F1 links: Rosberg: ‘I won Singapore’
24th September 2009, 9:36 by Keith Collantine 46 Comments »
Nico Rosberg feels he is the moral winner of last year’s Singapore Grand Prix following the Renault crash scandal.
Plus, Bernie Ecclestone has criticised Flavio Briatore’s punishment, while the Italian consisders starting a racing series of his own. And Ferrari are once again dropping hints about Fernando Alonso.
‘Winner’ Rosberg is still so bitter (Daily Express)
"I won the race because the team who finished first cheated. Now it’s the big Renault scandal. If we had protested, I could’ve won the race last year. But it’s too late now.”
Disgraced Flavio Briatore plots rival F1 series (Daily Mirror)
"Sources in his native Italy yesterday revealed the 'distraught' multi-millionaire, 59, is now considering a rival series to Formula 1, which he has often said has lost its way and its fan base."
Ferrari doubts over Kimi Raikkonen could open door to Fernando Alonso (Daily Telegraph)
Luca di Montezemolo: “We will have a Brazilian driver because he deserves another chance given that, thank God, he is fine. Otherwise, we are mulling the best choice, but we still have time. We will decide in a few weeks.”
Ecclestone: Briatore did not deserve ban (The Independent)
"Ecclestone, the sport's billionaire commercial rights controller, said he felt sorry for Briatore, and that the punishment was "too harsh"."
Renault – the day after (The Times F1 blog)
"The FIA yesterday published the calendar for next year and it is a whoppa with – for the first time? – 19 races on it! In my view that is too long and about two races too many."
These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.
patrickl said on 24th September 2009, 10:14
Rosberg, purrrrlease knock that nonsense off. The only reason you got in front to begin with was because Renault cheated and then only because you also cheated/lucked out with the drive pit lane closing and the ridiculously late drive through call.
The most likely winner under normal conditions would have been Raikkonen. He was closely and easily following the much lighter Massa and Hamilton.
Red Andy said on 24th September 2009, 11:02
Exactly. I happen to think Massa would have won rather than Raikkonen (Ferrari team orders would have come into play IF Raikkonen somehow ended up ahead of Massa), but there’s no way Rosberg would have won without Piquet’s accident, and then being allowed to scamper off into the distance for 10 laps before he served his stop/go penalty while everyone else was being held up by Fisichella.
Adrian said on 24th September 2009, 12:00
I agree that Rosberg wouldn’t have won the race without NPJ’s “accident”, but to say that he cheated because he was allowed to stay out for so long before being told he had to serve a drive-through is taking it a bit far…
Patrickl said on 25th September 2009, 5:32
Well I see it might have been a cheat to take an illegal early pitstop and hope that the penalty would be less severe than taking the pitstop when legally allowed.
They might even have held up the punishment.
He clearly profited from his illegal pitstop. That’s not right.
Sush Meerkat said on 24th September 2009, 13:13
I love the way Rosberg struts around the place like he owed it, even though he’s never won a race.
TommyB said on 24th September 2009, 14:54
Yeah I remember them holding the drive throughs for ages and ages and timed it so they got out ahead of Hamilton.
AP said on 25th September 2009, 7:04
how many laps does it take to go hang on he has to do a drive thru?
Come on Nicko you didn’t win…
Prisoner Monkeys said on 24th September 2009, 10:16
Nico, I’m sure you’d much rather have your maiden win on the track, rather than winning it by appeal or in getting it by default a year later. And if Piquet hadn’t crashed, where would you have finished?
Prisoner Monkeys said on 24th September 2009, 10:18
And as for Flavio wanting to start his own rival series because he thinks Formula One has drited too far from its fans, he has always felt that way about the sport. In fact, the only time he was every happy about the status quo was during 2005 and 2006. Then, Formula One couldn’t have been closer to its fans. the man was only ever happy when Renault was winning; it’s no wonder he fixed that race.
Good riddance.
JSC said on 24th September 2009, 12:51
This is the thing that got me about Flavio Briatore whenever he used to sound off about how F1 was too focused on the boring old minutiae of the technical side as opposed to spectacle and entertainment. While it is true that too little account is taken of motorsport devotees when it comes to the sport’s governance, this is simply hypocrisy on Flav’s part. The fact is, he only ever complained when he was losing or when decisions went against his team. Why did he create such a stir about the banning of the Renault J-damper in 2006, for example, when this was the sort of costly technical innovation he claimed F1 didn’t need? Because it gave his cars a winning advantage over the others, that’s why.
And can we in retrospect take seriously his claims at Monza 2006 that the championship was being ‘decided around a table’ in favour of Ferrari, now knowing that he was perfectly capable of manipulating races at the expense of others when it suited him?
Aside from that, with his ‘Billionaire’ brand, super-yacht, a string of pin up girlfriends, not to mention a self-confessed indifference to motorsport, how can Flav claim to be ‘in touch’ with the average F1 fan anyway? Formula Flav as I imagine it would be one huge vanity project, dedicated to inflating Briatore’s ego and filling his pockets. Inane celebrities milling round to no end, glitz and glamour and kitsch by the bucketful, and on the track probably every gimmick under the sun to ‘spice up the show’. The end result would probably be as vacuous and as staged as the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix has turned out to be.
People like Flav and the stuffed shirts at the FIA ought to realise that all the nonsense about brands and what not is just window dressing, peripheral. All they need to do is sit back and let real engineers design and build real cars for real drivers to race around real circuits. If they could just get that right, then surely the rest will take care of itself.
Simon said on 25th September 2009, 3:49
I whole heartedly agree with you “Prisoner Monkeys” Briatore behaves like many new money millionaires, he thinks he knows best about everything. Well he has finally been exposed for what he is. People in F1 are lucky, yes lucky to be there. Yes they are talented without doubt, but there is always the “right place – right time” factor. If he trys to start his own series it will fail, because F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport and nothhing else comes close.
patrickl said on 24th September 2009, 10:19
Wow, Flavio made 10 million a year from his driver contracts. Looks like Flavio was actually punished even harder than McLaren.
Amazing that they can give him such a huge penalty on the basis that two people say that “he knew about it”.
But then when we hear “the crashing sheik” say that they didn’t ban Renault, because otherwise it would cost the Abu Dhabi race organisers money (less teams and less alonso = less viewers/visitors = less money), we know the whole of WMSC is corrupt.
Prisoner Monkeys said on 24th September 2009, 10:25
The WMSC is not a civil court, and is not bound to enforce the law the way the courts are. Its only jurisdiction is the championships run by the FIA themselves, all of which have a commercial application. I think you’ll find that the rules that govern what it can and cannot do are very different to those that dictate the powers and responsibilities of a court of law.
This would only really be a problem if everyone got away with it. As it stands, Renault – the least guilty, and the ones who co-coperated the most – got the lesser sentence, which is probably what would have happened in a court of law.
Sush Meerkat said on 24th September 2009, 17:55
He also owns the TV contracts for F1 in Spain since Bernie gave them to him, its why NetResult send LAWYER MISSILES to destroy everything relating to F1 on the internet on behalf of FOM but if you download them off youtube you still get the Spanish broadcasts because Flavio doesn’t use LAWYER MISSILES like bernie does.
Keith Collantine said on 24th September 2009, 23:29
Is that so? Very interesting.
Nitpicker said on 24th September 2009, 10:51
Who writes this nonsense?? 2005 wasn’t that long ago.
F1Yankee said on 24th September 2009, 10:55
…someone with a grand prix in his own country.
Adrian said on 24th September 2009, 12:02
Someone who obviously has other things to do on a Sunday…
IDR said on 24th September 2009, 20:36
That was written by Ed Gorman, F1 correspondant for The Times.
steph90 said on 24th September 2009, 10:53
I’m slight annoyed at Nico, he in an odd way benefited from the fixed crash and yes Alonso benefitted but he drove like he needed to and was not it seems in the know. If it is right that Alonso should keep his win then I wouldn’t protest it (I sinmply think Braitore, Symonds and Piquet were the guilty ones) but if he had lost his win does that mean Nico deserved it? Should they have been elevated? No I feel the positions should have remained the same even if the winner was stripped of it. Many were disadvantaged by what happened, certainly Massa instantly comes to mind, but it is done with now.
DC said on 24th September 2009, 11:02
I can understand Rosberg. He was manipulated and feels cheated. It may be a little much, but he does have a point. Just think how Webber would have felt if Hamilton’s lies about Australia didn’t get discovered.
Red Andy said on 24th September 2009, 11:19
Problem is that Rosberg benefitted almost as much as anyone else from Renault’s actions. Furthermore he cheated during that race too by pitting when the pit lane was closed. He was punished for it, but then Renault have been punished for their wrongdoing too. So there’s really no cause for complaint.
PJA said on 24th September 2009, 12:59
er do you mean Trulli as Webber was classified as finishing 12th on lap down at this years Australian GP, or am I missing something?
DC said on 24th September 2009, 13:17
Sorry – not thinking straight.
Dougie said on 24th September 2009, 11:34
As has already been said here… Rosberg would not have been anywhere near second had Piquet not crashed. It was not his race to win, it’s Ferrari that were in fact probably cheated out of a win.
steph90 said on 24th September 2009, 11:38
Yes, Dougie the Ferraris, especially Massa lost out more than Rosberg did
iceshiel said on 24th September 2009, 11:42
doesnt a rival series require FIA approval?
Adrian said on 24th September 2009, 12:04
Nope. Look at the American series’, they aren’t FiA approved but do just fine…
DC said on 24th September 2009, 12:54
Maybe Briatore should buy IndyCar. It seems to be having some problems: Tony George fired, TV dispute pulling them off air in thousands of homes, promoters suddenly getting cold feet… maybe he can breathe some life into them.
Rob R. said on 24th September 2009, 11:57
Nico you dumb……
nevermind.
AP said on 25th September 2009, 7:09
LOL!
PJA said on 24th September 2009, 13:04
I agree that Rosberg shouldn’t really complain as if it hadn’t been for Piquet’s crash he would probably not have even got a podium, but will people please stop claiming Rosberg cheated by coming in when the pit lane was closed, if he hadn’t he would have run out of fuel, he may have come in as late as possible to serve his penalty and in doing so built up a healthy lead but that is what anyone else would have done.
Patrickl said on 25th September 2009, 5:38
Did you see their fuel level?
I say cheated/lucked out. They might have gone in illegal on purpose and/or held off the stewards deciscion on purpose OR he simply lucked out that the stewards were so incompetent.
Either way, he benefitted from two illegal acts.
Bartholomew said on 24th September 2009, 13:09
I think Briatore still has a lot to say in the world of motor racing, and I would not have banned him permanently. There is no denying he has achieved a great lot in F1, and his philosophy of more spectacle and excitement is definitely the right one, specially if this includes historical venues. He would have been the succesor of Bernie and perhaps taken F1 in a good direction.
The proper outcome of the Singapore affair should have been to impose a heavy fine on Nelson Piquet Sr. for showing his face in public. He competes closely with Jean Todt as the most aesthetically challenged man in motorsports.
David A said on 24th September 2009, 13:38
Rosberg wasn’t going to finish 2nd. The podium was going to be locked out by any 3 from: Massa, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Kubica.
UnicornF1 said on 24th September 2009, 16:16
from Thursdays press conference: