<<TriniTuner 2009 F1 Thread>>

MG Man · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:26 pm Post subject:

and de cornbread too Twisted Evil

TREX · Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 3:46 pm Post subject:

Freelander · Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 4:05 pm Post subject:

^^^ trex pm you facebook info and i will add you to the facebook group. It is our central hub for all planning.

Freelander · Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:26 pm Post subject:

TREX · Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 9:02 am Post subject:

JoKeR1980 · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:15 am Post subject:

(CNN) -- Renault's Formula One team was handed a two-year suspended ban by the sport's governing body Monday after a hearing into their part in fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

The 26-strong World Motor Sport Council of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), met for 90 minutes to discuss allegations by former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. that he was ordered to crash deliberately during last year's race.

As a result, former team boss Flavio Briatore was banned from FIA-sanctioned events for an unlimited period, while ex-engineering director Pat Symonds was excluded from the sport for five years.

Both men quit the team last week after Renault decided against contesting the allegations.

A statement on the FIA Web site said: "The World Motor Sport Council considers Renault F1's breaches relating to the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to be of unparalleled severity.

"Renault F1's breaches not only compromised the integrity of the sport but also endangered the lives of spectators, officials, other competitors and Nelson Piquet Jr. himself."

Renault, one of the strongest teams in Formula One, could have faced expulsion from the sport, but the council revealed it took into account Renault's willingness to "address the failings within its team and condemn the actions of the individuals involved."

The individuals in question were identified by Renault at the hearing as Briatore and Symonds.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone had previously hinted that the resignations might be enough to avoid the ultimate sanction of expulsion.

"I think we need to show balance," said the 78-year-old

"What they did was very serious. There can be no excuse, but they have acted quickly to get rid of the culprits, and that must be borne in mind."

Renault president Bernard Rey gave evidence at the hearing as well as Piquet Jr.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who went on to win the Singapore Grand Prix for Renault after the alleged fake crash, also addressed the council.

The saga comes in the wake of last year's "spygate" scandal which saw McLaren fined a record $80 million and a row between leading teams and world governing body FIA (International Automobile Federation) over a budget cap for next season.

The first grand prix held under lights in Singapore last year proved an eventful affair and Alonso won the race -- the first for Renault in two years -- despite starting from 15th on the grid.

Just two laps after Alonso came in early to take on more fuel, Piquet's crash forced the deployment of the safety car and the subsequent pit stop of nearly all other drivers, an action that promoted Alonso to fifth from where he went onto to secure victory.

Piquet attributed the crash to a simple error at the time, but subsequently changed his story after falling out with the French team and being sacked.

JoKeR1980 · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:47 am Post subject:

Kimi has an agreement with McLaren

A dispute with Ferrari over his salary is the only thing holding up Kimi Raikkonen's return to McLaren, according to a report.

Raikkonen's position at the Italian team is under threat with continued rumours claiming that Fernando Alonso will be taking his race-seat next season.

The Finn, who drove for McLaren from 2002 until 2006, has previously stated that he is prepared to go to another team next year if Ferrari decide to get rid of him.

"If for some reason I am not at Ferrari next season I know I'll have a seat at another team in the paddock," he recently told the British press.

The Mirror reports that a move back to McLaren is in line for Raikkonen.

'Paddock sources say the Finn, 29, has signed an outline agreement to return.

'But first he has to settle a dispute with his current employers. He is refusing to step down unless he is paid all of his 2010 £30m salary.'

Engine supplier Mercedes, though, is thought to be in favour of a move for Williams' Nico Rosberg.

'The deal could explain McLaren's increasingly tense relationship with engine supplier Mercedes, who wanted German Nico Rosberg in the car.'

JoKeR1980 · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:51 am Post subject:

But if they ban Briatore and Symonds...why Nelson get away? he went ahead and crashed the car! its not the army where you have to follow every order.

I would like to see which team gonna employ him now

Freelander · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 11:46 am Post subject:

FIA probubly gave him immmunity as the higher ups were taken down who gave the order. basically like a cop doing a drug bust and nelson being the dealer who spills the beans for a drug lord.

Quite frankly i think renault got off easy. too easy. and even though nelson has immunity no other F1 team will want to hire him as he showed no team loyalty.

teems1 · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:31 pm Post subject:

AutoSport · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:58 pm Post subject:

Really how come McLaren got a $100M fine and Renault got a suspended sentence?

And just getting rid of Briatore?? he should face the Court also.

Just goes to show what happens behind the scenes when the money in sports gets to such incredible heights.

Look at the drivers, you want me, X million dollars, you want to get rid of me, 2X million dollars.

F1 needs to look at other areas to cut costs, instead of limiting testing and R&D.

BANzai Rastafarai · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:42 pm Post subject:

teems1 · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 3:38 pm Post subject:

He's banned from the FIA paddock also.

At least he could boast having knocked up Heidi Klum...

Duane 3NE 2NR · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 11:36 pm Post subject:

^ some people say winning is cheating without getting caught - I guess this time, this one got caught.

Piquet Jr. got immunity for talking. Teams may still seek the services of Briatore and Symonds when or if their ban expires. But I'm sure Nelson better start looking for some taxi to drive.

noshownogo · Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:29 am Post subject:

I wouldn't even give Nelson Jr. the safety car to drive, he that slow. Laughing

TREX · Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 4:18 pm Post subject:

JoKeR1980 · Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 4:49 pm Post subject:

Flavio Briatore's fate was sealed by the evidence of a secret whistleblower within Renault, codenamed 'Witness X'.

Shocked

Maserati · Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 5:39 pm Post subject:

teems1 · Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 5:50 pm Post subject:

AutoSport · Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 11:18 pm Post subject:

Doh forget, that Briatore also said, in a dotish attempt at trying to deny the facts....
"So if I tell him to go and kill somebody, yuh think he will listen to me?"

Look Briatore was not fined one Euro, and he made millions from Renault, and even more millions from the commissions from the drivers he managed, so he must be smiling all the way to his young girlfriend who going an have a baby for him sometime soon.

His punishment as stated above is called "being warned off" - get lost from anything to do with F1.

Also everybody coming down on Piquet jr, but face it, this is the top of racing, and he figured if he did not comply, he is out, and like all persons who in crime, he figured they would never be found out, and he would have his seat for a long time.

BANzai Rastafarai · Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 11:38 pm Post subject:

noshownogo · Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:05 am Post subject:

Doh get me wrong, I commend Piquet Jr. for standing up to his boss and the "system" but that still doesn't make amends for being a slow driver. He was being out performed by just about everyone on the grid.

JoKeR1980 · Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:08 pm Post subject:

WTF @ point #5!!!!????

There were no winners only losers out of the Singapore race fixing 'scandal'. Nelson Piquet Junior may have been given Max Potter's cloak of immunity, but that won't get him a race drive.

1.Nelson Piquet Junior may not expect forgiveness, let's hope he doesn't expect another competitive race drive that his father doesn't have to pay for. NASCAR might be his best bet. They love drivers who crash, even ones that do it deliberately. And if you want, you can get fat and still drive.

2.The punishments handed down to the Renault team by the FIA seem more or less fair considering the severity of the crime. But you have to wonder what the penalty might have been if the team in question had been Mclaren? The Renault team's skullduggery was far in excess of anything that McLaren did during spygate in 2007 and they got a $100m fine. What's more - Renault's offence was only a year after they had been caught doing virtually the same thing as McLaren.

On the basis that McLaren got $100m for some industrial espionage, we should be talking in the $150m region for starters. However Max Mosley knows that if he did that, it would be curtains for the Enstone team and one less engine brand on the grid. His hands were tied...

3.Flavio should have been given a ban for five years not a lifetime. Considering we have a cherished former World Champion who is gagging to get back into a race seat who has caused two deliberate crashes to try and win two World Championships, it seems a bit odd that Flavio got a lifetime ban while all Michael had to do was join a road safety campaign. As with so many things FIA, the punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime, it seems to fit the individual.

4.The FIA are right to stop Briatore, or any other F1 team manager, from becoming a driver manager as well as a team manager. From now on it is common sense that you do one or the other.

5.Nelson Piquet Senior has now had it exposed in the international press that he asked Flavio Briatore to move his son from London to Oxford to keep him away from a 51-year-old 'friend'. Nice one, Dad.

6.Fernando Alonso should sue Nelson Piquet Senior for libel as Senior insisted that Alonso had known about the race fix. What's more, when he was asked to withdraw his remarks he did so very grudgingly, hinting very heavily 'he should have known what was going on with that strategy'.

As Andrew Davies said in Team-Mate Wars, even if Fernando had been in on the plan he probably would have expected Junior to crash it at Turn 13 on Lap 17.

And Alonso still had to work very hard for that win. Nelson's crash just gave Fernando a big advantage. As we saw from Sutil's later crash, another Safety Car could just as easily have wrecked it for Alonso and swung the advantage in someone else's favour.

7.Eddie Irvine and Derek Warwick are right to say that skullduggery has gone on in F1 since it began. There are not many team managers and drivers out their with a totally clear conscience. Alain Prost, who has been mooted as a potential new boss of Renault, condemned the Singapore racefix...but didn't he once crash into the side of Ayrton Senna deliberately at Suzuka? And what about when he asked the Ferrari mechanics to secretly transfer team-mate Nigel Mansell's chassis to him. He's not spotless.

Eddie Jordan has said the affair beggars belief, but then so does claiming you did a $150m deal with Vodafone via a mobile telephone from the back seat of a taxi. Scratch the surface...

8.Nelsinho won't be getting a Christmas card from Felipe Massa. Yet it's wrong to jump to the conclusion that had there been no accident in Singapore then Felipe would have been World Champion. In the following race, the Japanese GP at Mount Fuji, Massa made a desperate attempt to pass Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap with a wreckless move that was never going to work and which sent Lewis out of the points. Had Massa arrived at the GP with a Singapore win under his belt he would never have felt the need for such a rash move.

It's just another motor-racing 'what if'.

9.The words 'Nelson' and 'Piquet' will now form a verb, the meaning of which is to deliberately crash your car, i.e. "I thought, 'what the hell' and Nelson Piquet-ed it into her rear bumper."

10.The affair only reinforces the view that there needs to be a new broom at the FIA and that when Max Mosley retires, Ari Vatanen should take over. Most important is the consistent application of F1's rules. Had the Singapore race stewards enforced the rules that were so strictly adhered to in Belgium (about leaving the track) just two races previously, then Alonso would have been serving a drive-through not cheating his way to victory. Also, it was the poor framing of the Safety Car rules that led to Briatore and Symmonds being able to exploit a situation where cars couldn't pit for fuel when they needed to, without a penalty.

FH

JoKeR1980 · Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:10 pm Post subject:

also...it if was deemed that Renault cheated to win that race, does that mean that Alonso's win will be taken from him? if so..........Massa is the champ!

JoKeR1980 · Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:14 pm Post subject:

sorry, I know its another long, pasted article but its some good stuff!

The Unanswered Questions From Crashgate

They think it's all over. It isn't yet...

* Given what occurred in Singapore and the obvious potential for revenge it offered to Nelson Piquet Jr if he was axed, just what was Flavio Briatore thinking when he sacked him without so much as an assurance that the youngster could become the team's winter test driver? Was this the greatest miscalculation and misjudgement of Briatore's career?

* As the Singapore GP has essentially been declared a fix, should the result be declared void? Will Ferrari raise this matter with either the FIA or the courts in the knowledge that Felipe Massa will - albeit retrospectively - be crowned world champion if the race is wiped from the record books?

* Max Mosley said that Renault's punishment was "the harshest one we can, because Renault have demonstrated they have no moral responsibility for what took place". What happened to the principle of collective responsibility as laid out in the FIA International Sporting Code which states that 'the entrant shall be responsible for all acts or omissions on the part of their driver, mechanic and passengers, each equally responsible for any breach of this code'?

* What now for Briatore at Queens Park Rangers? How does his lifetime ban from F1 relate to the Football League's fit and proper persons test, if at all?

* Renault have been found guilty of deliberately crashing one of their cars at over 100mph, thereby putting driver, competitors, stewards and spectators at danger. As they issued their verdict, was anyone at the FIA aware of how uncomfortably Renault's non-punishment punishment sits alongside the governing body's crusade to improve road safety?

* Why is Renault's ban only suspended for two years? The World Motor Sport Council will only activate this disqualification if 'Renault F1 is found guilty of a comparable breach during that time'. So only if they fix another race before 2013? As this was a crime without precedent in the history of the sport, that's not much of a punishment or deterrent against general wrongdoing is it?

* The monetary difference in the punishments meted out to Renault and McLaren is approximately $98m (Renault have to pay the costs of the investigation and hearing). Has there ever been a more persuasive advertisement for confession?

* To what extent was Renault's 'lenient' punishment the result of their willingness to admit their guilt and to what extent was it caused by a fear that they would quit the sport if heavily punished?

* Why haven't we heard from Briatore? Was his silence agreed as part of his severance from Renault?

* Is Nelson Piquet Jr still being paid by Renault? He says he agreed to crash in order to keep his seat for 2009 so if he is to be paid up until the end of the season then he will have gained considerable financial reward for the subterfuge. Is that right? Is that even legal?

* Who is the mysterious 'Witness X' at Renault? And who at Renault knows his identity?

* Were Ferrari waiting for Fernando Alonso to be officially exonerated before making a definitive decision or announcement on their 2010 driver line-up? Or is the decision still to be made regardless of Alonso's innocence?

* Who will become the manager of Alonso, Romain Grosjean, Heikki Kovalainen and Mark Webber in the wake of Briatore's expulsion? In the wake of such a severe dent to the sport's credibility, should the FIA impose a 'one manager, one driver' directive?

* Was Fernando Alonso the first person to ever appear as a witness in front of the World Council dressed in a pair of jeans?

Maserati · Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 4:03 pm Post subject:

ING and Mutua Madrilena Drop Renault

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78831

BANzai Rastafarai · Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 5:05 pm Post subject:

Joker....good opinions...

JoKeR1980 · Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:28 am Post subject:

what I really want to find out is if Alonso's win would be taken from him, making Massa the WC!

Freelander · Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:46 am Post subject: