Briatore out! Symonds out! Renault out?

Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds have parted company with Renault today ahead of the FIA World Motorsports Council hearing next Monday regarding the alledged race fixing at last years Singapore Grand Prix.


Sacked Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr contacted the FIA to say that he had been instructed to deliberately crash his car during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix by Briatore and Symonds which allowed his then team mate Fernando Alonso to go on and win the race.

Alonso had taken a very early pit stop and Piquet's crash caused the safety car to be deployed ruining the race strategies of the other teams.

In a statement issued today, Renault said “The ING Renault F1 Team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix”. They went on to make it clear that Briatore and Symonds had left the team.

Last Friday, Renault and Briatore launched criminal proceedings against Piquet Jr and Snr for making false allegations and blackmail.


Oh dear, oh dear. It looks like the perma tanned one has shot himself well and truly in the foot this time!

It would appear that Renault are holding their hands up to the crime which will leave Briatore hung out to dry. No doubt he will be sued by the Piquets and Renault, maybe even by their title sponsor ING and others.

If found guilty by the FIA, which on the face of it looks pretty clear cut, Renault have to be (at least) in line for disqualification from the 2009 Championship and a ban for next year, or possibly even longer.


Ecclestone has been shrewd as usual and has covered his bases well.


This week, Malaysian owned Lotus has been announced as the official thirteenth team on the 2010 grid and BMW Sauber, who announced their departure from F1 earlier this season but have now been bought by Swiss backers, are the first reserve team in case one of the other teams drops out.....

One consequence of a Renault ban would be engine supply to customer teams although that may be mitigated by the return of Cosworth who will be supplying engines for all the new teams including Lotus.

I personally will be glad to see the back of Briatore in F1.

He was nothing more than a bully, and as has now been shown, a cheat willing to put the lives of drivers, marshalls and spectators at risk for the sake of ten World Championship points.


Nelson Piquet Jr should have a smile of satisfaction on his face right now knowing he has had the last laugh overhis tormentor Briatore. The problem is this sorry episode has probably snuffed out his F1 career before it has had a chance to blossom.

The fact he went along with the race fix plan for whatever reason shows a serious lack of judgment in my opinion.

Pat Symonds should have known better too. His long career may now be in tatters although it is rumoured the FIA have offered him immunity from punishment if he gives evidence against the team.

The FIA, and Max Mosley in particular, would take great satisfaction in destroying Briatore once and for all.

How about Alonso? Was he in on the plan too? He will no doubt deny any knowledge of it but I find that hard to believe. Seeing the underhand way in which he conducted himself at McLaren, conspiring against Ron Dennis with the FIA, makes me extremely suspicious.


It will be very interesting to see what comes out at the FIA hearing next week.

Ferrari - Face Facts - You Can't Polish a Turd!

There is an old, if somewhat vulgar, saying here in the UK - "you can't polish a turd".

Ferrari seem to be trying to do just that with poor old Luca Badoer....

They are keeping him in the car for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa this weekend despite his woeful performance in qualifying and at the race in Valencia, apparently in the (vain) hope that he will improve.

Let's face it, if he couldn't get to grips with the bland Valencia circuit, how is he going to cope with the rigours of a track like Spa?

It seems to me that Ferrari have completely written off the 2009 season.

They are showing absolutley no ambition despite the fact their car in the right hands, is clearly competitive at some circuits as evidenced by Raikkonen's podium in Valencia.

I would not be surprised if Raikkonen gets another good result at Spa.

There must be dozens of drivers who would give their right arm to replace Badoer as Massa's stand in for the remaining Grand Prix of the season.

When Michael Schumacher broke his leg in 1999, Ferrari drafted in Mika Salo. He did a great job as stand in and would have even won a race, if he had not dutifully ceded the lead to his team mate and championship contender Eddie Irvine.

I would like to see Piquet given a chance and do well.

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see him outperform Renault and rub Briatore's nose in it.

On the subject of the perma tanned lothario, I'm just wondering how long it will be before he prematurely ends the career of Romain Grosjean who's first F1 outing did not exactly set the earth alight.....

F1 - Schumacher Returns - Piquet Out

Despite Michael Schumacher's manager stating last week that he was "200% sure" Schumacher would not replace the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari, he has now been confirmed through to the end of the season!

Ferrari have thrown a hissy fit earlier this week (as they usually do when things don't go their way.....).

They had requested dispensation from the FIA and other F1 teams to allow Schumacher to test the 2009 Ferrari due to the in season test ban. This request was turned down flat by Williams, Toro Rosso and Red Bull in case it set a precedent. A tad harsh maybe but after all, rules is rules as they say.

I have a gut feeling that Schumacher could win a race later this year. If I was a gambling man my money would be on Abu Dhabi. Here's why -

1. It is the last race by which time he should be back in the swing and fully up to speed with the car

2. Ferrari will no doubt have made further developments to the car throughout the remaining races

3. It is a new circuit for all the drivers making it a level playing field

What do you think? Your comments are always welcome.

Meanwhile over at Renault, Nelson Piquet Junior has been shown the exit door - not unexpected.

Yet another in a long line of victims of the perma tanned Lothario.

He has already been replaced by rookie Romain Grosjean who was Renault's official third driver.

I cannot see that he will do any better than Piquet managed when all the team's resources are directed at Alonso.

I think it was a mistake for Piquet to join the Renault team in the first place although it is completely understandable that he would see it as an immediate move into one of the top teams at the time.

He may have been better advised to take the traditional route and join a team lower down the grid for a couple of seasons and then move up to better things (like Alonso for example).

Briatore is notoriously difficult to work with and it became quite quickly apparent that Piquet was not feeling the love!

Jenson Button had a similar miserable time at Renault but since leaving his career has flourished.

Piquet is not a shabby driver by a long chalk - at the inaugaral A1 GP meeting at Brands Hatch he wiped the floor with everybody (including some ex F1 drivers), winning both the sprint and feature races by some margin.

I really hope that he will get a chance to find another berth in F1, perhaps with one of the new teams and prove his true potential.

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing Briatore made to look a twat once more!

Photos thanks to - Schumigirl1956 & Ann64