The investigation into Nelson Piquet Jr’s crash in the Grand Prix of Singapore last year rolls on, with more details emerging every day – and, like most stories like this, with each turn, the story gets uglier.
The furore started shortly after the Hungarian Grand Prix this year, after which Nelson Piquet was sacked as Renault’s second driver. To be honest, it was a long time coming and was bot unexpected, but the revelations that followed – that Piquet was asked to purposely create a safety car situation last year in the night race in Singapore – came out of the blue and caused quite a stir.
It should be noted that questions were asked of the crash at the time. Some people had remarked that it was incredibly convenient that the crash benefited Fernando Alonso so well. Indeed, he went on to win the race – comfortably, in fact. However, it is not the details of the crash that I am interested in here. If you want more details, feel free to check out the accounts on F1 Fanatic (an awesome Formula 1 website) and on James Allen’s website.
What I am more concerned with here is the slightly concerning dribble of information slowly leaking out of how this enquiry is being dealt with. Firstly, some of the documents submitted by Nelson Piquet’s family were leaked, which was met by Renault with a writ for attempted blackmail by the Piquet family.
Then, in a move similar to that which was granted to McLaren drivers Pedro de la Rosa dn Fernando Alonso in the 2007 Spy Scandal, it transpired that Nelson Piquet Jr has been granted immunity if he promises to tell everything he knows. Martin Brundle described the 2007 case as having the feel of a witch-hunt – an accusation the FIA met with a writ themselves. However, today it transpires that Reanult’s Pat Symonds has also been granted immunity if he is willing to come clean and tell all himself. This is, apparently, because the FIA think he may not have told everything he knows (that is, assuming there is more to know).
So what is so interesting and dangerous about this? Well, the problem is that the whole case hinges on a meeting involving Piquet, Symonds and Renault F1 boss Flavio Briatore. The problem? No such offer of immunity has been made to Briatore. It looks like the FIA have already decided that Renault are guilty, or, more specifically, Flavio Briatore.
Whether that is right or wrong, that is not the way to go about things. It is well known that Flavio Briatore and Max Mosley are hardly the best of friends, and the issues with FOTA, Flavio and the FIA this season have done to help that. So, is the FIA (or just Max Mosley) out to get Flavio, come what may?
It does have all the hallmarks of a witch-hunt. But, obviously, to avoid a writ from the FIA myself, I couldn’t actually come out and actually say, “by the way, it’s a bit of a witch-hunt, isn’t it?”
So I’ll leave that to your imagination.
Edit: Two links for you: firstly, a transcript of Pat Symonds’ FIA interview in Belgium, and secondly, a piece on the rights and wrongs of immunity. An interesting read.
i’m glad there are more of these web sites every day.
general public needs to be educated to avoid just jumping on a lynching wagon.
to carry on in the spirit of witchhunt :) it was always uneducated and primitive people who made the lynch mob. :)