Category: Formula 1

Documents released by the FIA reveal that a fourth Renault team member knew about “Crashgate” while the plans were being hatched. Previously, it was understood that only team boss Flavio Briatore, Executive Director Pat Symonds and Nelson Piquet Jr knew of the plan to fix the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

The witness testimony from this fourth member, referred to by AUSmotive as “Terminator X”, is what sealed Briatore’s fate and saw him condemned to a life ban from Formula One. All relevant parties have been asked to keep the identity of the whistle-blower confidential.

Court documents state that Renault F1 believes knowledge of this conspiracy was limited to the four individuals. “Terminator X” was not a willing participant in the “Crashgate” plot and on hearing of the plans objected immediately. It is believed that the whistle-blower did not know if the conspiracy would actually be carried out until the moment Piquet Jr crashed.

A two page statement from a contrite Pat Symonds is also included in the documents and it can be read in full after the jump. It makes an interesting read and confirms earlier reports that Symonds claims the whole ordeal was a plan of Piquet Jr’s creation.

I doubt we have heard the last of this.

[Source: BBC]

That photo above is now the definitive image from Formula One’s first night race. It is, of course, the wreckage of Nelson Piquet Jr‘s Renault, that we now know was deliberately driven into the concrete wall for the sole purpose of improving Fernando Alonso’s finishing position. The penalty for such a devious act of “unparalleled severity”?

Well, for the Renault F1 team—nothing! Sure, they will suffer permanent expulsion from the sport if they commit a similar offence in the next two years, but the horse has already bolted. Renault will be a model F1 citizen during that time. Of that you can be sure.

What about the driver who so willingly and weakly complied with the act of race fixing? Nah, he got off too. The World Motor Sport Council thought his willingness to dob in his former team was sufficient to exempt him from any punishment. This young Piquet bloke is a pretty willing guy, it seems. Just pander to his insecurities and it would appear you could have him stealing from his grandmother. If only he was as good at driving as he is at destroying reputations—his own or otherwise—he may never have found himself in this mess.

Surely the bloke that won the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix on account of this race fixing, Fernando Alonso, must have been handed some sort of penalty? Nope. The FIA reckon Alonso knew nothing of it. Even if you are naive enough to believe that to be the case, Alonso won the race because his teammates cheated for his benefit. Yet, the result still stands! It is mind boggling. At the very least the race win should have been stripped, even if it meant leaving the other positions as they finished. F1 has proven time and again that it can laugh in the face of common sense, so having a race in the history books with no official winner should pose no problems.

Of course, Alonso’s name should be removed from Singapore’s 2008 record books and Nico Rosberg, second across the line, should inherit the race win, which would be his first in F1. Importantly, the resulting shuffling of points would only extend Lewis Hamilton’s margin over Felipe Massa in the driver standings. That is, the ultimate result of the 2008 World Championship would not be affected.

Fear not, the heavy hand of the FIA has dealt former Renault F1 team boss Flavio Briatore a knockout blow. He’s been permanently banned from Formula One, including the inability to hold a position within any team for any FIA sanctioned event or series. He has also been banned from continuing his driver management portfolio. At the moment Flav manages four current F1 drivers; Mark Webber, Heikki Kovalainen, Fernando Alonso and Romain Grosjean. Ironically, he still holds a contract with Piquet Jr, too.

Pat Symonds, the third member of the apex of evil, along with Piquet Jr and Briatore, has also been given a complete ban from the sport. However, he will be free to rejoin F1 after five years exclusion. It is worth remembering that Briatore and Symonds had already “resigned” from their positions with Renault.

So, what do you reckon, is the outcome of the Crashgate saga a farce or a fair result? Damon Hill, 1996 F1 world champ, reckond Renault have been let off lightly. Now, with reports of Briatore considering legal action against the FIA, will Crashgate ever end?

A statement from Renault F1 in reponse to the FIA’s decision can be read after the jump.

[Source: TimesOnline & BBC]

If you follow F1 you’ve been following the race fixing charges against the Renault F1 team, which focus on Nelson Piquet Jr’s crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

It is alleged the incident was premeditated and created to force a safety car. With the knowledge the safety car was going to be introduced Renault number one driver Fernando Alonso was able to alter his refuelling strategy to gain an advantage over his rivals. An advantage that saw him win the race.

A string of unsatisfactory results in 2009 saw Nelson Piquet Jr sacked by the Renault F1 team in July. Since then he has not been hiding his anger at the team’s decision, with most of his resentment directed to team boss Flavio Briatore.

At the end of July 2009 Piquet Jr made a statement to the FIA detailing his side of the story from last year’s Singapore Grand Prix. You can read the statement in full after the jump, but it is the following paragraph that will cause Briatore and his team the most concern:

“…I was asked by Mr Flavio Briatore, who is both my team manager and Team Principal of the Renault F1 Team, and by Mr Pat Symonds, the Technical Director of the ING 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.”

Assuming the statement made by Nelson Piquet Jr is a true and accurate reflection of events, you can expect both he and his former team to be heavily sanctioned by the FIA.

In many ways this is a far worse situation for the sport than the infamous ‘Stepneygate’ spy saga from 2007. The outcome of that controversy saw the McLaren team heavily fined and removed from the Constructors’ Championship. If the race-fixing allegations against Renault are proven, one can only imagine how dramatically the FIA will react.

UPDATE 12 September: Falvio Briatore hits back with counter claims of blackmail, backed by Renault launching legal action against both Nelson Piquet Jr and Nelson Piquet Sr.

[Source: F1SA | Thanks to Tim for the tip]