The sudden resignation of Oliver Oakes from Alpine has thrust Flavio Briatore, previously the team’s executive consultant, into direct charge of a Formula 1 team once again.
Briatore returned to the team in the middle of last season, 15 years on from his ousting as a result of the notorious Crashgate scandal, arguably Formula 1’s greatest controversy. While he was team principal of Renault, Briatore, along with technical director Pat Symonds, was found to have orchestrated a deliberate crash.The FIA attempted to ban the pair from participating in F1. But the bans were overturned, and now Briatore is running a team again, while Symonds is a consultant to F1’s new team which will arrive next year.
Should either still be involved in F1? Or has enough time passed for even a controversy of this magnitude to be forgotten?
Briatore, Symonds and ‘crashgate’
Five days later the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council issued its judgement on the case, choosing not to punish Renault but banning Briatore indefinitely and Symonds for five years. It did this by announcing it would not sanction any event they participated in nor any driver they managed during that time. It was one of the last major decisions taken by the FIA under Max Mosley before Jean Todt was elected as his successor the following month.
The FIA ruled Briatore’s more severe punishment was justified “not only [due] to the severity of the breach in which Mr Briatore was complicit but also to his actions in continuing to deny his participation in the breach despite all the evidence.” However in Symonds’ case it took into account his “admission that he took part in the conspiracy; and […] his communication to the meeting of the WMSC that it was to his ‘eternal regret and shame’ that he participated in the conspiracy.”
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But the punishments did not stick. In January the following year Briatore took the case to France’s high court, the Tribunal de Grande Instance, which ruled “the sanction was illegal.”
The FIA originally indicated it would appeal but in April 2010 it reached an out-of-court settlement with the pair. Under this, both agreed they would not participate in Formula 1 before the end of 2012; in effect, their sentences had been reduced to less than three years.
In a statement, Briatore said he agreed “to bear his share of responsibility in the Singapore events in his capacity as managing director of the Renault F1 Team, at the time they happened, without any admission of […] personal guilt in these events.”
Later the same year the FIA announced it would introduce a competitor staff registration system allowing it to suspend anyone it deemed “not in good standing.”
The pair found responsible for Crashgate have ultimately returned to F1: Briatore last year and Symonds much earlier. He joined Marussia as a technical consultant in 2013, then moved to Williams, spent several years working for Formula 1 on its new car regulations and was hired by Cadillac last year as it prepared to join the grid next year.
Although much time has passed since Crashgate, its full implications may not yet be known. Felipe Massa has brought a legal action against FIA and FOM, claiming the controversial race should be stricken from the record books entirely, and he should therefore be recognised as that year’s champion. Other team bosses are wondering what implications the outcome of that trial might have for other controversies.
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Should either of the pair whose plan caused so much controversy and damage to the championship’s reputation ever have been allowed to return to it?
You say
Has enough time passed for Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds to be welcomed back into F1, or was Crashgate so serious they should be kept outside? Cast your votes below and have your say in the comments.
Do you agree Flavio Briatore should be allowed to work at an F1 team?
- No opinion (0%)
- Strongly disagree (79%)
- Slightly disagree (6%)
- Neither agree nor disagree (2%)
- Slightly agree (5%)
- Strongly agree (7%)
Total Voters: 224
Loading ...Do you agree Pat Symonds should be allowed to work at an F1 team?
- No opinion (1%)
- Strongly disagree (34%)
- Slightly disagree (21%)
- Neither agree nor disagree (15%)
- Slightly agree (16%)
- Strongly agree (12%)
Total Voters: 218
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Coventry Climax
11th May 2025, 10:13
No, nor will it ever be long enough ago. There’s a fundamental malfunction in your brain if you willingly think of, discuss with others and then execute plans like these, and it has proved you to be unsuitable for ‘office’ in F1, whatever function.
That malfunction won’t miraculously get better over time.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
11th May 2025, 11:25
+1 Well said.
PacificPR (@streydt)
11th May 2025, 12:06
+1
Boomerang
11th May 2025, 14:48
Such rigidity is attributed only to the Pharisees.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
11th May 2025, 19:33
Yeh makes them feel better about themselves if they make a big show of puritanical righteousness and they dont actually have to do anything, well apart from wag their finger
BasCB (@bascb)
11th May 2025, 21:12
Not to mention that as far as I know Briatore hasn’t ever expressed any regrets about the whole matter, while Symonds did only say something along the lines of “i am not happy how it turned out” I believe.
Red Pill (@redpill)
11th May 2025, 23:18
You know for the longest time, I thought ’08 crash gate was Flavio’s only very bad thing (and it was bad), But then you look deeper into his past, he’s done even worse; he has several previous convictions of serious fraud and cheating, then he escaped Europe as a fugitive to a country without extradition to avoid his (2) 4 1/2 years of jail sentence’s; this was before he was busted for ’08’s Crashgate. Also, check out his history when he worked as an assistant to businessman Attilio Dutto, who was killed in a car bomb during that time, the previous owner of that business was Michele Sindona.
This guy has a bad rap sheet, and I’m very surprised FIA, F1 & Alpine would continue to let this guy be in charge of a team, let alone in the paddock. I guess they all deserve the repercussions and image that Flavio causes? It’s not like they didn’t know.
I’m just surprised how well he snake charmed himself back into F1 and it’s public image. You have to give him that, I guess he has exceptional talent, the type you would see in a David Mamet script.
Get the popcorn out!
elchinero (@elchinero)
14th May 2025, 13:02
“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown” or something similar. It’s ALL entertainment!
Red Pill (@redpill)
15th May 2025, 7:49
@elchinero That’s a classic line quote and very much spot on, and relevant to the above.
I’m going to guess, that we may soon see Alpine trying to distance itself as being Chinatown, and get Flavio more behind the curtain. Or at this point for them, maybe any news about Alpine is good news, regardless how bad it is : )
Ferdi
12th May 2025, 6:42
I agree, but to what extent is what has happened worse than the scripting of the 2021 season. I feel Liberty and FIA should never be allowed to be near F1 either.
BasCB (@bascb)
12th May 2025, 6:49
To the degree that it could have cost immense physical harm to racing drivers Ferdi, and they did it on purpose. That should be a VERY clear difference
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
12th May 2025, 9:08
@bascb Parts of the “scripting” (in particular the wrongful attempt to start Belgium 2021) endangered every driver on the grid and some of the audience, and the press release afterwards suggested the FIA was proud of it. As far as I am concerned, Belgium 2021 in particular was worse (although Singapore 2008 also crossed the threshold).
Ferdi
12th May 2025, 9:14
Silverstone?
kcrossle (@kcrossle)
12th May 2025, 22:33
Huh?
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
14th May 2025, 10:00
@kcrossle I believe Ferdi is referring to the 51 G crash between Hamilton and Verstappen, which resulted in Max taking a precautionary trip to hospital. From later reporting, he may have also received a concussion in the crash (that he didn’t mention at the time in case it endangered his championship).
People who argue that Silverstone 2021 was scripted suggest that the FIA either told Hamilton to crash, or (much more commonly) that they subsequently soft-pedalled the penalty in order to keep the championship alive. (For myself, I see the FIA’s actions as being within the standard range of penalties for the FIA, especially given that the offence was “causing a collision” – which exists in the regulations – rather than “causing accidental harm to another competitor” – which does not).
Other 2021 issues with FIA behaviour that could easily have caused injury include Belgium (according to the regulations, the start attempt was timed out and invalid – and that was timed out by legal settlement, so interpreting the regulation the way the FIA did opened up a lawsuit possibility), Monza (Halo save for Hamilton) and Abu Dhabi (trapped a bunch of people being lapped halfway through the unlap procedure), to name but three.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
12th May 2025, 9:06
Brains and hearts can be changed. The crux of the question here is: have theirs?
Applebook
13th May 2025, 20:00
He should be in prison, not the paddock.
MikePrice
11th May 2025, 10:27
Of course. We can’t be hypocrites, they exploited the rules like everyone. In this particular case we knew the sc rule was problematic, there were some suspicious races before, though none like this. In the end I admire their cunning and I feel wronged because there were some other instances of cheating that didn’t get punished like this one.
S Arkazam
11th May 2025, 11:35
I can see that, and even agree.
But instructing a driver to deliberately crash is one galaxy too far.
bosyber (@bosyber)
11th May 2025, 16:01
Indeed, that’s the part which is fundamentally wrong for anyone in motorsport.
S
12th May 2025, 11:15
Is it really that much worse than instructing a driver to pull over for his team mate? Or simply just to retire the car without crashing?
The outcome and effect may be different, but the action is essentially the same – team orders are team orders, and they are all fundamentally unsporting.
Either way, it was something the driver fulfilled of their own accord, regardless of the pressure on them. When a team is issuing that order, your F1 career is almost certainly already over no matter how it turns out.
Ferdi
12th May 2025, 6:47
Exactly. This was just an exposed example. Current owners script outcomes frequently and the 2021 season was the worst example of that so far… gets unpunished.. somehow Liberty and the FIA are still around. Then why not Flavio?
Jane (@janedone)
11th May 2025, 10:30
I’d take Flavio or Pat over Ben for F1A prez anyday.
Coventry Climax
11th May 2025, 14:12
Your universe is apparently very, very limited.
I’d grab anyone with at least some sense of morale from the streets and have her(!?) replace MBS, but his unsuitedness isn’t making the other two suitable all of a sudden.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
12th May 2025, 9:13
pretty much. Manipulation and cheating in F1 ? Say it’s not so. OMG. That never happens, ever.
I don’t know if it’s British thing, or just a european culture thing, but there seems to be extreme condemnation for those who the system rejects vs those it constantly protects, even though the system itself is far more corrupting and manipulative.
So the polls don’t really mean much, they just are a sign as to how effective F1 is at virtue signaling and pretending it’s dealing with things like corruption.
Matt Buck (@thenewno2)
11th May 2025, 10:40
No, they should never be allowed back. Not in F1, not in F2, not in lawnmower racing. Piquet should have been banned for going along with it, as should people like Santino Ferrucci for similar intentional crashes. People who intentionally endanger marshalls or other competitors should not be welcome in sport of any kind.
Althasil (@althasil)
11th May 2025, 13:27
I could not agree more.
J765
11th May 2025, 17:45
And yet, it’s been 17 years that we’ve had the biggest beneficiary of that crash in F1, which obviously knew what was going to happen beforehand.
Jonathan Parkin
12th May 2025, 5:10
No he didn’t. Do you really think Flavio would want Fernando – his golden boy – within 600 miles of this. I don’t. He didn’t know anything trust me
anon
12th May 2025, 6:44
As I suspect neither yourself, nor the poster that you are responding to, would have been in the meetings where they planned this crash, we cannot say for certain who else within the team might, or might not, have known what was planned, including what knowledge Alonso may have had of the plans.
For what it is worth, it seems that, shortly ahead of launching his recent legal proceedings, Felipe Massa accused Alonso of having knowledge of the plans. Massa’s claimed that, whenever he asked Alonso about those events whilst they were teammates at Ferrari, Alonso always acted very evasively and never wanted to give him an answer about what he knew, leading Massa to conclude that Alonso knew about the plot and wanted to avoid giving Massa an answer that might implicate him.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
12th May 2025, 9:15
Fernando couldn’t give information he didn’t have, and furthermore any time someone says something that has legal implications (a standard law court could have tried this had the FIA gone down that path), giving away as little as possible is the standard policy.
bosyber (@bosyber)
12th May 2025, 15:52
I have to agree with Alianora that Alonso not wanting to talk about crashgate with Massa or being uncomfortable about it doesn’t prove much at all especially given how Massa is putting his not winning the years championship almost solely on that incident by now.
I find it hard to believe that Alonso didn’t know something was up, but I really don’t see why anyone would want their star driver to know any specifics of what they were planning to do as there wasn’t any need for him to do other than follow the strategy (the part where I think he would know something was up, bc. on its own it didn’t seem like a solid one) and drive the car, which part he’d do anyway.
anon
12th May 2025, 21:34
@alianora-la-canta I threw that in as an aside as a demonstration of an event where you can interpret the actions in many different ways, depending on your predisposition to believe a particular side. Massa, perhaps understandably, may be rather strongly motivated to believe a particular line, but whether that really is true, or if it was something that Massa wanted to believe was true, is something we don’t know.
It’s a situation where I suspect we’ll never know the full details of who knew what was planned and when they found out about it, unless somebody chooses to give more details.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
14th May 2025, 10:08
anon, the line you are taking implies that silence should be taken as confirming whatever one wishes to believe. From a legal standpoint (at least in the UK, where Renault – Alonso and Briatore’s team at the time), that’s simply not true. I remember Joe Saward in particular being very strict in comments about responses to his writing about Singapore 2008, specifically because of the legal implications of taking silence as confirming whatever one wishes to believe in live or likely-to-be-live court matters (contrary to what some British tabloids assume, courts can and do penalise people for saying things that could significantly affect a court proceeding).
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
12th May 2025, 9:11
J765, if Fernando had known about the Nelsinho Defence in advance, it would almost certainly have failed.
He is, after all, the same driver who reported his then-team boss the previous year, despite having good reason to know then that it was going to cost him and his team a lot (maybe not the title, but it was always going to make his title attempt tougher – most people would have been silenced or at least opted to go anonymous with that incentive alone).
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
11th May 2025, 10:54
Strongly agree for briatore (I know, minority, but 12% means I’m at least not the only one) as he’s a very capable team manager and I think the ideal person for the job, pat symonds don’t care, so voted for middle option, which I see is a lot more popular than for briatore.
An Sionnach
11th May 2025, 11:13
Briatore is made to look even better by the fact that the Renault organisation was so wilfully bad. Prost has said enough about that. It was in 1983 that they fired him, their best driver who had come within two points of winning the championship. Different people, not dissimilar attitude.
The team is much improved under Briatore. He’s given enough to Renault at this stage, though. Perhaps it’s time for him to repay his debt to Italy and take over at Ferrari? He might prefer to serve that three year jail sentence?!?
Coventry Climax
11th May 2025, 14:16
You seem to complete ignore that what Briatore got (or was promised) for it was probably his incentive to go this route in the first place. Likewise for Symonds and let’s be fair, most likely a couple others.
An Sionnach
11th May 2025, 19:01
I’m not sure what you mean. I’m more than capable of telling people what I think, however. No need to suggest what that is.
An Sionnach
11th May 2025, 11:01
Is there a place for forgiveness in the world? My attitude is that there is, but it is dependant on genuine remorse and not doing the same thing again. I also think that there should be an element of punishment in every sentence, as it isn’t uncommon for people to be nominally sorry when caught if that means they evade punishment.
Briatore didn’t serve any time in prison for his fraud convictions as he absconded beyond the reach of extradition, and only returned after an amnesty.
That, and the F1 debacle were a long time ago. Welcome back to F1 Flavio. You’ve got to keep to the rules this time!
Coventry Climax
11th May 2025, 14:24
Three Hail Mary’s, a full dollar in the collection bag and carry on as usual while we wipe it under the carpet.
I don’t think the millions of kids that were ‘helped’ by the allmighty benevolent church are very much in favor of this.
Forgiveness is fine, but there is a relation there with the severity (or idiocy) of the transgression, the remorse shown and the dues paid. None of the latter seem applicable to Briatore, and very dubiously for Symonds.
David BR (@david-br)
11th May 2025, 11:19
The reputation of both is indelibly tainted in the minds of most people involved in Formula 1 or following the sport.
I realize improved safety means that serious injury or fatality from a crash is less likely for the driver. But there are countless scenarios where a bigger incident could have resulted and other drivers or track marshalls could have been injured or worse. As well as utterly cynical, the deliberate crash made a mockery of the efforts by the likes of Stewart to improve Formula 1 safety, making such a ‘faked crash’ a possibility for those with no ethics, and really quite sickening when you think of the deaths in Formula 1 and motorsport generally. Although Piquet Jr went along, it’s also highly likely that he did so under pressure for his position. He was employee being asked to do something against the rules and potentially dangerous to himself and others by company superiors. Whether you’re happy with that – as some people seem to be above – really says what your worldview and values are. It’s exploitation and in my most firms and industries, it would be the basis for a criminal investigation. As with many incidents in Formula 1, a powerful, influential and rich sport (and industry), these incidents are made to ‘go away’ by other means – out of court and behind the scenes deals.
All so Alonso could win a race.
Should either men be in entrusted positions in Formula 1? Briatore in particular having denied all personal involvement? I struggle to see how that needs answering but apparently some are fine with watching a sport run with no sporting values or personal ethics.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
11th May 2025, 11:28
+1 Well said.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
11th May 2025, 12:02
Weirdly, the one who threw themselves into a wall is the one who’s probably suffered the most. Between Briatore, Symonds and Nelson Piquet Jnr, two of the three went on to run F1 teams and work for the FIA.
Totally agree with ‘David-BR’. Yes, there would have been pressure to ‘fake crash’, and it’s not easy to walk away when the boss tells you to do something, and yes, Flavio denies it.
But trust is a weird thing, if you were given the choice Flavio Briatore or Adrian Newey where would you go?
Ferdi
12th May 2025, 6:50
Still very similar to the 2021 season in which only one man was scapegoated. I do not see much difference between Liberty/FIA and Briatore. They should all leave. Never going to happen though.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
12th May 2025, 11:43
The anger is partly justified, but we should keep in mind that it had nothing to do with Verstappen. Abu Dhabi indeed was shambolic, but Verstappen did nothing wrong. Putting him in the same basket with the FIA in this affair and suggesting he should leave the sport is tribalism at his worst. By the way Masi has gone though…
Ferdi
13th May 2025, 7:01
Thanks for sticking up for Max. I was referring to Masi. I know both drivers had little to do with the fraudulent proceedings of 2021. I meant Masi was the one that had to leave, but in real life we all know Liberty and FIA are the ones that need to leave.
MichaelN
11th May 2025, 11:43
The big factor here for me is the callous disregard F1 shows for marshal safety. Their unwillingness to strictly enforce yellow flag rules puts these people in great danger, and it was even worse in 2008 when Whiting ran the show. Thus everyone out to deliberately create a situation like this is forever stained by their involvement. Symonds, Briatore and even those who feign innocence but played their part to perfection in making it come about.
Electroball76
11th May 2025, 12:22
Give the Boss of each F1 family a deck of special UNO cards. These cards can be used to rig the results and get away with it. Only one card can be played per session, unless a specific persuasion is made to a certain individual. Cards are valid for 20 to life, or until an amnesty is granted for all past and future endeavours.
Strategy is freaking beautiful, as Sun Tzu once said.
raddie (@raddie)
11th May 2025, 12:30
Once a bad guy, always a bad guy.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
11th May 2025, 13:33
I welcome a bit of drama and entertainment in F1. And can’t there be a more severe punishment than leading that dysfunctional far cry of what once has been a great team? Never underestimate Flavio Briatore, but if he can turn them around I’d be truly impressed.
Le Jimster (@lejimster82)
11th May 2025, 13:57
They cheated and endangered life. No, they shouldn’t be allowed back. I was disappointed when Pat was hired by F1 a few years back. Now Briatore back as TP at the very same team he cheated with all thoa years ago. No it’s not right.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
11th May 2025, 19:36
Im assuming this view you have is held on anyone who makes a mistake, cheats, lies, steals? No forgiveness no right to take part in society?
Seppo (@helava)
12th May 2025, 0:13
That seems like a pretty silly conclusion to have come to.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
12th May 2025, 12:20
Where’s your arbitrary line then?
Seppo (@helava)
12th May 2025, 19:02
Further than yours.
For me, “forgiveness” first requires the offending party to acknowledge they’ve done something wrong and apologize, neither of which Briatore has ever done. Second, it requires some indication or commitment to change, something which Briatore has never done.
But the fundamental thing is that something like “running an F1 team” should be a massive privilege. It isn’t a right. When someone cheats at sport, which requires some baseline measure of integrity, particularly when peoples’ lives are literally on the line, you should be expelled from that position instantly, and never allowed to return. Because at that point, you’ve proven yourself fundamentally unsuited to the job.
If he’d then apologized, and committed to change in some sincere way, then yeah, he can “take part in society”, but he can never *run a Formula 1 team again*. And someone else gets that privilege.
Coventry Climax
11th May 2025, 14:31
That entire team and it’s management are a downright disgrace for even thinking of hiring Briatore again, let alone actually do it.
They’re allowing a rotten apple to become part of the applejuice.
Truly sickening lack of ethics.
Boomerang
11th May 2025, 14:57
Pat is an excellent engineer whom I respect greatly and to anyone who thinks otherwise I quote Motorsport.com: “Symonds has been part of the F1 organisation since 2017, having worked as part of a team that shaped grand prix racing’s technical regulations to improve the racing. As well as contributing to the roles for the new 2022 ground-effect era, he was also involved in the creation of the all-new cars that are coming for 2026.” My salute to all the ignorant wherever they may be
MichaelN
11th May 2025, 15:19
And how well has that gone? They just increased DRS zones last weekend because Brawn and Symonds’ rules are so bad.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
12th May 2025, 9:21
Part of that is because the FIA leadership insisted on certain things (and as far as I can tell, not in a way that would allow people on its committees to refuse) – blancmange tyres and DRS(-esque) aero to name but two.
S
12th May 2025, 11:21
Are both products of the wishes of FOM, not the FIA.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
14th May 2025, 10:09
S, that is false. The FIA initiated and forced through both of those requests – it had to recruit the support of FOM and the teams (the former by presenting it as a fait accompli, the latter by persuasion).
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
14th May 2025, 10:11
(Take 2: The FIA initiated those requests. The tyres were forced through as a fait accompli because the FIA alone determined the tender conditions – they were originally a way for Jean Todt to demonstrate his independence from the previous Mosley-Ecclestone alliance. The DRS was the FIA’s idea, it then persuaded the FOM (not that it required much convincing, but it definitely wasn’t its idea), and then they persuaded the teams.
Ajayrious (@ajayrious)
11th May 2025, 15:16
Its not just crashgate for me. Briatore has a long history of black marks against him. The technical infringements in 1994, buying rival teams to strip them for parts (as he did at the end of 94 with Ligier) and then offloading them to die.
Symonds was complicit in quite a lot of this, but i dont think he deserves as much of a penalty.
Picasso 1.9D FTW (@picasso-19d-ftw)
11th May 2025, 15:19
At the 100% risk of repeating myself I’ll copy my comment from the other day:
Red Andy (@red-andy)
11th May 2025, 15:54
This isn’t quite correct – Renault were punished with a ban from F1, albeit suspended for two years.
On the main topic, I struggle to get too outraged about Briatore and Symonds continuing to have involvement in F1. As cheating scandals go, Spygate was at least an order of magnitude worse than what happened at Singapore in 2008, and Mike Coughlan was back working in F1 less than four years after the story broke.
anon
11th May 2025, 17:17
@red-andy in the case of Singapore in 2008, Briatore made the cynical decision to ask somebody to intentionally put themselves at risk and carry out an act that also put the marshals at risk. Many would consider Briatore’s callousness in putting others at risk for his own personal benefit to be a far worse act; furthermore, I don’t think you can really claim that “holier than thou” attitude around Spygate either.
PB
11th May 2025, 16:00
Out means out.
Permanent.
Instruction to deliberately crash is reckless endangerment, unsporting and cynical beyond belief.
It’s a sport, not a war.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
12th May 2025, 9:31
F1 tried to ban Flavio Briatore permanently (and Symonds for 5 years), but refused to send it to an actual law court. The French courts decided there wasn’t grounds for a permanent ban (partly due to weak evidence on what, exactly, their involvement was compared with Piquet Jr and other potentially-involved parties – that’s part of the reason Felipe Massa has been able to challenge the 2008 title). It also adjudged that Pay Symonds had served his sentence for the part of the offence the FIA was able to prove. The FIA was thus obliged to permit Flavio Briatore in after the 5-year ban that was the maximum the French courts allowed for the offence as alleged* without reference to a formal law court. (Pay Symonds could have walked back into the paddock immediately, but chose to stay away for an extra 2 years, despite having a column for part of that time that would have justified his being sent back into the paddock as a journalist).
* – There are certain ways the Felipe Massa case could go that could potentially increase the magnitude of Flavio Briatore’s offence. I would prefer not to go into these as it would involve speculation on a live court case.
Kerry Maxwell (@kerrymaxwell)
11th May 2025, 16:23
Briatore wasn’t merely “involved in a controversy”, he’s a convicted criminal with multiple counts of fraud. The only things he’s learned is “don’t get caught”, “F1 tolerates convicted fraudsters”.
MichaelN
11th May 2025, 21:54
And convicted conspirators that actually served jail time, as with Gene Haas.
Although at least he has the good sense to control his team relatively hands off from the sidelines.
Jere (@jerejj)
11th May 2025, 17:00
Neither agree nor disagree was my choice regarding both because I’m largely indifferent, especially about Symonds working in F1, but even Briatore, even though I’d never missed his presence one bit.
Simon
11th May 2025, 18:05
It’s a yes or no question…
Yes
or
No
Jere (@jerejj)
11th May 2025, 20:03
Not really
sam
11th May 2025, 17:05
I can not think of a bigger stain on the sport than these 2.
What else is there to say.
Leksa (@leksa)
11th May 2025, 17:20
Both have served their penalty, so I see no problem them returning. Even rapists and murderers deserve a second chance once they have done their sentence. If you think otherwise, you are essentially against Western juridical system and probably let emotional system overrule your analytical system.
Esmiz (@esmiz)
11th May 2025, 17:44
The penalty for Briatore was a lifetime ban. So, unless he died and was resurrected without my knowledge, he has not served his penalty.
Jere (@jerejj)
11th May 2025, 20:04
@esmiz Yes, originally a lifetime ban, which eventually became null & void only 4+ months later.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
12th May 2025, 9:34
@esmiz The penalty was reduced by a French court, to 5 years for Flavio and immediately-ending for Pat (the court decided that on the evidence presented, Pat had served his proper sentence).
Rejecting that would technically be opposing the court appeals system because it corrected an injustice you didn’t dislike.
MichaelN
11th May 2025, 21:57
Not everyone deserves a second chance. That’s what lifetime imprisonment is for. This is perfectly compatible with European judicial systems and thought.
Esmiz (@esmiz)
11th May 2025, 17:41
If the penalty imposed on them had been different, I might think, “well, enough time has passed”. But if you impose a “lifetime” ban and then revoke it without any explanation, you become a joke. This is like when a driver is given a time penalty and doesn’t lose any position: a pointless nonsense. What’s to stop the other team managers from cheating if they know that even if they get caught, in a few years their image will be restored and they can return without consequences?
anon
11th May 2025, 19:08
@esmiz there was an explanation for why the ban was revoked – it’s because Briatore filed a civil lawsuit in the French legal system to have the ban overturned, and they decided that the FIA technically didn’t have the power to ban Briatore because he did not require a licence to be a team principal.
The French court argued that the FIA’s statutes technically only gave them the power to impose a permanent ban on licence holders, which is the reason there is now a requirement for senior team staff to have a licence from the FIA (that now shuts the legal loophole that Flavio was able to exploit to get the ban overturned, and now means the FIA does have the power to impose a permanent ban on a team principal or other senior members of a team).
Esmiz (@esmiz)
11th May 2025, 19:37
@anon Yes, I read about this after writing the comment, and you’re right. My apologies; I should have done so before commenting, not after. In fact, it usually bothers me when people comment before reading the article, and this time it was me. It won’t happen again.
In any case, and while I think second chances are a good thing, I think Flavio in particular has amply demonstrated that he neither admits what he did nor regrets it, which, in my opinion, doesn’t make him worthy of a second chance. In this case, however, we should be asking Alpine for explanations, not the FIA.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
12th May 2025, 9:28
Forget Comment of the Day, I’m going to render this in 72-point type above the masthead!
Biggsy
11th May 2025, 20:15
While I personally have a very strong, negative opinion of characters like Briatore, you gotta understand that in the sport you were watching, and the era these two are coming from, this crash amounts to nothing more than a professional foul. As the saying goes “don’t hate the player, hate the game”.
People who are outraged by what Briatore and Symonds did, because “it endangered a life”, probably don’t think twice about Senna deliberately crashing into his competitor, at over 200 kph, sending them both in the wall, and not even getting a slap on the wrist.
Singapore 2008 is simply what F1 used to be. That said, by 2008 it has changed a bit, but the whole thing was much more about Mosley’s personal vendetta against Briatore, than it was about righting any wrongs.
Same thing about 2007 Spygate. It’s been going on for so long, under Mosley no less, but Mosley had a personal beef with Ron Dennis, and back then, FiA was ran by an extremely biased, petty man.
All in all, F1 was rife with drivers deliberately punting each other off, in situations much more dangerous that what Piquet Jr did. His crash was not much more serious than a light fender-bender, as far as F1 crashes go.
Punish them for the professional foul, but don’t exaggerate it as if it’s something that F1 hasn’t seen many times before.
rob91
11th May 2025, 20:55
I have never known, before or since Singapore 2008, a driver being ordered by his team official(s) to deliberately crash whatever the reason, to suggest this was ever a normal thing in any motor racing is blatantly false.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
12th May 2025, 22:55
This was because of the events of the previous year.
slowmo (@slowmo)
11th May 2025, 21:58
While a lifetime ban was not legal as proved in the courts, you should perhaps be raging at the parties who decided to subsequently hire them back into F1 despite their past conduct. I think this says more about the morale’s of the teams who hired these people than anything else. The FIA tried to ban them but couldn’t make stick so arguing semantics of what should have been done is pretty moot as every time could have blacklisted them and upheld the ban anyway.
Ferdi
12th May 2025, 6:58
To what extent do the actions of these men differ from the current Liberty/FIA management? They rig outcomes more frequently than Flavio has ever done. The 2021 season stands out as the biggest joke this sport has ever seen. Two contestants going into the last race with equals points? Be real. Maybe in a fairytale country. It is a pity what happened that last race, but not so much for the outcome of who became the WDC, but because it diverted attention to what was probably the most rigged season the sport has ever seen.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
12th May 2025, 7:41
There is a strong ‘once a criminal, always a criminal’ sentiment in that poll. Not sure if I want to follow that sentiment.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
12th May 2025, 9:03
Forgiving is not forgetting.
I will always remember that Pat Symonds was a key figure in the Nelsinho Defence (dubbed “Crashgate” by many, but “Crashgate” was also applied to Michael Schumacher at Monaco 2006 qualifying, so I try to avoid the ambiguity). However, I remember during the time away from the paddock that he did write some columns. At no point did he try to defend his actions (he’s said Nelson Piquet Jr carried out the instructions improperly, but he’s never challenged that the instructions themselves were wrong). I’ve not seen any sign in the decade-plus he’s been allowed back into the paddock that he has done anything to intentionally cause problems for anyone, much less cause harm to the sport.
While Pat has never to my knowledge directly and publicly atoned for the Nelsinho Defence (an act that would have helped his case with the wider public), he has changed his behaviour in such a way that there is no danger to the sport or anyone in it from his (continued) participation. I for one care more about the “learning from mistakes” part than the apology or lack thereof. If I see evidence that Pat is thinking of making the same sort of mistakes that led to the Nelsinho Defence, I would have no hesitation in wanting a long ban. As it stands, I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt.
Having Pat in the paddock keeps his expertise while also demonstrating that there is value to simply taking things on the chin and learning from mistakes rather than doubling down on them.
Flavio Briatore, even before Crashgate, was running out of ideas about how to run a team. What he did, he did as an act of desperation. Since then, he has shown no sign of understanding the problem with his actions, let alone atone for them. He continues to be a liability. Association with him is only likely to lead to sorrow.
It was long enough ago that I am OK with teams being allowed to consider signing Flavio. I agree with the French court that if the FIA wanted to give Flavio a lifetime ban (not simply a ban of, say, 5 years), it should have referred the matter to a formal court of law. Nonetheless, a difference exists between “can” and “should”.
Actually signing Flavio was and remains an act of folly. I wish Alpine the best in attempting to offload this team principal without causing further embarrassment to itself or hazard to others (it will probably be more difficult than it looks on the surface).
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
12th May 2025, 9:30
I’d say that’s more commonly referred to as ‘Rascassegate’. But there was a proliferation of ‘gates’ back then.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
14th May 2025, 10:17
@keithcollantine Very true. It was a fashionable suffix at the time.
Ankita
12th May 2025, 10:17
If I understand the facts correctly, the crashgate could be reduced to an order given to a driver to force a yellow flag through a crash so that his teammate obtain an advanrage. Is this correct ? If so, it is punishable because it is manipulating the result of a race.
However, I don’t see this as much worse than other (even unpunished) actions. For instance, being told to let you teammate overtake you to take the victory even if you are the faster car on track (Schumacher-Barrichelo or Massa-Alonso). Or being told to keep you teammate behind you with DRS zone not to be attacked by a third driver. In terms of fairness, it don’t seem much of a difference. In all cases, you are manipulating the outcome of the race not through fair racing actions.
Another (hypothetical) example that comes to mind is the 2021 Abu Dhabi finale. Imagine that when Massi ordered to restart the race and let some of the lapped drivers to unlapped themselves Mercedes immediately asked Bottas to stop the car somewhere on the track. This would have aborted the green flag. Had that happened, would Mercedes have been penalized ? If so, would Totto Wolf have been banned for life ?. I know, this calls for speculation but I don’t see it as dramatically different (from a sporting point of view) from what Renault did in 2008.
Admittedly, the one difference I see is that the Piquet episode involved a crash and potential injuries. For this reason, I think Briatore and Simmons deserved to be punished. But other than that, I don’t see much of a difference.
Finally, worst “gates” are in my view the 2007 McLaren’s “espionnage” case or the recent Ferrari scandal over their engines. I don’t see anyone banned for life there.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
14th May 2025, 10:43
Ankita, the Nelsinho Defence occurred under a green flag. It wasn’t punished at the time precisely because (according to the FIA back then) at the point where the book closed on changing 2008 results, all the FIA knew was a driver had done an extremely silly mistake. At that point, the DNF and apparent danger to the driver’s position in the team* were assumed to be punishment enough.
Partway through 2009, Nelson Piquet Jr explained why he’d crashed on condition of immunity. At the start of 2011, the French civil court case involving Briatore and Symonds showed that the FIA wasn’t going to be in a position to ban anyone for life unless it was under circumstances a civil court was likely to recognise. The French civil court definitely recognises such bans for doping. It is questionable if it would recognise them for any of the hypotheses granted, at least at the standard of evidence the FIA demonstrated for the Nelsinho Defence at the time.
(At the time, telling a driver to swap places for any reason that didn’t involve improving the overall team result from that specific race was considered “team orders” and banned. As such, the “being told to let you teammate overtake you to take the victory” was seen as the worse offence of the two. That was specifically due to the Schumacher-Barrichello team orders usages of 2002. When Germany 2010 showed that the FIA didn’t want to enforce the blatant breach of regulations that was Massa being ordered to let Alonso go, the team order regulation was dropped. The only time team orders were against regulations in the DRS era was the farcical attempt to only permit communication under specific circumstances in 2015-2016, which turned out to be unworkable).
* – Piquet Jr had developed a reputation for being a weak driver, having retired from a third of his races up to that point from spins/crashes
FlyingLap (@flyinglapp)
12th May 2025, 15:57
Briatore is Formula One’s Steve Bannon.
baasbas
12th May 2025, 18:33
For me, I’d turn it around. For me the sting is not that Briatore could be hired by a team because he has served his penalty, the sting is a team actually hiring him. And not just any team, that team.
I have no respect for the people in charge there
Jents (@dejents)
13th May 2025, 12:04
There should be no room in f1 for a criminal, mafia way of getting the desired result(s) , only for fair racers. Also when it happened a while ago…..