Massa: Alonso knew about scandal
Eurosport - Thu, 15 Oct 13:24:00 2009
Felipe Massa has reignited the controversy over the 'crashgate' affair at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix by saying his Ferrari-bound team-mate Fernando Alonso must have been involved in the Renault plot.
"It was the team and Nelson, but Alonso was part of the problem," Massa told Brazilian media ahead of this weekend's Brazilian GP at Interlagos.
"He knew. We cannot know it (but) of course he knew. (It's an) absolute certainty."
The 27-year-old Brazilian driver's comments caused uproar and prompted Ferrari to issue a statement on the team's website stressing that he was talking only about his own feelings, rather than any factual evidence.
Massa also said he had vowed not to allow his feelings about the subterfuge - which led to compatriot Nelson Piquet Jr crashing deliberately to help Alonso win the Singapore race - to interfere with his relationship next year with the Spaniard.
In his Ferrari-vetted official statement, Massa added: "What I've said is the outcome of a hunch I've had and is not based on any concrete evidence.
"The FIA World Council announced that there was no indication that Fernando may have been informed of what had happened and I respect this outcome.
"Obviously I'm very disappointed about what transpired last year in Singapore: I have already said several times what I thought about it and now it's time to close that chapter and to look to the future," said Massa, who is recovering from head injuries suffered after a crash in Hungary in August.
"What is certain is that this episode will not mar in any way the relationship I'll have with Fernando when we will be team-mates."
On the orders of Renault, the Brazilian deliberately crashed in Singapore last year, opening the door for team-mate Alonso to win.
The scandal led to the downfall of team principal Flavio Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds, but as the 'whistleblower' Piquet, who was sacked by Renault in July, was given immunity from official sanction.
The renewed furore stoked up the atmosphere ahead of this weekend's World Championship battle between Massa's fellow Brazilian and close friend Rubens Barrichello and his Brawn GP team-mate Briton Jenson Button.
Home town hope Barrichello is 14 points behind Button with two races remaining.
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Comment 123 - 142 of 142
As Martin already said : Without the Singapore result, Renault might have fallen short of the performance criterea in Alonso's contract, which would have surely meant him going to Ferrari for this year. This would mean that Alonso lost out due to the Singapore win - even though Ferrari have had a poor season they've been miles ahead of Renault. I think the plot was to keep Alonso, with having to keep Piquet seen as an acceptable compromise. Alonso may have been at fault at McLaren in 2007, but we'll never know whether his contract guaranteed him #1 status, or how much preferable treatment Lewis got.
Too many English hatred towards the Spaniard I see here in this forum. Well as Maradona put it yesterday, keep on su.cking some more di.ck from little Brazilian nut Massa.
Where is your proof, Mr. Massa? What makes you think you know more than the FIA, the high court, the teams, etc. etc.
Chris C if you bothered to actually follow the sport closely and not be blinded by ridiculous propaganda in the UK press, you would presumably have read Ron Dennis' report of the Alonso/ Hamilton pit incident to which you're referring, I'm fed up with people bad mouthing Alonso for no reason:
"Rightly or wrongly, viewers were left with the impression that Alonso had purposely delayed his team-mate, leaving his pit box some ten seconds after the mechanic had lifted the pit ‘lollipop’. However, Ron [Dennis] has said that Alonso and his engineer did nothing wrong and waited for a countdown which would give the Spaniard track position.
“Fernando was being counted down by his engineer. He’s under the control of his engineer. He determined when he goes. That’s the sequence. And if you think that was a deliberate thing, then you can think what you want. I have given you exactly what happened.”
“We have various procedures within the team and prior to practice we determine how it is going to be run, what our strategy is, and how that’s going to be enacted on the circuit. They were out of sequence because Lewis should have slowed and let Fernando past, and he didn’t. He charged off. That’s how we got out of sequence,” said the sixty year old.
The Brit then went on to explain that the original plan was for Alonso to complete an extra fuel-burning lap, something which Hamilton stopped the Spaniard from doing.
“In this instance, it was Fernando’s time to get the advantage of the longer fuel burn. The arrangement was that we reverse positions in the first lap. That didn’t occur as arranged. That was somewhat disappointing and caused some tensions on the pit wall.”
Get your facts straight, or don't bother to comment at all.
remmeber all that rubbish with alonso and how he behaved towards lewis? slowing him down in the pits among other sly tactics. now this? lewis was up against.
It seems the HONEYMOON is over before it's begun!
The devil will make work,for idle hands to do.
susan4campbell is one of the many IDs of the sad, overweight, demented pervert NICK REES. He loves to use girls names in his IDs, makes ya think.
U see what I call maturity? Alonso is more interested in letting the wheels do the talking next year I'm proud of Alonso and this will propel him into action next season, I believe next year will come with renewed rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton
Now Massa wants to make inflammatory statements about Alonso because he knows that Alonso does not tolerate nonesense and is gonna get back at him. I'm not saying that Alonso knew or did not know about the plot but Drivers especially Brazillian drivers should learn to keep their BIG mouths shut and stop expressing their frustrations ...FIA has ruled , so who is Massa to open his defeated mouth to talk nonesense. This is the reason why he has never won a championship..He has so much ill-luck and I thought Ferrari should have let him go instead. He should have won the championship in 2008 given the kind of car and team he had, yet his defeatist mentality could not let him finish even races he was clearly gonna win.U see, maturity is part of sportsmanship, in that case, u just keep certain things that u know would not help your team away from the table...I can see that Massa is already jittery and insecure over the presence of Alonso in the Ferrari team and he cannot hide his frustrations knowing that Alonso is a greater driver and better competitor than him, hence he could barely wait to recover fully before coming to get behind the wheels and subsequently open his mouth wide and still contradict himself by saying ''I HAVE NO PROOF''..that to me is INSECURITY at its climax..
SEASONS LAST 2 RACES ********* CAN'T IMAGINE A GREATER CONTRAST
RIO --BRAZIL A SCINTILATING VIBRANT EXCITING THRILLING RACE EVENT
PACKED WITH INTEREST FULL OF SPECTATORS
*** BUT ABU DHABI LOOKS LIKE A SPECTATORLESS UNHEALTHY RACE ATTEMPT
JUST WHERE WILL SPECTATORS APPEAR FROM ..? PAY VIEWERS TO OCCUPY SEATING ..?
********** ANTICIPATE THOUSANDS OF EMPTY SPECTATOR SEATS ALL ROUND~~ V. Sad
OF COURSE DOUBLE WORLD CHAMP ***ALONSO ** KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE SCHEME
IT WAS ALL DEVISED & CARRIED OUT BY THE PIT LANE CREW ------ NO need to broadcast plan
IT CAME AS A GREAT SURPRISE TO ALONSO OUT ON THE TRACK __
Massa was lucky GOD gave him 9 lives!!! Next time, nobody pities him if he crashes & dies!!! This midget little fella from Brazil is not thankful & grateful to the Almighty perhaps thinking that he's alive & that GOD owes him a living!!! I was in Genting Highlands Resort with my big family & when the news broke out, we felt so sorry for him that immediately we prayed to GOD for divine help to save his life!!! Now that he's recovering, he thinks he's immortal & he starts little fire here & there. Has he ever thought of how Ferrari treated & paid him so well especially the care & concern after the recent accident?? The cost & treatment for him can be on par with that of a KING!! What he has just said about Fernando Alonso is the perfect formula for disaster for Ferrari in future because this will surely create more rivalry, hatred instead of harmony, peace within the Ferrari family/Company. Massa is best said to be a Midget little fella with only a sparrow's brain!! Small minded & thoroughly selfish!! From now onwards, anything fatal happens to him is not my concern. Sorry Massa little Midget, no more sympathies from many people like us because you deserved to be punished by GOD!!! You forgot that while you are recovering, Ferrari still has to pay you for sleeping, eating & other activities like @#$% & pleasures!!! Massa is the World's Number One Extra Silly Fool!!!
Massa was lucky GOD gave him 9 lives!!! Next time, nobody pities him if he crashes & dies!!! This midget little fella from Brazil is not thankful & grateful to the Almighty perhaps thinking that he's alive & that GOD owes him a living!!! I was in Genting Highlands Resort with my big family & when the news broke out, we felt so sorry for him that immediately we prayed to GOD for divine help to save his life!!! Now that he's recovering, he thinks he's immortal & he starts little fire here & there. Has he ever thought of how Ferrari treated & paid him so well especially the care & concern after the recent accident?? The cost & treatment for him can be on par with that of a KING!! What he has just said about Fernando Alonso is the perfect formula for disaster for Ferrari in future because this will surely create more rivalry, hatred instead of harmony, peace within the Ferrari family/Company. Massa is best said to be a Midget little fella with only a sparrow's brain!! Small minded & thoroughly selfish!! From now onwards, anything fatal happens to him is not my concern. Sorry Massa little Midget, no more sympathies from many people like us because you deserved to be punished by GOD!!! You forgot that while you are recovering, Ferrari still has to pay you for sleeping, eating & other activities like @#$% & pleasures!!! Massa is the World's Number One Extra Silly Fool!!!
Massa was lucky GOD gave him 9 lives!!! Next time, nobody pities him if he crashes & dies!!! This midget little fella from Brazil is not thankful & grateful to the Almighty perhaps thinking that he's alive & that GOD owes him a living!!! I was in Genting Highlands Resort with my big family & when the news broke out, we felt so sorry for him that immediately we prayed to GOD for divine help to save his life!!! Now that he's recovering, he thinks he's immortal & he starts little fire here & there. Has he ever thought of how Ferrari treated & paid him so well especially the care & concern after the recent accident?? The cost & treatment for him can be on par with that of a KING!! What he has just said about Fernando Alonso is the perfect formula for disaster for Ferrari in future because this will surely create more rivalry, hatred instead of harmony, peace within the Ferrari family/Company. Massa is best said to be a Midget little fella with only a sparrow's brain!! Small minded & thoroughly selfish!! From now onwards, anything fatal happens to him is not my concern. Sorry Massa little Midget, no more sympathies from many people like us because you deserved to be punished by GOD!!! You forgot that while you are recovering, Ferrari still has to pay you for sleeping, eating & other activities like @#$% & pleasures!!! Massa is the World's Number One Extra Silly Fool!!!
COWPAT: If you can't coment on the headline story then eff off to a football site.
This is all very amusing . Potter is still a pe nis i see.
"There's nothing wrong with the car except that it's on fire."
Murray Walker "And that just shows you how important the car is in Formula One Racing.
Bring back Murray Walker, "And Michael Schumacher is actually in a very good position. He is in last place."
I simply cannot believe that ANY top flight F1 driver would be party to what has to be the worst form of cheating ever seen in motor racing. Starting close to the back, on a low fuel strategy is one thing, but to do that, in the expectation that you would somehow win the race if your team mate crashed, given all the factors involved in the next 40 or so laps is beyond belief.
Fernando Alonso is widely regarded as being the best F1 driver available today. The fact that Ferrari, the greatest name in F1 history would offload Kimi in such an expensive manner in order to land Alonso speaks volumes about his value to that team. In addition to his obvious racing skills, he is also credited with being the best driver who is able to translate his driving skills into car adjustment information that the team engineers can use to further develop their racing cars. With regard to the issues with McLaren, that team had a double world champion and, like all the other teams, they had number one, and number two drivers on their team.
All the teams have number one and number two drivers on their teams, just look at what they pay their drivers and it becomes obvious that in all cases, one driver is considered to be of more value than the number two driver. Ron Denis, in his infinite wisdom, having initially supported Alonso for his third world title, then decided to promote his protégé, Lewis Hamilton, rather than his number one driver. That in-team change of driver support caused Alonso to be deprived of his third world title and it is therefore not surprising that he elected to leave McLaren. I believe that if you give him a decent competitive car, Alonso will drive it to levels beyond the abilities of other drivers and will score points where lesser drivers would not even make the grid.
And if Ferrari have a half decent car next year, I think we will see Fernando win number three.!!
oh now we see the future is bright, the future is on fire!!!!!!!!!!
Alonso is never going be able to stand up and be counted now.
Well done Fellipa Massa, a true sportsman.
Alonso is financial disaster. Ferrari get rid before you start. It will be cheaper in the long run.
I dont care if he ever wins in a car or a boat again. the spainiad is a complete idiot. not worth a @#$%.
It is a shame, he could of been a good driver once?????????
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