After yesterday’s shock news of the FIA being forced to rescind Flavio Briatore’s ban, what will happen next? Are the FIA going to appeal against the decision? Here’s today’s F1 Fanatic round-up.
Links
Briatore in no rush for F1 return
The Briatore story inevitably dominates the F1 news at the moment. He may have escaped his punishment but it’s hard to see anyone taking him back.
Comment of the day
PeriSoft’s take on the Briatore verdict nailed it for me:
What he did was the absolute worst thing a team principal could ever, ever do – cheating to achieve victory and endangering the lives of participants and spectators to do so. Anything less than a lifetime ban is unacceptable, and as far as I’m concerned, Renault should have been instantly and permanently banned from motorsport. And anyone at Renault who could be shown to have known that this happened without going to the FIA? Same. Out. Done. Period.
The higher ups at Renault didn’t know this was happening? Tough – it was their job to know. They hired a scumbag and allowed him to create an environment where this was possible.
This isn’t cheating. This is the worst of the worst of the worst, and anyone even remotely involved doesn’t deserve to go near a race car as long as they live.
PeriSoft
From the forum
There’s an interesting debate going on over what makes a great F1 track. Fast corners? Gradient? Lots of places for overtaking? Join the discussion on the forum.
Site updates
The F1 Fanatic Google Calendar now has the 2010 F1 testing dates in it, and the full 2010 F1 calendar will be added shortly.
Happy birthday!
No F1 Fanatic reader birthdays today – but if you’ve got one coming up make sure we know about it. Get in touch by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
On this day in 1994 former F1 team Larrousse confirmed it would use Ford engines for the forthcoming season. That left previous engine supplier Lamborghini with no-one to use its power plants, and the V12s haven’t been seen or, more importantly, heard in F1 since. Larrousse themselves didn’t last much longer, pulling out of F1 before the 1995 season.
The Lamborghini engine project was run by Daniel Audetto, who went on to manage the Super Aguri team. He previously worked for Ferrari, who revealed their F2008 two years ago today.
If you’ve got a link to share, a nomination for ‘comment of the day’ or an idea for ‘on this day’, please post it in the comments.
luigismen
6th January 2010, 0:30
Does anyone else thinks that limited testing is the worst thing ever!?
Those sessions between december and february were the only thing that kept me going until march, that and cars launches.
Now just 4 sessions in a month… and scandals @#$%!
Macca
6th January 2010, 2:46
People might be right in saying that noone will higher Briatore, but I wouldn’t go past the idea of him buying his own team.
DanThorn
6th January 2010, 8:38
Am I right in thinking that Lamborghini’s V12 was quite highly regarded – I think I read somewhere that McLaren considered using them for the 1993 season.
Oliver
6th January 2010, 9:31
Till date all we have is the FIA’s version of events. A sensible person will wonder why the FIA didn’t grant Flavio immunity to testify against the others.
Paul F
6th January 2010, 11:10
I think that’s a slight over reaction.
Ultimately, Piquet is a big boy – if he didn’t want to crash then he shouldn’t have. I understand that he was put under pressure, and he felt there would have been consequences if he didn’t comply, but really he should have kept his integrity intact and said no.
Renault’s crash in Singapore was not the first instance of cheating in F1, nor was it the last – anyone who thinks this sport we follow is squeeky clean is pretty catastrophically misguided in my opinion.
These guys are ferociously competitive – not only having the need to perform for their own personal desires, but also those of sponsors etc – and to think that they won’t do whatever is absolutely necessary to achieve results stops short of what I would call a “sense of reality”.
If you really think this is “the worst of the worst”, that Flav is a “scumbag” because of it, and that anyone “even remotely involved doesn’t deserve to go near a race car as long as they live”, I suggest you take a little look around yourself at the world in which we live, and re-evaluate your sense of morality!
Nikki
6th January 2010, 13:55
Depends how you look at it all though – how could they have given Flavio immunity when he was the one they were gunning for?
NONE of them should have been granted immunity, and the fact that of the 2 out of 3 perpetrators were given immunity, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to ascertain who the FIA wanted to go down for it. Unbelievable tactics from Max & the FIA.
ajokay
6th January 2010, 10:02
Is that so? Seems everyone is leaving their car launches a little later than usual this year. I wonder why? Is Mercedes the only team so far to have given a date for their car launch (1st Feb)?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
6th January 2010, 10:24
And BMW makes two: BMW to reveal 2010 F1 car on January 31st
ajokay
6th January 2010, 10:28
Really does make me giggle how they’re still calling themselves BMW. It’s like Mercedes still being called Honda.
Kanyima
6th January 2010, 12:55
ajokay, that’s the power of name recognition. Sauber don’t wanna come in and be regarded as “one of the new small teams”. Maintaining the BMW name gives them some sort of leverage in identifying with the big boys. Certainly a marketing tool.
ajokay
6th January 2010, 18:36
But they’re not BMW… they’re Sauber with a Ferrari. Sauber were famous before BMW came along, and had big money and long-term deals with Petronas, Red Bull and Credit Suisse, I don’t see why they would end up being regarded as one of the new teams when they have approaching 20 years of F1 history.
thestig84
6th January 2010, 11:59
Because there is no testing allow till Feb. Gives them longe to work on the car. No point rushing it fo Jan 8th when it will just sit there till Feb.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
6th January 2010, 11:18
Briatore considering legal action against Piquet: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE6050LH20100106
James Bond
6th January 2010, 14:09
I don’t quite understand why it says even Renault are doing the same. I thought they had accepted the guilt & moved on.