Documentary evidence re the Piquet crash

[bobbins]

Hi there,

My friend works for Williams F1. He just forwarded me the dossier of evidence regarding this affair.
It shows Piquet's sworn admission to the FIA that he was asked by Technical Director Pat Symonds and Team Principal Flavio Briatore before the Singapore GP to crash his car. He says he did it because Briatore had been constantly putting off talk of his contract extension and was trying to get him to sign an "option" preventing him from negotiating with other teams. He says he thought if he went along with their request they would extend his contract.

The stewards' conclusions, based on various technical evidence, interviews with the men, and the transcript of the conversations during the race, are that Piquet's statement is most probably true.

Briatore denies and says Piquet Jnr's dad is alleging this to try to blackmail him into extending his son's contract.

Briatore's resignation means that he cannot be tried by the FIA. He's off the hook.

[Funky]

Innocent

[kron-1664]

i reckon he will get off, a sworn statement means nothing, if there is no hard evidence in writing or recordings of him actually being asked to do this , all the dodgy telemetry and coincidence in the world can be enough to convict someone.

[paulmason]

Innocent, your having a laugh. Apparently he can not be charged because the coward quit. If he was innocent and had nothing to do with it, he would have stayed and proved he was innocent.

"Flavio Briatore's position as majority owner of QPR appears secure in the wake of the Formula 1 race-fixing saga. Had the ex-Renault team boss been found guilty of fixing the Singapore Grand Prix, he would have failed the Football League's fit and proper person test. But the Italian, 59, can no longer be charged now that he has left Renault."

i reckon he will get off, a sworn statement means nothing, if there is no hard evidence in writing or recordings of him actually being asked to do this , all the dodgy telemetry and coincidence in the world can be enough to convict someone.

If this is true, why did he quit ?

[bobbins]

Agreed. Surely, one's reputation is the most important thing one has. If you faced charges of disrepute of this scale you would fight tooth and nail to clear your name. Unless, of course, you thought the judicial process was rigged. But I don't think that's the case here at all. It all seems very transparent.
Surely, quiting suggests guilt, by association at the very least.

[Funky]

Innocent, your having a laugh. Apparently he can not be charged because the coward quit. If he was innocent and had nothing to do with it, he would have stayed and proved he was innocent.

"Flavio Briatore's position as majority owner of QPR appears secure in the wake of the Formula 1 race-fixing saga. Had the ex-Renault team boss been found guilty of fixing the Singapore Grand Prix, he would have failed the Football League's fit and proper person test. But the Italian, 59, can no longer be charged now that he has left Renault."

The mans innocent Piquet's a liar FACT

[Robbo]

Innocent

Not quite the same as "off the hook".

But if he does escape the trap door, I hope he devotes his attention and time to QPR, and focuses on sorting a few things out... like falling crowds, the bloody great expensive mess that the squad has become, and the p*ss-poor reputation we have within football and the media.

Still not entirely convinced that the FIA can't ban him from any future involvement in Formula 1, just because he left Renault before the trial.
That seems odd.

[Funky]

Look he is probably as guilty as sin but at the end of the day who cares.

The guys put a fair few quid into Rangers, like him or not without him we would be in trouble.

People should remember that when getting on their high horse and demmanding a return to the good old days.....funnily enough it's always the same miserable sods that are moaning.

[brightonr]

If two parties are claiming completely opposite versions, in the absence of any factual evidence, (of which there can be none in this case without an admission of guilt), then any ruling can only be made on the balance of probability and not fact. Therefore, even if FB had stayed and been found to be innocent, there would always be an element of doubt regarding his conduct, just as there would have been about Piquet's should he have been believed.

FB has stated, although some will no doubt take it with a large pinch of salt, that he resigned in the interests of Renault. Some will believe him, some will not. I suspect Paul, that you would not.

Slightly off the point I know, but there have been many instances where the clear and indisputable evidence has been ignored in favour of bringing about a "Just" outcome. Derek Bentley was proved to be innocent and pardoned, 45 years after they had hung him. The actual perpetrator of the crime served 10 years, because he was 16 years old.

[bobbins]

This "Funky" character is a bizarre sort. His debating style needs some finessing. He's gone from "innocent -fact!" to "guilty as sin" in two posts! Then he changes tack and argues that no one should care because the guy has put money into our club, before charging us with being moaning miserable sods.
Personally, I care about the reputation of people running QPR because, though it may not have occured to Funky, money in business is not the only guarantee of success. It is also a matter of how you run that business. And part of that is the ethics and values you impart on the people who work for you, the cultural environment you establish and propagate. Therefore, it is well within the bounds of possiblity, probability even, that the corrupt, cheating practices that took place within Renault under Briatore's management, whether Briatore was culpable in this instance or not, could transfer here, bringing both disrepute to our club and potential punishment too.

[paulmason]

Funky - I know you are referring to me as a miserable sod moaning, thats to do will the general malaise surrounding everything to do with QPR at the moment. Tell me one good thing that happened to QPR FC in the last 6 months (no community related). Benny posted on another thread that he used to feel like a child at Christmas going to QPR, but doesn't any more and that's all to do with the people who currently run QPR FC .......... not moaning from disgruntled fans.

You quite rightly say Flavio has spent a lot of money (albeit in the the wrong areas) and we should cut him some slack, but all I ask is that the people who represent my football team, do so with a degree of honour and don't do things that bring unwanted howls of laughter whilst my kids and I are wearing our QPR tops.

[Robbo]

Look he is probably as guilty as sin but at the end of the day who cares.

The guys put a fair few quid into Rangers, like him or not without him we would be in trouble.

People should remember that when getting on their high horse and demmanding a return to the good old days.....funnily enough it's always the same miserable sods that are moaning.

You might not care, and I'm not overly fussed about what he might or might not have done in F1. I'm not interested in motor racing.
You're right there.

But the important thing is, the Football League might care, and could throw him out.
Just because he's resigned, doesn't mean he can't be banned from F1 in the future... IF the allegations are found to be true.

It doesn't matter if he's not officially listed as Chairman of QPR.
"Football League rules state any shareholder or director must be removed if they are banned by a recognised sport's governing body."

So if he is banned from being a part of F1 in the future - whether he's resigned from Renault or not... he's in big trouble.
And the fans opinions of him, what they think about him, how grateful they are, or what they post on messageboards wont matter a toss.

It is still all guesswork what will happen. Some papers say one thing, some say another.
But until monday is done and dusted... and nobody knows what will happen at that enquiry - he is not off the hook. Yet.

[Funky]

Funky - I know you are referring to me as a miserable sod moaning, thats to do will the general malaise surrounding everything to do with QPR at the moment. Tell me one good thing that happened to QPR FC in the last 6 months (no community related). Benny posted on another thread that he used to feel like a child at Christmas going to QPR, but doesn't any more and that's all to do with the people who currently run QPR FC .......... not moaning from disgruntled fans.

You quite rightly say Flavio has spent a lot of money (albeit in the the wrong areas) and we should cut him some slack, but all I ask is that the people who represent my football team, do so with a degree of honour and don't do things that bring unwanted howls of laughter whilst my kids and I are wearing our QPR tops.

Actually I was not refering to you more some of the more frequent posters on another website who are attracted to bad news like a moth to a flame.

The biggest joke and bad press surrounding us was when we had buckets outside the ground, could not pay the players wage bill, and having to clubs credit card delclined when trying to make hotel bookings.

You might not care, and I'm not overly fussed about what he might or might not have done in F1. I'm not interested in motor racing.
You're right there.

But the important thing is, the Football League might care, and could throw him out.
Just because he's resigned, doesn't mean he can't be banned from F1 in the future... IF the allegations are found to be true.

It doesn't matter if he's not officially listed as Chairman of QPR.
"Football League rules state any shareholder or director must be removed if they are banned by a recognised sport's governing body."

So if he is banned from being a part of F1 in the future - whether he's resigned from Renault or not... he's in big trouble.
And the fans opinions of him, what they think about him, how grateful they are, or what they post on messageboards wont matter a toss.

It is still all guesswork what will happen. Some papers say one thing, some say another.
But until monday is done and dusted... and nobody knows what will happen at that enquiry - he is not off the hook. Yet.

Some good points well made

[Robbo]

Actually I was not refering to you more some of the more frequent posters on another website who are attracted to bad news like a moth to a flame.

The biggest joke and bad press surrounding us was when we had buckets outside the ground, could not pay the players wage bill, and having to clubs credit card delclined when trying to make hotel bookings.

Yeah, but we still got Jamie Cureton.




(winky)

[paulmason]

Thinking about it, if he is not guilty, he will sue Renault for every penny they have for slander, defamation of character, unfair dismissal and much much more, Then he will also sue Piquet Jr and Sr and he will be able to invest all that free money into QPR FC.