[F1] F1 Nieuwtjestopic #55 - Flavio aan de schandpaal?

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Op maandag 21 september 2009 18:18 schreef Sally het volgende:

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En jij denkt dat Alonso dat toe zal staan, dat zijn team eruit stapt?

Ik denk dat Renault in z'n handjes knijpt nu met die milde straf.

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Op maandag 21 september 2009 18:27 schreef vosss het volgende:
Ik vind de straf ook veel te laag, maar wie weet is er in achterkamertjes gewoon besproken van jongens, jullie komen weg met een voorwaardelijke straf als jullie zelf de stekker eruit trekken en anders moeten jullie heel diep in de buidel gaan tasten.

Ik denk in ieder geval dat het laatste er nog niet over gezegd is en ben benieuwd of Renault aan blijft of niet

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Engines - who has how many left?

Each driver may use a maximum of eight engines this season. Anything beyond that and they get a ten-place grid penalty per additional engine. With just four races remaining, most drivers are getting near the end of their allocation, meaning reliability will play an increasingly important role as the 2009 campaign approaches its finale.

Below is a list of how many new engines each driver has used thus far. If you drive a Renault, or have a Ferrari V8 behind you, then things are looking pretty rosy. If your name is Vettel, however, then you are probably slightly worried. The one unknown, of course, is how many of each driver’s used engines is still useable - and how much life each has left in it…

McLaren-Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton - 7
Heikki Kovalainen - 7

Ferrari
Giancarlo Fisichella - 6
Kimi Raikkonen - 6

BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica - 7
Nick Heidfeld - 7

Renault (boooo)
Fernando Alonso - 6
Romain Grosjean - 6

Toyota
Jarno Trulli - 7
Timo Glock - 7

STR-Ferrari
Jaime Alguersuari - 6
Sebastien Buemi - 6

RBR-Renault
Mark Webber - 7
Sebastian Vettel - 8

Williams-Toyota
Nico Rosberg - 7
Kazuki Nakajima - 7

Force India-Mercedes
Adrian Sutil - 7
Vitantonio Liuzzi - 7

Brawn-Mercedes
Jenson Button - 7
Rubens Barrichello - 7

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Op maandag 21 september 2009 18:27 schreef vosss het volgende:
Ik vind de straf ook veel te laag, maar wie weet is er in achterkamertjes gewoon besproken van jongens, jullie komen weg met een voorwaardelijke straf als jullie zelf de stekker eruit trekken en anders moeten jullie heel diep in de buidel gaan tasten.

Ik denk in ieder geval dat het laatste er nog niet over gezegd is en ben benieuwd of Renault aan blijft of niet

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Nelson Piquet Jr says Flavio Briatore drove him to his lowest ebb
^{September 21, 2009}

Nelson Piquet Jr launched a scathing attack on former Renault boss Flavio Briatore and expressed bitter regret for his own role in Formula One’s race-fixing controversy today.

After Renault were handed a suspended two-year ban by the FIA, the sport's governing body, for ordering Piquet to crash in Singapore last year, the Brazilian driver said he hoped another team would give him the chance to "start from zero".

Piquet, who went to the FIA to expose what had happened after he had been dropped by the team in August, said in an emotional statement that his time at Renault under Briatore had been a nightmare.

“Having dreamed of being a Formula One driver and having worked so hard to get there, I found myself at the mercy of Mr Briatore,” he said.

“His true character, which had previously only been known to those he had treated like this in the past, is now known.

“Mr Briatore was my manager as well as the team boss, he had my future in his hands but he cared nothing for it. By the time of the Singapore GP he had isolated me and driven me to the lowest point I had ever reached in my life,” he added.

The FIA banned Briatore, who manages four other F1 drivers apart from Piquet, from the sport for life. Briatore and engineering head Pat Symonds had already left the Renault team.

“I am relieved that the FIA investigation has now been concluded,” Piquet added, apologising to fans and the FIA.

“Those now running the Renault F1 team took the decision, as I did, that it is better that the truth be known and accept the consequences.

“The most positive thing to come from bringing this to the attention of the FIA is that nothing like it will ever happen again.

“I bitterly regret my actions to follow the orders I was given. I wish every day that I had not done it,” he said.

Piquet, whose father and namesake was a triple world champion, said he could not now believe he agreed to the plan presented to him on the morning of the race by Briatore and Symonds.

“Listening now to Mr Briatore’s reaction to my crash and hearing the comments he has made to the press over the last two weeks it is clear to me that I was simply being used by him then to be discarded and left to ridicule,” he said.

Piquet, who was handed immunity from prosecution by the FIA in return for telling the truth, said he would have to start his career from scratch and did not expect to be forgiven or forgotten.

“I can only hope that a team will recognise how badly I was stifled at Renault and give me an opportunity to show what I promised in my career in F3 and GP2,” he said.

“What can be assured is that there will be no driver in Formula One as determined as me to prove myself.”

Briatore dismissed all allegations against him at the Italian Grand Prix earlier this month.

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Prost close to Renault-deal

After earlier reporting that former Formula One World Champion Alain Prost is the possible successor of former Renault F1 Team boss Flavio Briatore, the signs that this news is correct are growing stronger.

Prost declared to the French newspaper 'Sud-Ouest': "It remains to be seen how Renault is staying in F1 and with what strategy.

"It depends completely on the project. At the moment it's difficult to talk about it. The situation is very complicated. Let's wait and see."

Today, the World Motor Sport Council decided to suspend Renault F1’s disqualification until the end of the 2011 season. The World Motor Sport Council will only activate this disqualification if Renault F1 is found guilty of a comparable breach during that time.

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Op maandag 21 september 2009 18:44 schreef Dos37 het volgende:
Flavio

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Op maandag 21 september 2009 19:00 schreef LeXX het volgende:

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En vergeet Symonds niet... Ik dacht dat hij ook immuniteit had gekregen, maar hij is 5 jaar verbannen van FIA-events!?

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Op maandag 21 september 2009 18:59 schreef Googolplexian het volgende:

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Op maandag 21 september 2009 18:30 schreef Tarado het volgende:

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Ik heb de indruk dat het juist andersom is gegaan "als jullie willen dat we in F1 blijven geen boete", maar goed dit zullen we inderdaad af moeten wachten.

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Op maandag 21 september 2009 21:14 schreef bodylotion het volgende:

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dat denk ik ook, maar we zullen zien.

ze hebben inderdaad mazzel met die straf - of eigenlijk, geen straf. Hoewel Renault wel verantwoordelijk is natuurlijk, denk ik dat dit een eenmansactie is geweest binnen het team (maar dan door 3 personen _)
Zal me niks verbazen als de rest van het team er helemaal geen fuck vanaf wist. En daarom wordt het Renault zelf ook niet zo zwaar aangerekend.

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Op maandag 21 september 2009 21:16 schreef Googolplexian het volgende:

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Dus jij gelooft dat Renault ECHT een intern eigen onderzoek heeft gedaan en zodoende binnen een paar dagen met de pootjes omhoog op de rug is gaan liggen?

Ikzelf denk dat Renault hiervan af wist en op het moment dat het in 't open kwam van Flavio en Symmonds een pispaal gemaakt.

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Op dinsdag 22 september 2009 00:11 schreef bodylotion het volgende:

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ja. alsof flavio het aan de grote klok gaat hangen binnen het team.

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Williams wil volgend jaar met KERS rijden
22 september 2009

Het team van Williams werkt achter de schermen nog altijd aan de ontwikkeling van een Kinetic Energy Recovery System. Zo heeft technisch directeur Sam Michael laten weten. De Britse renstal hoopt volgend jaar voor het eerst met KERS te kunnen rijden.

"KERS is nog altijd opgenomen in de regels voor volgend jaar. We blijven daarom verder werken aan de ontwikkeling van ons systeem. Ons plan is om het systeem volgend jaar te introduceren op de FW32-auto", zei Sam Michael. "We staan volledig achter het idee van KERS. KERS is erg positief voor de sport, aangezien de Formule 1 steeds meer zal draaien om duurzaamheid en milieuvriendelijkheid."

Williams werkt aan een vliegwielsysteem om de energie die vrijkomt bij het remmen op te slaan. Andere KERS-systemen maken hiervoor gebruik van een batterij.

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Op dinsdag 22 september 2009 13:02 schreef bodylotion het volgende:
even iets heel anders:
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Following the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council held in Paris on 21 September 2009, the FIA has published the complete dossier of evidence, the official decision, and a recording of the proceedings.

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Op dinsdag 22 september 2009 15:09 schreef Libris het volgende:
Even tussendoor, de voorbereidingen voor Singapore GP zijn in volle gang. Deze foto's zijn afgelopen zondag gemaakt.

[ afbeelding ]

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En nog een paar uit het reuzenrad
[ afbeelding ]
De safety car is gearriveerd

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De start/finish

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Het materiaal is gearriveerd, Ferrari en McLaren

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Overzicht van de eerste bochten

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[ afbeelding ]
Rest van het circuit

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Op dinsdag 22 september 2009 20:31 schreef Tarado het volgende:
@Libris, kan nu de foto's zien; top

Verder nog onderstaand de links naar de press releases van de FIA:
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http://fialive.fiacommuni(...)c_dossier_210909.pdf

http://fialive.fiacommuni(...)ts/wmsc_decision.pdf

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Furthermore, it does not intend to grant or renew any Superlicence granted to any
driver who is associated (through a management contract or otherwise) with Mr
Briatore, or any entity or individual associated with Mr Briatore.

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Op dinsdag 22 september 2009 23:42 schreef vosss het volgende:

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Het is dat ik er nu de centen niet voor heb, anders kwam ik ff partycrashen bij je dit weekend

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_{SEPTEMBER 22, 2009}
A second witness against Briatore and Symonds!

The FIA has issued documents and recordings of the World Motor Sport Council hearing into the Renault-Singapore Affair. This is fascinating as it reveals that there was a second witness to confirm Nelson Piquet's claims, known only as WItness X, described as another member of the Renault F1 team who, although not a conspirator himself, knew of the conspiracy at the time of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. This witness was found by Renault F1. The team stated in its submissions of 17 September 2009 that Witness X had confirmed that Mr Briatore had known of the deliberate crash plan before it had been put into effect.

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Op woensdag 23 september 2009 02:40 schreef Googolplexian het volgende:
Ah ...
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Vandaar...

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James Allen on the race-fix verdict
^{Tuesday, 22 September 2009 10:38}

Renault’s admission of guilt in the Singapore race-fixing scandal resulted in a suspended sentence for the team, but much more severe punishments for the key perpetrators, including Flavio Briatore’s permanent exile from Formula 1.

ITV.com/F1 columnist James Allen gives his reaction to the World Motor Sport Council decision and considers the precedent it sets.


I’m not overly surprised at the verdict as far as Flavio Briatore is concerned.

The moment the scandal came to light with all the reams of evidence and Briatore denied it, you knew that this was where this was heading.

Much has been made of Max Mosley wanting Briatore’s head in the same way he wanted Ron Dennis’s head, and there is some truth to this, but it’s not the full story.

Briatore was one of the main cheerleaders for FOTA, driving them on to criticise the FIA’s governance and launch a breakaway series.

It was no coincidence that the vote to break away was taken in a meeting at Renault’s HQ on the Thursday evening of the British Grand Prix, when Briatore provided the champagne with which they toasted their decision.

By all accounts Briatore wanted to be the commercial guru of the breakaway series and was very much the driving force.

Around the same time the European manufacturers’ association issued a statement saying it was time for a change of governance, heaping the pressure on Mosley, who accepted a deal to stand down in return for getting some of the cost-restriction agreements he was looking for.

So there was ‘history’ between Mosley and Briatore – but this Singapore saga was not started by Mosley.

It was started by Nelson Piquet, who was happy to keep quiet about it as long as he had a drive with Renault, but who decided to spill the beans after he was fired.

Once Piquet came forward, Mosley had no choice but to investigate and, as with Dennis, he found that his adversary had presented him with a gilt-edged opportunity.

I am slightly surprised by the outcome as far as Renault and Piquet are concerned.

Renault have been let off with a two-year suspended ban. This was decided on the basis that the punishment for the offence was disqualification, but because they had taken steps to get their house in order and remove the perpetrators, and because they presented an open and honest case to the Federation, the ban was suspended.

Not only that but they would have to do something comparable for the ban to kick in, which is highly unlikely.

I expected some kind of fine, something which would give manufacturers and parent companies a heads-up that they should take care to whom they hand over responsibility for racing in their name.

As for Piquet, he escapes scot-free, which the public and the F1 community will find very hard to accept.

Clearly he was hell-bent on telling his side of the story anyway, to bring down Briatore, so he may have given his testimony without the need for immunity, perhaps in return for a more lenient sentence.

To have allowed him to walk away with nothing sends out a rather odd signal.

Effectively the precedent set by this judgement (and the McLaren ‘liegate’ one too) is that if a team does something seriously wrong in future, the whistleblower can claim immunity and, as long as the management is removed, the team will escape punishment.

But things change quickly in F1 and in a month’s time we will have a new FIA president who might take a different view.

Both candidates propose a revised disciplinary system, which is less reliant on the World Council. So perhaps this precedent will not live long.

But the FIA must always keep an eye out for the credibility of the sport and of its judgements.

It hasn’t got it wrong here, but it has set itself up for criticism if it behaves very differently next time a team over steps the mark.

Let us hope, however, that we never see a team doing what Renault did at Singapore 2008 again.

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FIA vice-president claims decision reached before WMSC hearing
^23/09/2009

The president of the United Arab Emirates' Automobile Club (ATCUAE), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has said that that the result of Monday's WMSC hearing had been agreed beforehand.

Furthermore, Ben Sulayem indicates that issues other than the case in hand were taken into consideration when reaching a decision.

"We did our negotiations before and everybody is happy with the result," he told a local newspaper, according to the Guardian. "The verdict is fair and everyone is a winner.

"I had to be loyal to my country as well as motor sport," he continued, referring to the fact that his country is on the verge of hosting its first ever round of the Formula One World Championship, the 2009 season finale in Abu Dhabi. "Protecting the investments Abu Dhabi has made into Formula One is my duty; it is a big show and it needs teams.

"We all want to see Renault (in F1)," he added. "This is the result everyone wanted."

It should be noted that Ben Sulayem, a champion rally driver who famously crashed a Renault F1 car during a 'drag race' with Romain Grosjean (Ford GT40) at the Dubai Autodrome in April this year - though not deliberately - was recently named as Vice President of the FIA for Sport in (presidency hopeful) Jean Todt's candidacy team.

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Nelson Piquet’s career in F1

So what happens next in the career of Nelson Piquet Jr? There has been much noise about the rights and wrongs of what he did in Singapore last year and whether or not he should have been granted immunity by the FIA. I agree that Nelson Piquet should have said no, but he did not. The defence that he was only following orders – often called the Nuremburg Defense, because it was used by Nazi war criminals during the Nuremberg Trials – is not acceptable. The judges at the time ruled that provided a moral choice was possible, a person was not relieved of his or her responsibilities because they were ordered to do something. Today the argument is used to mitigate a penalty, but it does not excuse the person involved.

I am big fan of Derek Warwick but I do not agree with remarks he has made in recent days to my colleagues at www.crash.net saying that Piquet should be banned for life. Nelson must share some of the blame, but he did help to bring the real culprits to justice. The scandal may make life difficult for him.

“I would never, ever, ever employ Nelson Piquet Jr again,” Warwick said. “What I struggle with is that for me, what he’s done – breaking the confidence of a team on an agreement that he had – is outrageous, and I think that’s something he has to now live with for the rest of his life. I don’t think there’s a team out there that will employ him. What’s that saying, ‘what goes away stays away’? I could tell a few stories, I could write a few books – but they’re confidences.”

Warwick’s argument is probably a realistic reflection of the way motor racing is, but this does not make it right. There should be no need for “confidences”. Clearly if Nelson was giving important technical secrets to another team that would be a breach of confidence, but if a team has nothing to hide, it has nothing to fear. The cynics might add that the team would probably not be competitive, but one likes to try to think the best of people until proven otherwise.

In any case, I also do not believe that Piquet’s behaviour will have any effect on teams deciding whether or not to hire him. Let us not forget that in 2007 Fernando Alonso provided the FIA with information that resulted in his team (McLaren) getting into huge trouble. Worse than that, he allegedly tried to use this information to persuade McLaren to make him the team number one. McLaren called his bluff. This was certainly a breach of confidence (as defined by Warwick), and one might use other more emotive words to describe elements of the story, and yet not only is Alonso still employed in F1, but he is also about to be signed by Ferrari.

So why would one rule apply for Piquet and another for Alonso? The reality is very simple. Alonso is super-fast. Piquet thus far has not been. Perhaps if he was given another F1 car he would be able to show his ability. But will he be given another chance? He has had two years with Renault and apart from a fortunate podium in Germany in 2008 had little to show for it. It is doubtful that any team would bother when there are always new boys coming up. Nelson is fortunate in that with the help of his old man he might be able to raise some cash that would make him attractive to a team down at the back of the field. He might use this to rebuild his reputation.

He has made an important mistake and it may ruin his career, but Nelson Jr has money and contacts and you don’t win a British Formula 3 title and five GP2 races against the very best drivers of your generation without having some basic ability.

Perhaps the story is not over yet.

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Jonathan Noble op Twitter
My sources say Raikkonen's future is still totally up in the air - so don't believe stories that he has an outline agreement with McLaren.

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Vergunning circuit Spa-Francorchamps geschorst

BRUSSEL - De vergunning die het gebruik van het circuit van Spa-Francorchamps in België tot 2026 toelaat, is geschorst. Dat heeft de Franstalige krant La Libre Belgique woensdag gemeld. Dat betekent dat er voorlopig geen races kunnen plaatsvinden.


© ANP
De Belgische Raad van State schorste de vergunning naar aanleiding van een klacht van buurtbewoners. Die dienden de klacht over geluidsoverlast twee jaar geleden in.
Bij de in april 2007 verleende exploitatievergunning stond als voorwaarde dat er een studie zou worden uitgevoerd naar de geluidsoverlast. Volgens de Raad van State is de uitgevoerde studie echter ''zwaar ontoereikend en met lacunes''.

Omdat de raad niet kan waarborgen dat gebruik van het circuit geen ''ernstige moeilijk te herstellen schade veroorzaakt'', is de vergunning geschorst.
Het bestuur van het circuit zegt te werken aan een oplossing. Of de Belgische Grand Prix in 2010 in gevaar komt is vooralsnog onduidelijk.

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Op woensdag 23 september 2009 13:43 schreef bloodymary het volgende:
Wie gaat er nou klagen over geluidsoverlast als hij vlakbij een circuit gaat wonen. Ze moeten trots zijn dat ze daar wonen!

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Op woensdag 23 september 2009 13:43 schreef bloodymary het volgende:
Wie gaat er nou klagen over geluidsoverlast als hij vlakbij een circuit gaat wonen. Ze moeten trots zijn dat ze daar wonen!

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Op woensdag 23 september 2009 13:54 schreef Klonk het volgende:
maar een trein heeft een mooi geitenwollensokkenimago, motorsport maakt herrie en is uitgevonden door satan himself, dat is een verschil

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Op woensdag 23 september 2009 13:58 schreef Klonk het volgende:
ach, binnenkort kunnen we niets meer zondag, volgend jaar mogen we niet meer winkelen van de gristenunie, races afschaffen zal het volgende zijn, alles voor de ultieme zondagsrust

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Op woensdag 23 september 2009 13:43 schreef bloodymary het volgende:
Wie gaat er nou klagen over geluidsoverlast als hij vlakbij een circuit gaat wonen. Ze moeten trots zijn dat ze daar wonen!

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Renault has appointed Bob Bell as its new stand-in team principal in the wake of the departure of Flavio Briatore for his involvement in the Singapore Grand Prix race-fix controversy.

Bell, who was the team's technical director, will take charge in the temporary restructure that will remain in place until the end of the season. He will also be the outfit's chief technical officer.

As part of the reshuffle forced about by the events of recent weeks, Jean-François Caubet, currently director of marketing and communications, will become the team's managing director.

A statement issued by Renault said about Bell and Caubet: "They will both report to Bernard Rey, President of the Renault F1 Team.

"Bob Bell will attend all the remaining races of the season and will be the team's spokesperson on all sporting and technical matters.

"The Renault F1 Team is now ready to concentrate on the future and wishes to stress that no further comments or statements will be issued relating to the events of Singapore 2008."

Bell, who started out in the aviation industry before arriving in Formula 1 with McLaren in 1982, first joined Renault when it was still known as Benetton in 1997.

Following a brief period with Jordan, he returned to the now Renault factory squad as technical director in 2002, overseeing the team's world championship triumphs of 2005 and 2006, and working under engineering director Pat Symonds, who like Briatore departed last week due to the Singapore scandal.