Briatore gets banned, Renault given suspended sentence and the fallout begins!
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I can't see them messing around with last years championship positions. No driver wants to 'win' a championship getting on for a year after it has already been won by someone else. There's little real glory in just having your name at the top in the record books. As for the teams, so much money is awarded for championship positions that it would be a total nightmare to start asking some teams to give awarded money back to then give it to other teams. Not even the FIA would want that and Bernie certainly wouldn't.
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The FIA had better have more evidence than Massa's suspicions to go on. Although I reckon it is possible that Renault did this on purpose, I would be shocked if it were actually so...
As for the possible outcome if Renault were found to have cheated, I think the only workable and fair options involve stripping Alonso of his points in that race, and either moving everyone else up a slot (and reassigning the points) or leaving everyone else's points the way they were.
edit: What do you guys think of Piquet's spin on the warm-up lap at Singapore? Look familiar? [/foil hat]
edit 2: And how about this for a piece of journalistic foresight, from August 21st, on grandprix.com:
edit 3: Google helpfully dug out this quote from Piquet himself, as reported in the Guardian on 18th August.
Piquet Jr
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If you look closely he appears to turn into the corner as soon as the rear breaks loose. He only seems to apply corrective lock after the car gets to the point on no return...
It's almost as if he's testing how far he'd have to push it on that surface before back end steps out.
It's almost as if he's testing how far he'd have to push it on that surface before back end steps out.
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Really hoping Massa comes out of this as World Champion 
I also want Timo Glock investigated for his super slow last lap in Brazil 2008 that gave Hamilton the title.
It won't happen, but if it did...
I also want Timo Glock investigated for his super slow last lap in Brazil 2008 that gave Hamilton the title.
It won't happen, but if it did...
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And destroy any credibility that F1 has left??Really hoping Massa comes out of this as World Champion
Welcome to last year.
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Really hoping Massa comes out of this as World Champion
I also want Timo Glock investigated for his super slow last lap in Brazil 2008 that gave Hamilton the title.
It won't happen, but if it did...
If it did it would be a disaster, I hope your post was meant to be a joke.
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That was a result of poor tyres. Glock was on intermediates that were rapidly fading as the track dried out, but there was a chance of getting some points. The problem was that if Toyota brought him in that late in the game, he'd never be able to make up the difference. So they kept him out in the hopes that they'd last long enough to get him to the finish line. The tyres didn't hold, and Glock was forced to do the last lap at a pedestrian pace.
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I do hate to bring this off topic and from the grave of last year, but the whole Toyota let Hamilton by theory is just stupid. If Toyota/Glock really secretly wanted Hamilton to win the title, why did they elect not to change tires knowing that if the strategy worked they would finish ahead of Hamilton and give the title to Massa?
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As there is going to be a hearing on 21 September the FIA must have reliable evidence which demands refuting from Renault.
If Renault are found guilty of staging an accident to allow another driver to win then they may be fined a lot of money, but more likely they'll be kicked out of this years championship. Drivers points will probably remain unchanged but constructors points could be amended.
Thing is, if Renault are thrown out then almost certainly they won't be in next years championship. Their sponsors won't be too happy and with the economic conditions as they are it's all the reason the Renault board of Directors need to pull the plug on the team.
Then there's Alonso. If he is innocent of any wrongdoing then chances are he'll be in a new team next year even if Renault are gone (though all his work to make Renault "his" team will be for nothing). However if he's guilty of involvement, or if enough suspicion is cast on him he could be out of a drive, either because the FIA sanction him or because other teams won't touch him. Personally I think he's clean. It's Briatore that's the problem. I've never liked him.
Still, until the investigation is complete Renault are innocent. But no way would the FIA risk ridicule if they didn't think there wasn't a case to answer.
If Renault are found guilty of staging an accident to allow another driver to win then they may be fined a lot of money, but more likely they'll be kicked out of this years championship. Drivers points will probably remain unchanged but constructors points could be amended.
Thing is, if Renault are thrown out then almost certainly they won't be in next years championship. Their sponsors won't be too happy and with the economic conditions as they are it's all the reason the Renault board of Directors need to pull the plug on the team.
Then there's Alonso. If he is innocent of any wrongdoing then chances are he'll be in a new team next year even if Renault are gone (though all his work to make Renault "his" team will be for nothing). However if he's guilty of involvement, or if enough suspicion is cast on him he could be out of a drive, either because the FIA sanction him or because other teams won't touch him. Personally I think he's clean. It's Briatore that's the problem. I've never liked him.
Still, until the investigation is complete Renault are innocent. But no way would the FIA risk ridicule if they didn't think there wasn't a case to answer.
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Back on topic, Renault have been summoned before the WMSC:
If they're foun guilty, I think the best move would be a penalty that applies this year. They can't rightly go changing the standings of last year's championship and I think Rosberg would reject a win that was by default after a year - especially since it wouold be his maiden victory and no-one wants to win it like that - and Felipe Massa would do the same for the championship. Since it's been a year, it's probably going to be a harsh penalty; at the very least, they'd be excluded from Singapore, and I wouln't be too surprised if they were banned from racing for the rest of the year, stripped of points for this season or just excluded outright.
Christian_C
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I think they will be careful regarding what happens as if the penalty is too harsh then they risk Renault leaving the sport which the FIA or Bernie will definitely not want to happen.
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If they're cheating to win, good riddance. It's gonna be a great birthday for me if they're found guilty. I never really have liked Renault for some reason.
Christian_C
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It's not really about if anyone likes them or not, It WILL be bad for the sport if they do pull out, That can't be denied.
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I don't think Renault would pull the plug straight away. Rather, I think they'd reshuffle the top order - condemn Briatore to obscuirty while they're at it - and come back in 2010 with a view to make up for their embarrassment.
LancerEvo, I'm kind of with you in hat I never liked them much. They always seemed more interested in running one car - Alonso's - as opposed to actually making a proper effort with two cars. And Briatore has screwed so many people over during his tenure as team principal that he's hardly the most endearing person. He's like a drunken uncle that you only invite to your wedding because he's related.
LancerEvo, I'm kind of with you in hat I never liked them much. They always seemed more interested in running one car - Alonso's - as opposed to actually making a proper effort with two cars. And Briatore has screwed so many people over during his tenure as team principal that he's hardly the most endearing person. He's like a drunken uncle that you only invite to your wedding because he's related.
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I never liked Renault/Benetton either. Its definitely got something to do with all those 2nd drivers Flavio has attempted to ruin the careers of.
Its a little annoying that some drivers have no choice but to sign with Renault if they want an F1 seat sometimes, because it is by far the worst way to come into F1.
So in this sense I would love to see Renault replaced by a more respectable team. Or Flavio kicked out. I don't see them kicking Flavio out though so I think the team would have to go or be bought out by someone who has the guts to kick Flav.
Currently Renault seems to have taken the place of Minardi, Jordan and Tyrrell in introducing new driver talent. But unlike those great teams, they are horrible at giving these drivers a decent chance.
And if the French want a F1 team still, either kick Flav or bring in Peugeot or Citroen. Or better yet, bring back Ligier!
Its a little annoying that some drivers have no choice but to sign with Renault if they want an F1 seat sometimes, because it is by far the worst way to come into F1.
So in this sense I would love to see Renault replaced by a more respectable team. Or Flavio kicked out. I don't see them kicking Flavio out though so I think the team would have to go or be bought out by someone who has the guts to kick Flav.
Currently Renault seems to have taken the place of Minardi, Jordan and Tyrrell in introducing new driver talent. But unlike those great teams, they are horrible at giving these drivers a decent chance.
And if the French want a F1 team still, either kick Flav or bring in Peugeot or Citroen. Or better yet, bring back Ligier!
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I don't deny that, however, at least another new team (Read: Prodrive) might get a chance in F1.
I agree something along those lines will probably happen.
+...infinity. You described perfectly why I don't like Renault (And never have).
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Regardless of the accusation it is obvious Piquet has an agenda and is desperate to get retribution on Briatore. In my opinion Piquet has not needed much influence to crash his car and as for the way he crashed anyone who actually saw the race could tell he went in a little to fast into the corner and spun the car. If in fact they would have wanted him to do it on purpose it would have been questioned by the stewards and the other teams instantly, not a year later.
Renault do have a rather dubious past and Briatore is just a tycoon pretending to be a something he's not. He was lucky to have signed Alonso and as soon as Fernando gets his destined ride Flavio will dissapear.
Renault do have a rather dubious past and Briatore is just a tycoon pretending to be a something he's not. He was lucky to have signed Alonso and as soon as Fernando gets his destined ride Flavio will dissapear.
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