Briatore quits F1 over Piquet crash

[Easy 10]

Looks like Piquet called Briatore's bluff last week, and this is the result.

Briatore: "We have initiated action against the two Piquets for blackmail,” said Briatore, who is furious that the allegations against him and his team have been so widely leaked in the past few days. “I think we are very confident that the truth will come out.”

Piquet: "Regarding the current FIA investigation, I confirm that I have co-operated fully and honestly with the sport’s governing body,” Piquet said. “Because I am telling the truth I have nothing to fear, whether from the ING Renault team or Mr Briatore, and, whilst I am well aware of the power and influence of those being investigated, and the vast resources at their disposal, I will not be bullied again into making a decision I regret.”

f***ed you right up, didn't he Flavio.

 

[Normal Rob]

"please deliberately crash into the wall" is a bit of a stretch.

I would love it, just LOVE IT, if they had actually said that!

 

[Jim D]

It's not uncommon for them to use codewords during radio transmissions but to have for for "please deliberately crash into the wall" is a bit of a stretch.

Perhaps they just said 'turn left now' as he approached a right hand corner?

 

[strings]

A lot of planning would have had to go into this, as he had to crash at the exact point in the circuit where only a crane and marshalls on track could recover his car. It strikes me that there is more to this than a case of 'just crash on lap 14'.

I hope the punishment is proportionate to team and driver. I also hope Alonso gets his race win taken away for this.

 

[Garage_Doors]

Just read the transcript
- Times Online
and Piquets statement
F1SA - Motorsport: News channel - F1 : Full copy of Nelson Piquet Jr. statement to the FIA on 30 July 2009 ( and scroll down)

& all the answers to question raised in this thread are in there.

One quote i saw on a web site was interesting though.

"As Massa was leading at the time it is most likely that he would have scored some points. So not only did Piquet destroy his own future, he also influenced the outcome of the championship.


I can't remember and cant be arsed t look, but if Massa was in fact leading prior to the Safety car, then it almost certainly have influenced the outcome of the championship

 

[Garage_Doors]

A lot of planning would have had to go into this, as he had to crash at the exact point in the circuit where only a crane and marshalls on track could recover his car. It strikes me that there is more to this than a case of 'just crash on lap 14'.

Completely right, the planning of it is all in Nelson's statement.

 

[JJ McClure]

Didn't Massa screw up the race all on his own by driving off with the fuel rig still attached?

 

[Hannibal smith]

I can't remember and cant be arsed t look, but if Massa was in fact leading prior to the Safety car, then it almost certainly have influenced the outcome of the championship

Massa was leading and looked like has was going to win the race easily. When the safety car came out he pitted and drove off with the fuel pump still attached to his car. This was effectively an 8 point swing in the Championship in Hamilton’s favour. Hamilton finished 3rd and Massa out of the points. Without the safety car it is not unreasonable to assume that Massa would have got at least 2 more than Hamilton. In other words Massa would have easily won the Championship.

And people say Jenson Button is lucky.

 

[strings]

Didn't Massa screw up the race all on his own by driving off with the fuel rig still attached?

Yes, yes he did.

I guess Hannibal's point is equally valid too, had there been no safety car, the pit pit stop would have been 'as planned' and not rushed (as pit stop inevitably are during safety car sessions). That small difference may have caused Massa's pit crew to have been calmer and hence not release Massa with the fuel hose still attached.

It seems to me that Renault rigging the race has opened a mahoosive can of worms...

 

[Turkey]

If Ferrari hadn't f***ed up their pit stop he would have still scored more points than Hamilton. So yeah the crash triggered it but plenty of other teams made their pit stops without a problem.

 

[Everest]

It's all IFs and BUTs, BUT who's to say that Massa's pit stop wouldn't have been cocked up IF there was no safety car? The whole race would have ended up different, so nobody can say this or that would have happened.

 

[willingdon_seagull]

It's all IFs and BUTs, BUT who's to say that Massa's pit stop wouldn't have been cocked up IF there was no safety car? The whole race would have ended up different, so nobody can say this or that would have happened.

Exactly Everest - I couldnt agree more. Who is to say that if Massa had won this race then Hamilton's strategies and mindset in Fuji (stupidity at Turn 1 with Kimi) and Brazil (McLaren adopting a more aggresive strategy) would have happened. Lewis Hamilton is F1 WDC 2008 - period!

 

[stu7878]

Alonso didnt know about any of this, and if he did he is stupid, as after the race he clearly said to flav:
"lucky about the saftey car eh?!"
in plain view of the cameras. Surely if at that time he had any knowledge there is no way he would have done that.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Exactly Everest - I couldnt agree more. Who is to say that if Massa had won this race then Hamilton's strategies and mindset in Fuji (stupidity at Turn 1 with Kimi) and Brazil (McLaren adopting a more aggresive strategy) would have happened. Lewis Hamilton is F1 WDC 2008 - period!

You can say all that but his Championship is going to be tainted.

F1 Is just a farce.

 

[itszamora]

You can say all that but his Championship is going to be tainted.

F1 Is just a farce.

I don't think it will be, there's too many ifs and buts still in play. You could say it's already tainted because Massa's engine blew up when he was leading by miles in Hungary for example. You could also say Massa winning it would have been unfair because of the ridiculous penalty given to Hamilton at Spa, and so on.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I don't think it will be, there's too many ifs and buts still in play. You could say it's already tainted because Massa's engine blew up when he was leading by miles in Hungary for example. You could also say Massa winning it would have been unfair because of the ridiculous penalty given to Hamilton at Spa, and so on.

True, but these are all part of F1, crashing into the wall like a women driver isnt.

 

[itszamora]

True, but these are all part of F1, crashing into the wall like a women driver isnt.

Ah but do you think women mean to crash into the wall? No, they're just incompetent, which to be fair is what Piquet was most of the time - and I seem to remember Lewis putting it in the wall last week and at Monaco earlier in the season.

I think Piquet deserves some credit here, to crash on purpose in such a way as to bring out a safety car but not injure yourself requires a certain degree of skill.

 

[Daddies_Sauce]

autosport.com - F1 News: Transcript of Pat Symonds' FIA interview

 

[itszamora]

autosport.com - F1 News: Transcript of Pat Symonds' FIA interview

Thanks for that - they're clearly guilty as hell and should have the book thrown at them in a quite colossal fashion.

 

[Daddies_Sauce]

No problem, there are also alleged allegations on the web, that Alonso was in the know. Renault (or Ren_NO emphasis on the NO) will use this as an excuse to pull out of F1, if it can be proven that Alonso was in the know then he should get a years ban, and screw his prospects of a Ferrari (FIA_rrai) drive next next year.