Renault race-fixing at Singapore 2008

[modbaraban]

If that's proved to be true, they should be excluded from that race first of all. And then probably spanked by the FIA president... you know, publically with leather and everything. This could be MM's swansong in a way.

[The FOZ]

"nulla poena sine lege"
Renault might have used a trick to win the race but I would not even call
it cheating.
Can't you crash your car into a wall whenever you want?
For me it is totally ok, he didn't even touched another one or something like this.
And other than Schumacher in Monaco he didn't blocked the track.
So there is no punishment needed.


When they really did that on purpose and even managed to win the race,
so then they really did a brilliant job.
Formula 1 means you want to win races, and you try it as hard as you can.

FIA should give them a warning, like don’t get caught by doing that again

Are you serious when you say crashing your car is OK? What if someone had run into Piquet's car? What if a piece of flying debris happened to hit someone while they were driving by? What if a piece flew into the crowd?

Never, ever, EVER, should anyone in any respectable motorsport create a crash. That, in my opinion, is the absolute worst anyone can be, and makes them unworthy of sport, period. The lowest of the low.

[lewis all the way]

has anybody considered how the end of the championship would have played out if this event were true and the points were awarded to the other drivers?

this would have awarded hamilton 2 extra points

if so hamilton wouldn't of needed to pass glock to win the championship.

would massa have charged for the last races as much knowing the points defacite was just that little bit more???

also if it is true it will damage the hole "2008 season was won by a single point" because retrospectivley it would have been won by 3 points.

or less enticing for mclaren/lewis fans, would he of backed off too much during the last races, thinking he had it in the bag???

2 points aint alot, but i could of made a difference.

[sknguy]

I thought that radio communications were monitored? And, that'd be an awfully expensive win if you have to crash a car. But then again maybe Flav's budget was in danger without a win like Toyota's is. Either way more info is needed.

[Ray]

One relevant question is perhaps how credible the FIA will judge Nelson Piquet as a witness?

Especially since the timing is just right and there were multiple broadcasts of him apologizing for crashing the car over the radios. This is a lame investigation and I sincerely hope this goes away. F1 is becoming a circus, literally, more and more every day.

[Callum]

"nulla poena sine lege"
Renault might have used a trick to win the race but I would not even call
it cheating.
Can't you crash your car into a wall whenever you want?
For me it is totally ok, he didn't even touched another one or something like this.
And other than Schumacher in Monaco he didn't blocked the track.
So there is no punishment needed.


When they really did that on purpose and even managed to win the race,
so then they really did a brilliant job.
Formula 1 means you want to win races, and you try it as hard as you can.

FIA should give them a warning, like don’t get caught by doing that again

Are you serious when you say crashing your car is OK? What if someone had run into Piquet's car? What if a piece of flying debris happened to hit someone while they were driving by? What if a piece flew into the crowd?

Never, ever, EVER, should anyone in any respectable motorsport create a crash. That, in my opinion, is the absolute worst anyone can be, and makes them unworthy of sport, period. The lowest of the low.

yeah! i understand winning at no cost.. but when the cost is human life then no.

no no.

[WhiteBlue]

Bernie said that NP junior would be in as much trouble as the team (aka Flabby) if the allegations are found to be substantial. Honestly I don't think Nelson cares. He said: "Briatore wasn't my manager, he was my executioner".

So we are looking at a racer who believes he had his carreer killed by Mr. Briatore. Would he care for having his carreer killed a second time by the FIA? Particularly if his testimony would bring revenge on the executioner?

The clever Flabby may have found his master in Piquet senior who is well capable of pulling such stunts.

Will Bernie stand by his successor elected? I don't think so! He ditches whoever needs ditching on any given day of the week to keep the Bernie show going. If this is Briatore's swan song I say it probably comes 15 years too late but it may be coming now.

If Briatore has incriminating evidence up there his position as the top marketeer of the FOTA will not save him. Quite contrary both Bernie and Max may wish to kick FOTA's balls for the stunts they pulled.

It may get pretty lonely around Luca di Montezemolo.

[Ray]

What the hell is wrong with you people? What happened to innocent before proven guilty? Have any of you been personally wronged by Flavio Briatore?

[WhiteBlue]

No, I just think that he is a crook and a pimp. Personal opinion you can say. But there is a lot of testimony about his pimping and that he fingered all the dirty stuff in 1994.

[Ray]

So what? You have no facts about these allegations, you don't know who made them, you don't know why they were made, you don't know what the FIA is exactly investigating and who they are talking to about what. This is ridiculous.

[DaveKillens]

x

[Rob W]

Bernie said that NP junior would be in as much trouble as the team (aka Flabby) if the allegations are found to be substantial. Honestly I don't think Nelson cares. He said: "Briatore wasn't my manager, he was my executioner"

Bernie is just being self-serving here though and firing a warning to all. His main aim is to avoid another major cheating scandal being the primary media topic on F1 for months to come. Not to mention, the effort Singapore put into staging the race - they would be furious and demand compensation of some sort I imagine.

If F1/FIA applied the same brush as with De La Rosa/Alonso/Hamilton in the McLaren-gate saga then Piquet would absolutely be offered immunity for anything he testifies to against his former team. In this case here - if true - the team was in the position of power, not the driver.

[ISLAMATRON]

That race was the beginning of the absurd Alonso-qual-with-fumes strategy... maybe they have actually been trying to replicate the results of that race(with terrible results). Try this one out... NP has been ordered to do this again but refused and for that was shown the door.

[jason.parker.86]

I personally think their is a degree of truth behind it. Reading Bernies statements - all indications are their is alot of foundation behind this claim - and I doubt that Fernando was any wiser than we are...

I personally think that Renault wanted to retain Fernando, he is worth $$$ in sponsorship that he brings to the team... and if I remember he had a clause in his contract which would enable him to sign up to another team if he so choose to...

So what better way to encourage Fernando to stay than reward him with a win...

[raceman]

Digging ghosts from past will only destroy F1. Now there is no point in investigating last year's incidents just because an angry and outsted driver highlighted it. I don't remember such an investigation carried out year or years later when someone took someone out in a race in the bid of WDC by deliberately hitting him and taking both of them out of the race.....