You thought that I’d given up writing, didn’t you? It has been nearly a month since I last wrote anything, so I apologise for that. I’d like to say that I think it has been worth the wait, but I think we all know that’s probably not true.
Formula One has been in the headlines a bit recently, with the Renault F1 team being found guilty of ‘race-fixing’. Flamboyant Flavio Briatore has been banished, possibly forever, Pat Symonds is out for five years and the team has a suspended two year ban.
It’s a very serious situation and needed to be dealt with severely, but I don’t think that it has been. Nelson Piquet Jr, the third point on the triangle, has basically got away scot free – given immunity from prosecution for providing evidence. But why should he? The whole situation only came to light after Piquet was dumped from the Renault F1 team for not achieving results. He attempted to play the hard man and blackmail Flavio to regain his place and when Flavio told him where to go, he threw his teddy out of the pram and went to the FIA.
But the whole thing could not have happened without his involvement and his complicity. If he wasn’t happy about doing it, he should have gone to the FIA at the race last year. But he didn’t. Instead, he risked his own life and that of spectators and marshals and then kept quiet about it all.
And Max Moseley’s contention that parent company Renault should not be punished, as it was not their responsibility? Sorry, that doesn’t wash either. Ultimately, they are responsible for everything that their employees do – whether sanctioned by them or not. The team, the parent company and all of the individuals directly involved should have been banned with immediate effect.
Of course, the reasons they weren’t are commercial ones. If you exclude Renault from F1, then a number of other teams are going to be unable to compete because they won’t have engines. And then Bernie and Max’s little money-spinning empire comes crashing down around their ears.
On the face of it, though, that wouldn’t be all bad – having seen Bernie’s tap dance today when being ‘interviewed’ by the BBC at the qualifying session for this year’s Singapore race, my opinion of the man has not improved – we need someone straight running F1,
I can’t see any team really wanting to take Piquet Jr on as a driver. A very tainted reputation.
Not that he had much of a reputation to begin with. I think that’s the last we’ll see of him.
You’re right, he’s pretty much unemployable now. His talent was over-egged somewhat by the famous name.