There really is a lot of hoopla and hyperbole in the press at the moment. Most are saying that this is the worst example of cheating ever, and the blackest day for F1.
Central to the media's criticism of 'Crashgate' has been the danger Piquet, the other drivers, the marshals and spectators were put in in Singapore by Renault's actions. This is, of course, a justified observation but some commentators have been a bit over-the-top when reporting the chances of injury.
Yes, it could have caused death or injury - we have seen in recent months in motorsport that debris, for instance, can be fatal. But it's also important to remember that there hasn't been a driver fatality in F1 since 1994 and, since then, there have been two instances in about 250 races of marshal's being killed. That's two too many, of course, but a relatively low ratio. I would say the chances of 'crashgate' hurting someone was extremely small. Eddie Irvine agrees:
"I think the chances of someone being killed were very, very slim," the Irishman stressed, speaking to the BBC. "I think that's all been blown up. It was a reasonably slow corner; it was no big deal of an accident to be honest. When you plan to crash you can crash pretty much any way you want, so the idea that it's the most amazing piece of cheating in professional sport - which I've read - I think is totally out of order."
Irvine believes that the sentence handed to Renault on Monday will be a relatively modest one, given the fact that the sport doesn't want to lose another team.
"Formula One cannot afford to lose more teams. The manufacturers are falling like ducks here, so to me it will probably be a massaged court where the fine or whatever it will be will be reduced [so as] not to scare Renault away. There are several teams out there that are looking pretty shaky, and they can't afford to give Renault the boot out of Formula One. What they did to McLaren was completely over-the-top."
With McLaren, the Federation was angry at having been lied to. At first they only reprimanded Mclaren, but when it came to light that the court hadn't been presented with all the facts, they came down hard. Renault have said they will not contest the charges, i.e they are pleading guilty, and none of the three men involved in the crime are with the team anymore - assuming that no others were aware of what was going on. Alonso, for example.
So if Renault are open and honest with the FIA, in my opinion the sentence won't be a ban and it won't be a $100 million fine.
Central to the media's criticism of 'Crashgate' has been the danger Piquet, the other drivers, the marshals and spectators were put in in Singapore by Renault's actions. This is, of course, a justified observation but some commentators have been a bit over-the-top when reporting the chances of injury.
Yes, it could have caused death or injury - we have seen in recent months in motorsport that debris, for instance, can be fatal. But it's also important to remember that there hasn't been a driver fatality in F1 since 1994 and, since then, there have been two instances in about 250 races of marshal's being killed. That's two too many, of course, but a relatively low ratio. I would say the chances of 'crashgate' hurting someone was extremely small. Eddie Irvine agrees:
"I think the chances of someone being killed were very, very slim," the Irishman stressed, speaking to the BBC. "I think that's all been blown up. It was a reasonably slow corner; it was no big deal of an accident to be honest. When you plan to crash you can crash pretty much any way you want, so the idea that it's the most amazing piece of cheating in professional sport - which I've read - I think is totally out of order."
Irvine believes that the sentence handed to Renault on Monday will be a relatively modest one, given the fact that the sport doesn't want to lose another team.
"Formula One cannot afford to lose more teams. The manufacturers are falling like ducks here, so to me it will probably be a massaged court where the fine or whatever it will be will be reduced [so as] not to scare Renault away. There are several teams out there that are looking pretty shaky, and they can't afford to give Renault the boot out of Formula One. What they did to McLaren was completely over-the-top."
With McLaren, the Federation was angry at having been lied to. At first they only reprimanded Mclaren, but when it came to light that the court hadn't been presented with all the facts, they came down hard. Renault have said they will not contest the charges, i.e they are pleading guilty, and none of the three men involved in the crime are with the team anymore - assuming that no others were aware of what was going on. Alonso, for example.
So if Renault are open and honest with the FIA, in my opinion the sentence won't be a ban and it won't be a $100 million fine.
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