Formula One 2009

[Fry_4000]

ferrari have said he'll be reserve driver next season so for the sake of five races he will most likely not race at all next season

[hugobomb]

Renault called to face fix charge

Alonso was put into position to win in Singapore by his team-mate's crash

Formula One's governing body has summoned Renault to a hearing to answer charges that they fixed the outcome of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

The French team are accused of plotting with driver Nelson Piquet Jr to crash in the race to deploy the safety car.

The incident aided Piquet's team-mate Fernando Alonso, with the Spaniard going on to claim victory.

If found guilty, the team face severe sanctions which could include expulsion from the current F1 world championship.

"Representatives of ING Renault F1 have been requested to appear before an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Monday, 21 September 2009," read a statement on the FIA website.

"The team representatives have been called to answer charges, including a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, that the team conspired with its driver, Nelson Piquet Jr, to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix with the aim of causing the deployment of the safety car to the advantage of its other driver, Fernando Alonso."

606: DEBATE

FIA must have found some ground evidence that proved that Renault fixed the race or this meeting would not of been called

Hammydigrassi says Football and F1 are Great

Renault said they would not make any comment until after the hearing.

The FIA first started investigating the matter after the initial claim of fixing was made by a Brazilian TV station during the Belgian GP in August.

Alonso won the Singapore GP in 2008 when Piquet crashed two laps after the Spaniard had come in for a routine pit stop.

That meant that when race officials sent out the safety car to clear up the debris from Piquet's car, Alonso was alone among the front-runners in not having to stop for fuel and tyres.

At the time, Piquet attributed the crash to a simple error, but he was dropped by Renault after July's Hungarian Grand Prix and has since been outspoken in his criticism of Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said earlier this week that both Renault and Piquet Jr would be in serious trouble if the investigation uncovered any type of race-fixing activity.

He said the negative publicity might lead Renault to pull out of the sport, following the departures of manufacturers Honda and BMW Sauber.

The Brazilian specifically cited unequal treatment between himself and two-time world champion Alonso as the source of his discontent.

Former world champions Renault have already been in the FIA dock this season.

They were banned for one race after a wheel flew off Alonso's car at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

However, the suspension, which would have ruled Alonso out of his home race in Valencia in August, was lifted on appeal.

Looks like Renault could be in HUGE trouble if they turn out to be guilty. They'd be kicked out of this years championship surely?

[GA!]

It's an odd situation. Personally, I don't think it's true, that or Nelson Piquet Jr was too dumb to blackmail Renault into keeping him on the team until the end of the season despite being a very shit driver. And now he's done this, unless it's proven 100% that he is telling the truth, he has blackballed himself from Formula 1.

If Renault are guilty, their points and money from 2008 will be null and void, as will 2009's amount.

Here's the video of Piquet crashing (silent): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbMZ7bs7e3o

And here's one of him doing the same... on the warm-up lap:

And here's Piquet doing what he does best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ojfR3xS8FA

[TheArsenal]

ferrari have said he'll be reserve driver next season so for the sake of five races he will most likely not race at all next season

Both Massa and Kimi have their contracts expiring at the end of next season - so if Ferrari can't get hold of Alonso or Kubica I see Fisi coming back in.

Edited September 5, 2009 by TheArsenal

[GA!]

ferrari have said he'll be reserve driver next season so for the sake of five races he will most likely not race at all next season

Both Massa and Kimi have their contracts expiring at the end of next season - so if Ferrari can't get hold of Alonso or Kubica I see Fisi coming back in.

They should get hold of Alonso or Kubica, being Ferrari and all.

I think what we're seeing is Fisichella in the twilight of his career, racing his last five races in Formula 1 before making the (quite common) switch to test driver.

[TheArsenal]

I think the reason they may not get Kubica is his status is very uncertain with BMW Sauber pulling out at the end of this year. It may mean he doesn't have a seat next year, or may sign a new, longer contract with a new team - so he may be unavailable when Ferrari go looking for someone else.

As far as Alonso is concerned, the widespread view is that Renault are simply babysitting him while Ferrari make room for him on their team, but I'm not sure of his contractual committments to the Renault team.

[erperro]

Here in Spain, the word is that Alonso will go to Ferrari after Santander announces a new deal to sponsor the team in 2010.

[Katsuya]

So, yeah. Liuzzi has replaced Fisi at Force India, which was no surprise. When he said a couple of races ago to the BBC that he pretty much had a race seat sorted for next year, it did play on my mind that Fisi was going to drop out of F1 as a driver - and I'm pretty sure that moving to Ferrari to do that is the perfect way for him to end his career.

Other little tidbits of news: should Alonso be DQ'd from the Singapore Grand Prix, that would make Nico Rosberg a Grand Prix winner, which he seems to be looking forward to. It would also mean that retrospectively, Lewis would have had to finish 7th or higher to win the title in Brazil last year. And if you wiped Alonso clean out of 2008, I'm gonna assume Lewis would have won by an ever bigger margin over Massa (since Alonso typically seemed to finish behind Massa but ahead of Lewis towards the end). And Mercedes are reportedly going to buy 40% of Brawn, which'd make things fun for McLaren...

[maninblack]

Nelson Piquet Jr. was interviewed by the FIA, which has made its way to the media.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21798.html

Full statement below, bolded portions are what I've highlighted.

The gist is he's alleging Briatore and Symonds asked him to crash his car in Singapore to help Alonso win.

Nelson Piquet's FIA statement revealed

The legal statement made to the FIA by Nelson Piquet Jr has been leaked to the F1SA website. It is not clear how this has happened but we believe that the World Council dossier has been sent out and the leak must come from one of the members.

The statement made is as follows:

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. Domenique Costesec (Sidley Austin LLP).

Signed:

Nelson Piquet Jr.

[erperro]

So, the only ones who knew that were Piquet, Briatore and Symonds. But I think they were lucky that the plan was succesful

[Adam]

That's outrageous. They should be chucked out of the Championship never to return, utterly disgraceful. Nelson is no better for agreeing to this, but I think the majority of the blame has to go to Briatore and Symonds, were they thinking?

[TheArsenal]

That's outrageous. They should be chucked out of the Championship never to return, utterly disgraceful. Nelson is no better for agreeing to this, but I think the majority of the blame has to go to Briatore and Symonds, were they thinking?

What Pique did was wrong - but seriously, when a boss calls you into his office and tells you to do something - and you know your job is on the line and this could get you into his good books and maybe get you a new contract - you're probably going to do it.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Awesome from Hamilton yet again, just great to see him near his best again. Looking forward to the race tomorrow after that.

[Adam]

Terrific result today for Brawn, the title race is now really between the two you would think, Red Bull lost major ground today. Shame for Liuzzi for his car to pack in on him like that, but at least Sutil got points.

Big LOL at Hamilton as well, crashing on the last lap from third. Maybe people will start listening when I say Hamilton is a poor driver, or, the more likely response is to come up with some excuse for him committing yet another silly driver error.

[maninblack]

Kinda harsh to rubbish the guy as a poor driver when he managed to win a race. It can't be all down to luck.

But damn, Hamilton overdid it at Monza :/

On another note...go Reubens for WDC!

Edited September 13, 2009 by maninblack

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Terrific result today for Brawn, the title race is now really between the two you would think, Red Bull lost major ground today. Shame for Liuzzi for his car to pack in on him like that, but at least Sutil got points.

Big LOL at Hamilton as well, crashing on the last lap from third. Maybe people will start listening when I say Hamilton is a poor driver, or, the more likely response is to come up with some excuse for him committing yet another silly driver error.

Or he's just a driver who's damn exciting and makes F1 watchable at times? Just because he had a crash today doesn't make him a poor driver. And sorry, but poor drivers don't win championships, so your claim is ridiculous. I know you've got something against the guy just because he's popular and all, but there's no need to start talking sheer rubbish and claiming he's a poor driver, when he's actually a fantastic driver.

[Adam]

Terrific result today for Brawn, the title race is now really between the two you would think, Red Bull lost major ground today. Shame for Liuzzi for his car to pack in on him like that, but at least Sutil got points.

Big LOL at Hamilton as well, crashing on the last lap from third. Maybe people will start listening when I say Hamilton is a poor driver, or, the more likely response is to come up with some excuse for him committing yet another silly driver error.

Or he's just a driver who's damn exciting and makes F1 watchable at times? Just because he had a crash today doesn't make him a poor driver. And sorry, but poor drivers don't win championships, so your claim is ridiculous. I know you've got something against the guy just because he's popular and all, but there's no need to start talking sheer rubbish and claiming he's a poor driver, when he's actually a fantastic driver.

Please do not make assumptions, I do not dislike him or anyone because they are 'popular'. In fact, most F1 fans I know do not like him (admittedly that is around half a dozen people, but my point stands'. I think I did word it wrong looking back, I've made the point before that anyone in F1 cannot be a bad driver, so really I chose my words wrongly. But, he is not a great driver, and makes far too many rookie mistaks for a supposed world champion.

I don't like him because of his attitude, which has improved this season, and because he seems to have been groomed for the McLaren seat since a young age. Also, things like the ridiculous goings on in Australia just show him to be a detestable man, and things like that won't endear him to everybody. For me, everybody jumped on the bandwagon purely because he's British, and was immediately successful.

[Rich]

Terrific result today for Brawn, the title race is now really between the two you would think, Red Bull lost major ground today. Shame for Liuzzi for his car to pack in on him like that, but at least Sutil got points.

Big LOL at Hamilton as well, crashing on the last lap from third. Maybe people will start listening when I say Hamilton is a poor driver, or, the more likely response is to come up with some excuse for him committing yet another silly driver error.

Or he's just a driver who's damn exciting and makes F1 watchable at times? Just because he had a crash today doesn't make him a poor driver. And sorry, but poor drivers don't win championships, so your claim is ridiculous. I know you've got something against the guy just because he's popular and all, but there's no need to start talking sheer rubbish and claiming he's a poor driver, when he's actually a fantastic driver.

Please do not make assumptions, I do not dislike him or anyone because they are 'popular'. In fact, most F1 fans I know do not like him (admittedly that is around half a dozen people, but my point stands'. I think I did word it wrong looking back, I've made the point before that anyone in F1 cannot be a bad driver, so really I chose my words wrongly. But, he is not a great driver, and makes far too many rookie mistaks for a supposed world champion.

I don't like him because of his attitude, which has improved this season, and because he seems to have been groomed for the McLaren seat since a young age. Also, things like the ridiculous goings on in Australia just show him to be a detestable man, and things like that won't endear him to everybody. For me, everybody jumped on the bandwagon purely because he's British, and was immediately successful.

I have not always been the best Hamilton fan, but to say something about him making what you call "rookie mistakes" is a bit rich, he made a mistake while on the ragged edge, much like a certain Mr Schumacher has done before, and a certain Brazilian called Ayrton Senna did in the 1980's for Mclaren at Monaco, but we do not ever question their greatness, no driver can drive on the edge all the time and never make mistakes, no matter how good a driver that person is no one is perfect. Hamilton, alongside Raikonen, has shown himself to be just about the best driver on the grid this season, wringing performances out of a car that until recently hasn't even been very competitive. To call Hamilton a poor driver when he consistently outperforms his teammate by a considerable distance means you are being very myopic and to be honest it seems that as you stated you don't like him because of his attitude and whatnot, just shows me that your opinion of him as a person (I honestly feel similar that his attitude until more recently has not being very good) is clouding your opinion of him as a talent and a driver.

[maninblack]

Terrific result today for Brawn, the title race is now really between the two you would think, Red Bull lost major ground today. Shame for Liuzzi for his car to pack in on him like that, but at least Sutil got points.

Big LOL at Hamilton as well, crashing on the last lap from third. Maybe people will start listening when I say Hamilton is a poor driver, or, the more likely response is to come up with some excuse for him committing yet another silly driver error.

Or he's just a driver who's damn exciting and makes F1 watchable at times? Just because he had a crash today doesn't make him a poor driver. And sorry, but poor drivers don't win championships, so your claim is ridiculous. I know you've got something against the guy just because he's popular and all, but there's no need to start talking sheer rubbish and claiming he's a poor driver, when he's actually a fantastic driver.

Please do not make assumptions, I do not dislike him or anyone because they are 'popular'. In fact, most F1 fans I know do not like him (admittedly that is around half a dozen people, but my point stands'. I think I did word it wrong looking back, I've made the point before that anyone in F1 cannot be a bad driver, so really I chose my words wrongly. But, he is not a great driver, and makes far too many rookie mistaks for a supposed world champion.

I don't like him because of his attitude, which has improved this season, and because he seems to have been groomed for the McLaren seat since a young age. Also, things like the ridiculous goings on in Australia just show him to be a detestable man, and things like that won't endear him to everybody. For me, everybody jumped on the bandwagon purely because he's British, and was immediately successful.

Or maybe it's just because he's black

And what's wrong with jumping on the bandwagon? People do tend to support someone being labeled the next big thing, especially if the guy actually lives up to the hype. It's not as if Hamilton is doing Piquet Jr. levels of fail. The guy may have started out as a novelty, but he has managed to deliver.

Edited September 13, 2009 by maninblack

[hackerjack]

But, he is not a great driver, and makes far too many rookie mistaks for a supposed world champion.

That's because HE IS A ROOKIE!

In equal cars I would still back Hamilton to be up there just behind Alonso and Raikkonnen (when motivated) as the top 3 drivers on the grid at the moment. Every driver makes mistakes in their first 2 or 3 seasons and the fact that Hamilton has had the best car for two years has actually elongated that process as he had rarely had to make up time for a bad car before.

If he is guilty of anything in the race this week it was in not realising that the game was up and making sure of the finish. The Brawns simply had more pace on the same fuel and I believe that if Hamilton had got closer they would have both gone faster anyway. Button was more than happen with second and wasn't exactly wringing the neck of the Brawn fo the last 10 laps.

I don't like him because of his attitude, which has improved this season, and because he seems to have been groomed for the McLaren seat since a young age.

I hate it when people roll out those excuses. Exactly what about his attitude is wrong? He expects to win things, he is unhappy when he doesn't win, he does not like to lose, what is wrong with that? He has always been gushingly appreciative about the people at McLaren who help him get where he is right from the top down to the guy who changes the wheels, everyone in the team loves the guy, does this speak to you of someone with a bad attitude? As far as being groomed is concerned that is nothing but jealousy and the typical hate for anyone successful, he was groomed because of his talent, there's no difference there from any other sport.

For me, everybody jumped on the bandwagon purely because he's British, and was immediately successful.

I agree, but not about the same bandwagon. For me people only started to really dislike Hamilton because he is British and had immediate success. We do that here, whether it's genuinely the love of the underdog or simple jealousy, we turn on our own the moment they show any sustained sign of success, the same has happenned with Tim Henman, Andy Murray, Phil Taylor, Lennox Lewis, Naseem Hamed, Amir Khan, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Nick Faldo, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry. It happenned with Jenson Button too but now after years witha poor car he is seen as 'fresh' again. Mark my words this time in 2 years we will see backlashes against Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and Jess Ennis as well if they keep winning things.