Irrespective of where you stand on the Renault verdict issue, it’s a difficult situation that only stands to get more difficult and litigious as time goes on. Flavio Briatore, manager for Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Romain Grosjean and Heikki Kovalainen, has been banned form the sport and it seems that conventional wisdom is that many people involved in the sport are upset about that.
In fact, there are some who still don’t believe Briatore was as “guilty†as the FIA claim and that is was more likely a personal vendetta meted out by FIA president Max Mosley against a long-time foe of his in Briatore.
This weekend’s third-place finish for Renault, at the scene of the crime in Singapore, marked a redemptive nature for the team and a much needed result. Alonso, who had avoided talk of the Briatore / race-fix incident and recent FIA penalties, took the opportunity to fully engage the politics during the post-race press conference by saying:
“But this podium in a particular moment after what happened… it has been a difficult time for the team, now we put it behind us and we concentrate on the remaining races. “And I dedicate this podium to Flavio – he is at home but he is part of the success we had today.”
Now how is that for real politik? Thoughts anyone?
