer most of the questions that were put to him and having considered highly unusual telemetry data from Piquet’s car immediately before the crash, it was “reasonable, on balance” to accept that Piquet’s claims are true. Briatore and Renault continue to deny the allegations levelled against him. Briatore will go to the WMSC hearing trying to save a career that spans 20 years in Formula One and has included four drivers’ championships. A full transcript of the Renault pitwall radio transmissions that took place between Symonds, Briatore, various engineers and both Piquet and Alonso covering the dramatic minutes leading up to and after Piquet’s crash during the race has been seen by The Times. Immediately after the shunt that tore off two wheels and left the Brazilian’s car crunched against the concrete barriers, Piquet is then heard to say: “Sorry guys. I had a little outing.” An engineer asks: “Is he all right? Is he all right?” Then Symonds is heard to say: “Ask him if he’s all right.” The engineer then questions Piquet on the radio: “Are you OK? Are you OK?” after which Piquet, who escaped the accident without serious injury, replies: “Yeah, I hit my head in the back. I think I’m OK.” A little later an engineer, who is believed to have known nothing of any conspiracy, reflects on what he has just seen of the crash on the television monitor. “F***ing hell that was a big shunt,” he says. At this point, several minutes after the accident, Briatore intervenes for the first time and his reaction is to criticise Piquet, not express any concern for him. “F***ing hell . . . my every f***ing disgrace, f***ing, he’s not a driver,” he says. www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article6834557.ece
|
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 14, 2009 22:20:18 GMT
The Times
September 15, 2009
Renault’s line of communication is radio gaga
Edward Gorman, Commentary With all the leaks of evidence in the Renault case, it has become harder and harder to keep in mind that the French team remain innocent of the grave charges levelled against them until the matter has been considered by the FIA in Paris on Monday. That said, the world governing body’s transcript of the radio transmissions from the Renault pitwall team during last year’s Singapore Grand Prix makes for interesting reading, not least because it gives us an insight into what goes on in a part of Formula One that the teams like to keep close to their chests. On one level the transcript reads uncontroversially. The Renault team start the floodlit race with one set of strategies for their drivers, they change the plan for one of them, Fernando Alonso, bring him in for a fuelling stop and are shocked when their second driver, Nelson Piquet Jr, piles his car into a wall. If you did not know of the allegations of race-fixing and an agreement with Piquet to crash deliberately, you would be none the wiser. But when you know what is being alleged, the exchanges take on a different hue. Why did Pat Symonds, the director of engineering, drop the three-stop strategy for Alonso in favour of two? Related Links ‘Nelson’s off, Nelson’s had a crash’ Formula One is the real crash victim Briatore comes out fighting in ‘cheat’ storm Isn’t it curious that Piquet has to ask, and be told, what lap he is on? Isn’t it odd that a senior engineer questions Symonds’s decision to change Alonso’s strategy? And what about the reactions of the team after Piquet had crashed? Were some of them thinking ahead, knowing that what they said at that point might one day be the subject of detailed investigations and analysis? Either way the radio transcripts do not convict Renault. But it is increasingly clear that the FIA’s report suggests that there is a case to answer. The impression given is that the French team go to Paris not only fighting to prove their innocence but also fighting to limit the scale of any punishment. The offer of immunity to Symonds leaves Flavio Briatore, the Renault team principal, in an exposed position, should Symonds accept it and provide the World Motor Sport Council with damning testimony against his principal. So far the Italian has denied all knowledge of a conspiracy to fix the race and has initiated legal action against Piquet and his father, Nelson Piquet Sr, claiming that they have tried to blackmail him. Few are coming to Briatore’s aid and the FIA is pressing on with him firmly in his sights. www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article6834596.ece
|
|
obk
Dave Sexton
Posts: 1,516
|
Post by obk on Sept 15, 2009 6:29:01 GMT
Seems to me like they are indeed going for Briatore this time. And to be honest, if he ordered a crash then he should get sentenced in a real court and sent to prison. If he is guilty I hope he gets punished no matter what the consequences for QPR (good or bad, could go both ways).
|
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 15, 2009 6:32:54 GMT
We'll have to wait for the findings and their conclusions, but certainly I wouldn't agree with those who offer strange analogies and say you shouldn't view what one does in one area and let that effect him being in charge at QPR
|
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 15, 2009 6:34:33 GMT
Guardian - Early evidence indicates crash was suspicious, says Max Mosley• 'The data indicated something very unusual'• Rumours of story heard months ago Donald McRae The Guardian, Tuesday 15 September 2009
Max Mosley said not investigated the claims is 'unthinkable'. Max Mosley has said that there appears to be evidence to support Nelson Piquet Jr's allegation that he deliberately crashed his car in last season's Singapore grand prix. Piquet claimed that the accident was planned so that the introduction of a safety car would help his team-mate Fernando Alonso – who eventually won the race. "Certainly the data from the car indicated that something very unusual had happened on the corner where he crashed – according to the experts who look at these things," Mosely said in reference to analysis of Renault's telemetry from last September. "So there was enough there to make it unthinkable not to investigate. This week Renault will send in written documents but the actual hearing of their defence is next Monday." Mosley, who will retire as president of the world governing body, the FIA, at the end of October, told the Guardian that he had heard rumours of the story some months before he was approached by the driver's father, Nelson Piquet Sr. "Two or three months earlier I'd heard this allegation was floating around. Of course there was nothing one could do then because there was no evidence – it was all rumour and hearsay. So I knew the allegation existed but, yes, I was quite surprised they were actually prepared to come forward and make it. "Nelson Piquet Sr came to see me after the Hungarian grand prix in late July and said all this had happened. So I listened to him and said, 'Well, if Nelson makes a sworn statement then obviously we'll investigate it.' The father arranged for that to happen. We then started to look at all the onboard data and all the recordings we've got of everything that happened in the car." Renault have responded by launching criminal proceedings against the Piquets for attempted blackmail and false allegations. Flavio Briatore, the team principal at Renault, has also had some bitter disagreements with Mosley and had advocated a possible breakaway from the FIA – with that threat only removed once Mosley agreed to retire at the end of this season. Renault declined to comment yesterday. www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/sep/15/formulaone-renaultGuardian
FIA offers Pat Symonds immunity over Nelson Piquet Jr crash• Renualt No2 offered immunity for disclosure over alleged plot
• Mosley says Piquet's claim appears to have substancePat Symonds, the director of engineering at Renault, is expected to be offered immunity from punishment by the FIA as part of its investigation into Nelson Piquet Jr's crash at the Singapore grand prix. Max Mosley, the FIA president, has said in an interview with the Guardian that there appears to be evidence to support the claims made by Piquet Jr that he deliberately crashed his car at last year's race. The FIA, the sport's governing body, has reportedly told Symonds that he will escape punishment if he reveals details of the alleged plan involving Piquet. That would mean both he and Piquet would have immunity when they go into the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Monday. Flavio Briatore, the Renault team principal, has apparently not been offered immunity. Briatore and Renault have strongly denied Piquet's allegations that he was asked to crash and the team have launched criminal proceedings against the Brazilian driver and his father, Nelson Piquet Sr. According to the Times, Briatore's first reaction to Piquet's crash was an expletive-filled criticism of the driver which came several minutes after the accident. In it he reportedly describes Piquet as a "disgrace" and "not a driver". The report also alleges that Piquet's response to the crash is to say: "Sorry, guys. I had a little outing." It adds that an engineer asked Piquet if he is all right and that Symonds then said: "Ask him if he's all right." www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/sep/15/pat-symonds-renault-piquet-briatore
|
|
|
|
Post by cpr on Sept 15, 2009 6:57:59 GMT
I must say, the quote from Briatore does not sound like the words of a man expecting his driver to crash.
|
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 15, 2009 8:43:38 GMT
Motorsport - Briatore's head on the block in 'crash-gate'The French carmaker Renault has reportedly offered to replace the boss of its Formula One team, Flavio Briatore. The offer, made to the sport's governing body ahead of the 21 September hearing into the 'crash-gate' affair, was interpreted by the Spanish newspaper AS as being a move to appease the World Motor Sport Council. Evidence about the case that has leaked to the press does not bode well for Renault, whose bosses Briatore and Pat Symonds are accused by sacked driver Nelson Piquet of ordering him to crash deliberately in Singapore a year ago. Diario AS said Renault has offered to oust Briatore in favour of Frederic Vasseur, a boss of the GP2 team ART. Fascinatingly, Vasseur is in business with Nicolas Todt, the son of the FIA presidential candidate Jean. Another rumoured potential replacement for Briatore is Alain Prost, and the four time world champion said at Monza: "I only know that there is a rumour, we'll see what happens." There are other strong signs that Briatore is set to bear the brunt of the blame for the alleged order to crash. Britain's Times newspaper reveals that, like Piquet Jr, the team's engineering director Pat Symonds has also been offered immunity if he cooperates fully with the FIA. Symonds hinted strongly in his recent interview with FIA stewards and Quest investigators that he knows much more about the affair. He told them at the time that he did not want to answer incriminating questions because he preferred to "reserve" his position. One assumption would be that Symonds is prepared to talk only under the cover of immunity. The newspaper also said the investigators believe Piquet's claims are "reasonable, on balance". And Max Mosley told the Guardian: "Certainly the data from the car indicated that something very unusual had happened on the corner where he crashed." The FIA president also agreed that "it would" be very unusual if Piquet and his famous father are risking jail sentences by criminally perjuring themselves about the events at F1's inaugural night race. Transcripts of Renault's radio traffic in Singapore has also come to light, depicting Briatore reacting stridently to the news that Piquet, 23, had crashed. "Fu**ing hell ... my every fu**ing disgrace, fu**ing, he's not a driver," the Italian said. www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=345221&FS=F1
|
|
|
|
Post by Zamoraaaah on Sept 15, 2009 8:54:11 GMT
Giving Pat Symonds immunity seems to indicate the FIA are actively targeting Flav.
Symonds is the obvious fall guy for the team and this stops the buck being passed.
I wonder if Max Mosely has anything to do with this? Word is he hates Flav with a passion.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lonegunmen on Sept 15, 2009 9:35:05 GMT
I agree with some of the comments, Flabios comments on the radio don't jell with a guy wanting to have his car crashed. Mosely could be trying to make a power play move to save his own arse after his various indiscretions.
Flabio might just be a victim as much as the driver.
|
|
|
|
Post by cpr on Sept 15, 2009 9:38:57 GMT
Max is Bernie's mate, Flav is Bernie's, rivals in love?  Just read that Renault might replace Briatore as a preemptive strike. I'm sure Mike will post this story soonest.  |
|
|
|
Post by Zamoraaaah on Sept 15, 2009 9:46:06 GMT
Flav wants Mosely's job. Max even said as much and accused him of stirring up trouble in order to get it. Bernie just sits back and counts his money hoping his Missus don't make off with it.  |
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 15, 2009 9:55:06 GMT
IF Briatore did something wrong, should be "penalized."
If Briatore is being "framed" the framers should be penalized - even more so
|
|
obk
Dave Sexton
Posts: 1,516
|
Post by obk on Sept 15, 2009 11:43:43 GMT
IF Briatore did something wrong, should be "penalized." If Briatore is being "framed" the framers should be penalized - even more so Yes, of course! But saying "push push" as Briatore did just before the accident might just have been the secret signal, the code word to crash (ahh conspiracy theories!). |
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 15, 2009 21:43:41 GMT
Mail
'd***ing' evidence puts heat on Flavio: Briatore's F1 future hangs in the balance
By Jonathan McEvoy Flavio Briatore is likely to be driven out of Formula One within the next 48 hours unless he can convince Renault they can successfully defend the charge of fixing last season’s Singapore Grand Prix. Charges of fixing: The FIA have been gathering evidence against Flavio Briatore The FIA have accumulated a huge weight of evidence against Renault’s flamboyant team principal, all of which Sportsmail has seen, ahead of next Monday’s meeting of the World Motor Sport Council. Briatore has spent the past fortnight trying to convince the team’s parent company that he did not order Nelson Piquet Jnr to crash his car in the floodlit grand prix, an accident which brought out the safety car that allowed his other driver, Fernando Alonso, to win the race. It remains to be seen whether they have accepted Briatore’s version of events, though they must surely come to a conclusion as early as Wednesday after FIA president Max Mosley set ‘the middle of the week’ as the deadline for the presentation of Renault’s evidence. By Thursday, at the latest, they must decide whether to back him or sack him. Renault and the FIA declined to comment yesterday, as did Piquet Jnr, who made the claim he was told to crash by Briatore after being sacked by Renault last month. But, quietly, the guns were being turned on Briatore. Importantly, the FIA have granted immunity from prosecution to the team’s No 2, Pat Symonds, if he reveals whether there was a plot to rig the race and explains exactly how it was hatched. With clemency already having being granted to Piquet, it leaves just one man in the dock — Briatore. He argued his innocence in Monza at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, though even his protestations of innocence left a tricky question hanging in the air: Crunch time: Briatore is under pressure over allegations that he ordered Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jnr to crash in Singapore Briatore has started criminal proceedings in France against Piquet for ‘blackmail’, so with what was Piquet blackmailing him if it was not related to the crash and his boss’s part in it? Mosley, who will chair the meeting of the WMSC in Paris, said: ‘It certainly looks d***ing, but one thing I have learned is that there are always two sides to every story. We must see what evidence Renault have for us.’ Despite Mosley’s neutral stance, the drip-drip of seemingly d***ing revelations leaves Renault in a corner: if they decide to fight and lose on Monday they face a ban from Formula One. That might well mean their departure from the sport. Conversely, if Briatore walks then a line can be drawn under the whole incident. Taciturn: Symonds Symonds’ testimony is crucial. When the FIA first interviewed him he was reluctant to give anything away. Repeatedly he was asked if an instruction had been given to crash the car, but declined to offer. ‘I can’t answer you,’ was typical of his non-answers. Renault are currently ascertaining Symonds’ position before finalising their own direction. Whether or not Renault stick around next season, there should be no shortage of teams on the grid for 2010. As revealed here on Monday, Lotus are rejoining the grand prix scene after 16 years away with the support of the Malaysian government. The Lotus name brings glamour with it, their image rich with memories of Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Sir Stirling Moss. However, they face a tough few months if they are to be ready for the opening race of next season in March. ‘It will be a big challenge to get on the grid,’ said the team’s respected technical director, Mike Gascoyne. ‘Things are very tight. But by mid-season we would clearly like to be the best of the new teams, and by the end of the year I would hope we have broken into the top 10 overall. ‘It’s good news,’ said Moss, who won Lotus’ first-ever race in Monaco in 1960. ‘They’ve got the heritage. They’ve got the name. It’s a good thing for the sport. They can only add to Formula One.’ Lotus, who will be powered by Cosworth engines, will begin life in Norfolk before establishing a base in Malaysia. They have beaten BMW to become the 13th team on the grid. However, BMW also received positive news on Tuesday when they were bought by Qadbak Investments Ltd, a Swiss-based foundation representing certain Middle East and European-based families. They are also the money behind Notts County football club. The FIA have named them as a ‘14th’ team and will seek to amend the rules to allow them to swell the grid, in the unlikely event that none of the current teams drop off and make room for them. For Renault, their fate probably hinges on Briatore’s own exit strategy. : www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-1213724/d***ing-evidence-puts-heat-Flavio-Briatores-F1-future-hangs-balance.html#ixzz0RDKJnwL5
|
|
|
|
Post by Zamoraaaah on Sept 15, 2009 21:50:17 GMT
And we thought we had problems with leaks "The FIA have accumulated a huge weight of evidence against Renault’s flamboyant team principal, all of which Sportsmail has seen, ahead of next Monday’s meeting of the World Motor Sport Council."If that article is true then Flav is a gonner. |
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 16, 2009 6:14:00 GMT
The Times
Key evidence to determine Flavio Briatore’s F1 futureEdward Gorman, Motor Racing Correspondent Flavio Briatore’s future as the Renault Formula One team principal was in the balance last night over the alleged plan to fix last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.Briatore has been left in an exposed position after Nelson Piquet Jr, the team’s former driver, who has claimed that he was asked by the Italian to crash in Singapore, and Pat Symonds, the Renault director of engineering, were offered immunity by the FIA in return for full disclosure of what went on at the night race last September. The key figure in how the Renault principal’s future is worked out is Symonds, who is alleged to have given Piquet detailed instructions about when and where to crash. Symonds was told twice by FIA stewards investigating the affair that he could escape punishment if he provided information about the incident. Symonds was described as a “broken man” after the interviews, in which he refused to answer or deny any of the allegations against him — something that helped the governing body to reach the conclusion that there is, at the very least, a case to be heard. It is not clear if Symonds has made up his mind what to do, but he is in a difficult position. If he goes to the meeting of the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Monday standing by Briatore, he and the Italian risk being banned from Formula One if they are found guilty; if he testifies in exchange for immunity, some may believe that he is trying to save his skin at any expense. The situation remains hugely sensitive, with Briatore and Symonds expected to hand in their final dossier of evidence for their defence to the FIA today. The case has wider implications, with Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s commercial rights-holder, keen to prevent Renault from leaving Formula One over the affair or being banned. It could be that Briatore, who has denied all knowledge of any conspiracy, will be sacrificed and Renault will continue in Formula One under a new leader. Briatore has not helped his cause in recent days by launching personal attacks against Piquet, making allegations about the driver’s private life and initiating legal action against him and his father, alleging an attempt at blackmail. None of this has gone down well among those who might have been motivated to help him. Both Piquet Jr and Sr deny all allegations. While the scandal simmers, The Times can reveal Piquet’s account of how his car came to hit the wall at the exit of turn 17 on lap 14 of the race in Singapore. The Brazilian told FIA investigators, in a statement made on August 17, that he lost control of his car on purpose at a place on the circuit and on a lap that had been agreed in advance with Briatore and Symonds. Film of the crash shows Piquet’s Renault R29 exiting the corner, spinning across the circuit and slamming sideways into the concrete wall at high speed. The right-hand side of the car is crushed and debris is scattered across the track. “After ensuring I was on the designated lap of the race, I deliberately lost control of my car,” Piquet, who was not injured in the incident, said. “I did this by pressing hard and early on the throttle. “As I felt the back end of the car drifting out, I continued to press hard on the throttle, in the knowledge that this would lead to my car making heavy contact with the concrete wall.” After viewing telemetry from his car that was provided to the FIA by Renault, Piquet said that the data “clearly demonstrates” that he pressed significantly harder and earlier on the throttle on the exit to turn 17 on lap 14 than on previous laps. “Once the back end of the car had begun to drift out, the only way of recovering control of the car and avoiding contact would have been to back off on the throttle,” he said. “However, I did not back off the throttle to any material extent. Rather, I pressed hard on the throttle beyond the moment at which the back end started to drift out and, indeed, right up to and beyond the point of impact with the concrete wall. “Again, the fact that I did not back off the throttle is apparent from the telemetry readings of the incident.” www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article6836253.ece
|
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 16, 2009 6:15:34 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 16, 2009 6:17:01 GMT
Autoweek - Renault saga: Briatore now twisting in the wind?
By ADAM COOPER AutoWeek F1 correspondent Adam CooperRenault's Singapore Grand Prix crash saga rumbles on as we approach the FIA World Motor Sport Council's hearing into the matter, scheduled for Sept. 21 in Paris. We learned Tuesday--unofficially at least--that the FIA has granted immunity from punishment to Pat Symonds, Renault's engineering boss. Since the FIA previously gave the same protection to former driver and whistleblower Nelson Piquet Jr., it now appears that team boss Flavio Briatore is the man left stranded like a deer in the headlights. Until today, series watchers assumed that Briatore and Symonds would hold the line together, and that Symonds would, as one rival team boss put it, ultimately be collateral damage. That would be a great shame, because he's one of the most respected technical guys in the paddock. He's been with the team since its birth as Toleman way back in 1981, working with Ayrton Senna in his rookie year and helping Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso to four world championships. Piquet's testimony and the radio transcripts that we have seen thus far certainly paint Symonds in an unfortunate light. He is right at the heart of whatever went on in Singapore last year. Ultimately, he reports to Briatore, and if he was under orders from the team boss--who was desperate to get a result to placate both Alonso and Renault HQ back in Paris--then perhaps he should be treated a little more leniently. But strangely, until today, FIA sources had made it clear that both men were so heavily involved that they could expect serious personal sanctions, such as bans from any form of FIA-sanctioned motorsports, in addition to any penalty levied against the team. When the FIA and its investigative team interviewed Symonds at Spa a couple weeks ago during the Belgian GP weekend, he didn't give too much away, as if he was trying not to implicate anyone else. The first interview hit him by surprise, as he had no idea that the FIA was investigating the Singapore issue. Intriguingly, Briatore did know. F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and others had warned him that the Piquet family was about to go public and he wrote to Nelson Piquet Sr. on July 28, basically telling him that the story was nonsense. Two days later, Piquet Jr. met the FIA; nearly a month later, the FIA sprung its surprise investigation in Spa. The curious thing is that Briatore appears not to have told Symonds, effectively his No. 2 in command, that the story was about to erupt. Without time to compare notes with Briatore, Symonds did not answer all of the investigators' questions. However, he indicated that he had more to say, but when he met investigators again--after speaking to Briatore, you would presume--he declined to elaborate further. Now the immunity story has cropped up, and that seems to be the FIA's way to convince him to talk a little more. But that can only be to the detriment of Briatore, his boss for 20 years. If he doesn't talk or if he accepts immunity, his career could be over. So what will he do? This complicated situation could have been put together by Mario Puzo. The last thing I heard over the Italian GP weekend was that Briatore will this week possibly find some way to take the pressure off by resigning or taking a sabbatical. How that would impact the WMSC hearing remains to be seen. One man who appears to have escaped any possibility of sanction is Fernando Alonso. He too was interviewed at Spa, and the FIA apparently accepted that he knew nothing about the crash or any plan to cause it. The skeptical view is that he must have known what was planned, otherwise he would not have agreed to the early pit-stop strategy that the team presented him with in Singapore. A senior McLaren person told me last weekend that, in his opinion, the “plot” had Alonso's hallmarks all over it. Don't forget that the former McLaren driver tried to blackmail team boss Ron Dennis in Hungary in 2007 concerning information he had about the industrial-espionage scandal against Ferrari that year. The only thing was, Dennis called his bluff and contacted FIA president Max Mosley directly, handing him the information that ultimately led the FIA to fine the team $100 million. We've had no more news on Renault's legal action against the Piquets, and you wonder how strong the case truly is. One plausible theory I heard--and granted, it is just a theory--is that Briatore only followed up with his legal threats after visiting Renault management and giving his no-holds-barred appraisal of the Piquets. His bosses then might very well have declared, “If what you say is true, why aren't we suing?” Briatore arrived at Monza the following day and told the world that he and Renault were pursuing legal action. Interesting timing, certainly, but it doesn't seem to have impacted the FIA's preparations for the WMSC hearing. Don't be surprised if there are more twists in this story over the next few days Read more: www.autoweek.com/article/20090915/F1/909159987#ixzz0RFPnY9F1www.autoweek.com/article/20090915/F1/909159987
|
|
|
|
Post by Zamoraaaah on Sept 16, 2009 7:48:47 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 16, 2009 8:13:40 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Zamoraaaah on Sept 16, 2009 9:04:28 GMT
Waiting in the wings... 
|
|
|
|
Post by QPR Report on Sept 16, 2009 9:56:18 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by boxer on Sept 16, 2009 11:13:47 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Zamoraaaah on Sept 16, 2009 11:20:15 GMT
Just confirmed on SSN. He's gone along with Pat Symonds and Renault will not contest the crash allegations.
|
|
