F1 2oo9

Like the doctor said to my mama when I was born, "This one is going to get ugly."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78446

A meeting between Nelson Piquet, Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds hours before last year's Singapore Grand Prix is central to the race fixing allegations surrounding the Renault team, AUTOSPORT has learned.

With the FIA's World Motor Sport Council due to meet on September 21 for Renault to answer charges that the team caused a deliberate crash in Singapore last year to help Fernando Alonso win, sources have confirmed for the first time background details of the case.

AUTOSPORT understands that key to what happened in the race is the discussion that took place in one of Renault's offices at the Singapore track on the Sunday, where race tactics were discussed between Piquet, team principal Briatore and director of engineering Symonds.

Sources claim that in evidence submitted to the FIA by Nelson Piquet, the Brazilian driver says he was asked by Briatore and Symonds to crash deliberately early in the race so as to help Alonso win.

Piquet says that he agreed to do so because he felt uncomfortable about his situation at the team, with Renault having not renewed his contract for 2009 at that time - and Briatore was stalling on making a firm commitment. Piquet suggests that he only went ahead and caused the accident because he felt he would be rewarded for his actions.

In his evidence, Piquet claims that he was taken aside by Symonds after the first meeting and instructured that he should crash on lap 13 or 14, shortly after Alonso's scheduled first stop, at Turn 17.

The reason this part of the track was singled out was because there were no cranes present there to lift the car away, so any accident would virtually guarantee a safety car.

Piquet's claims have, however, been denied by both Briatore and Symonds in documents that are believed to have been submitted with the FIA. Although they confirm that the meeting between the three of them took place, both suggest that it was Piquet's own suggestion to cause an accident.

Sources claim that the Singapore race-fix matter came to light on July 26 - the day of Piquet's last race for Renault in Hungary - when his father Nelson contacted FIA president Max Mosley to make him aware of what had happened.

Piquet Jr. then visited the FIA's headquarters in Paris on July 30 to present a statement to FIA representatives, believed to be stewards' advisor Alan Donnelly, and external investigators from the Quest agency.

Following Piquet's testimony, the three stewards from the Singapore Grand Prix, plus two external investigators from Quest, were flown to the Belgian Grand Prix to conduct interviews with Renault representatives.

A report in Italian magazine Autosprint also suggests that telemetry data from Piquet's car has emerged as another reason why the matter has gone to the WMSC.

At Turn 17 where Piquet crashed, normally the rear wheels of the Renault would lose grip on the exit - requiring the driver to ease off the throttle briefly. However, on the lap he crashed, Piquet kept accelerating even though the rear wheels had lost grip.

Briatore is reported to have claimed that he was: "a victim of extortion by the Piquet family.

"I confirm the meeting with Piquet on Sunday morning, but nothing like that was ever talked about. I also remember that Piquet at Singapore was in a very fragile state of mind. Besides that, there are the audio recordings where I express disappointment when I see on the screens that Piquet had crashed."

Symonds is also reported as saying: "It's true, during the Sunday meeting with Piquet the issue of deliberately causing a SC deployment came up, but it was proposed by Piquet himself. It was just a conversation."

Renault has said it will not comment on the matter officially before the WMSC hearing later this month.

So it sounds like the accident was planned, the only question is who's idea was it.

 

Oh it's true and the crap is starting to hit the fan. Briatore and Symonds are out! And the way I see it Piquet Jr. shouldn't be punished.

Think about it, if it were Piquet's idea Briatore and Symonds could have told him "No way, that's a horrible idea, we are not going to do it." End of story.

But if it was Briatore and Symond's idea and they proposed it to Piquet he has to go along with it, he can't tell them "no" because he has no power within the team. If he were to refuse to do it he would have lost his ride at the end of that season, him going along with it kept him driving for most of this year anyway.

Briatore steps down amid scandal

Reuters

LONDON -- Renault parted company with flamboyant Formula One team boss Flavio Briatore and his deputy Pat Symonds on Wednesday after accepting allegations that last year's Singapore Grand Prix was fixed.

The two men were due to appear before the governing FIA in Paris on Monday to face charges, unprecedented even in a sport often mired in controversy, that the team ordered Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash deliberately to help Spanish teammate Fernando Alonso win.

Renault said in a statement it would not dispute the allegations.

"[Renault] also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore, and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team," the team added.

Italian Briatore led the team to two Formula One constructors' and drivers' championships with Alonso in 2005 and 2006 after also winning titles with Benetton and Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 1995.

A business partner of Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, with the two co-owning English Championship division soccer club Queen's Park Rangers, Briatore is also Alonso's manager.

A familiar face in celebrity magazines, with a jet-setting lifestyle, the perma-tanned nightclub owner is also a leading figure in the Formula One Teams' Association. which threatened a breakaway series until recently.

While Briatore focused on business and the bigger picture, Symonds effectively ran the race strategy side and his departure will be a major blow for the team.

No replacements for either man were named.

International Automobile Federation president Max Mosley had already said he considered the case to be more serious than the 2007 spying controversy that cost McLaren a $100 million fine (which was later reduced) and the loss of all their constructors' points.

The FIA's world motor sport council can impose various penalties for fraudulent conduct, including permanently excluding a team from the championship.

Piquet, 24, was dropped by Renault in August after failing to score a point in 10 races. He has testified to the FIA that he was told when and where to crash during the night race.

In a statement subsequently leaked to the media, he told FIA investigators he met Symonds and Briatore before the Sept. 28 race in the team boss'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,'" said Piquet, who was promised immunity from prosecution by the FIA if he told the truth.

The Brazilian added he had been "in a very fragile and emotional state of mind" at the time because of uncertainty about the renewal of his contract for 2009 and hoped his agreement would improve his position.

"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," said Piquet in the July 30 statement.

Alonso, who has denied all knowledge of any plot, pitted for fuel on lap 12 and Piquet then crashed at a place where his car could not be easily moved, bringing out the safety car.

The Spaniard went on to win after rivals were penalized for pitting when the safety car was deployed, a rule that has since been changed. The crash caused considerable speculation at the time among rival teams and drivers.

Symonds was evasive in an interview with FIA investigators at the Belgian Grand Prix that was also leaked to the media.

Asked if he had been aware there was going to be a crash on lap 14, he replied: "I don't want to answer that question."

Symonds declared at a later stage: "I have no intention of lying to you. I have not lied to you but I have reserved my position a little."

Renault and Briatore had in turn accused Piquet Jr. and his father, three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, of false allegations and attempted blackmail and initiated criminal proceedings in France.