Nelson Piquet Jr, CrashGate, or LeakGate?
The FIA, motorsport’s world governing body, have confirmed they are investigating the events that led to Renault’s Fernando Alonso winning last October’s Singapore Grand Prix.
The full extent of the alleged conspiracy by the Renault Formula One team to cheat by deliberately causing a crash at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix was laid bare yesterday with the leak of a summary of the evidence given to the FIA by the driver at the center of the scandal.
Nelson Piquet Jr, who was sacked by Renault at the end of July, says in a statement recorded at the FIA headquarters in Paris and published on the internet yesterday that not only was he asked to crash his car but that senior team manager Pat Symonds showed him on a map of the circuit where he was to drive his car into the barriers.
Nelson Piquet Jr crashed on lap 14, shortly after Alonso had gone into the pits, bringing out a safety car for seven laps, which proved instrumental in the Spaniard winning.
SpeedTV is reporting Symonds was evasive and refused to answer “direct questions” regarding the incident when asked by chief FIA steward Alan Donnelly.
That may, I repeat may lend some credence that Piquet Jr isn’t some type of uber-disgruntled employee as a result of being shown the garage door.
It may also support a theory that goes something like, Lawyer to Symonds: “SHUT the hell up.”
UPDATE: Thanks to long-time commenter George we now know Renault’s response to Piquet Jr’s. allegations.
Their commencing criminal proceedings against both Piquet Jr. and Sr. Hell, they’re even claiming the two attempted to blackmail Renault into allowing Piquet Jr to drive for the remainder of the 2009 season.
This is going to get interesting.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a3ca970d-ba31-4746-a8e4-091ebcf12694)
Well first up, Piquet claims he was asked to do something that he knew was wrong & he still went & did it, clearly he has no moral compass as he could simply have said no. To have made this statement however is a bold move, he is risking his own integrity, reputation & future, I have to now believe that there is some fire where perhaps there had been little smoke.
Briatore & Symonds can simply deny the accusation & it will come down to the FIA believing that one side is lying & the other telling the truth.
The question will be asked, is Piquet a highly disgruntled former employee bent on revenge whatever the cost? Or is he a victim (despite having the ability to have refused). I can’t really see how Renault could claim that he acted alone believing that it was in his best interests for a future with the team, & that the team had no complicity in his actions.
Is Piquet lying? It is one hell of a tale to concoct. Is it possible that this is the petulant temper tantrum of a spoilt child. And what of Piquet Sr, did junior not tell his own father before or after the alleged staged accident.
The conspiracy theorist in me is in overdrive: Who leaked this statement to the FIA, Piquet or Max? It did pop up in the Brazillian press.
I said, at the time this rumor surfacec, that I would store it in Area 51 like so many other crazy F1 tales, until I heard Piquet say it was true. And now he has done just that!
If Renault are found guilty there will be blood on the walls. Stepney & Coughlin were made persona non grata & the same would apply to Symonds & Briatore. I wonder if Flavio can wiggle his way off the hook. Something, however, keeps nagging at me, they must have known it would come out one day………so why risk it. Can’t wait to hear the Renault reply.
Renault reply: They are going to suit the gonads off of both Piquets, and as much as I despise Flabio, more power to them.
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21823.html
Persona non grata? Flavio?
Well then, I missed out when Hiedi dumped Flava-Flavio, maybe now if he’s persona non grata I can get a piece of Elisabetta Gregoraci.
What a mess, although the Renault side of the story has not come out yet, my instinct is begining to think that the Piquet’s may be making this up……..let’s see what happens.