The EXACT text of Briatore's interview...

And not the partial version reported by the British press...

I watched his interview today, and then checked the text and translated it myself. At least 70's fan will be out of excuses this time...I hope ?

Surprised by the spy story ?

No. But an engineer that moves from one team to another and takes a certain amount of knowledge with him is one thing, and it's another if the whole project of a team is where it shouldn't be.

It's the case of McLaren.

They even had Ferrari's future technological developments. I would also like to know their weight distribution , the Renault would be faster .

At Renault do you defend yourselves from internal spying hazards ?

If one of our engineers asks for data that is outside of his sphere of competence a red light goes on and the person in charge of security reports to me immediately.

Has this ever happened in your team ?

Actually as far as that goes I have already fired people on the spot.

Ron Dennis didn't fire the Head of Design Mike Coughlan, found in possession of the Ferrari files.

He should of. There was just cause.

He sustains that he only received the tip-off concerning the floor in the Australian GP.

If you play poker and you cheat, you don't need to know all your opponents cards, two or three and you can take the appropriate action.

He sustains that he was unaware Coughlan had the documents.

I don't believe it. In a team everyone knows everything, especially if they have responsabilities of a certain level. Therefore Dennis knew.

He sustains that material was not used.

I don't believe that either. If something does not interest you, you pick up the phone, you phone the boss of the team concerned and you tell him straight out : there are files of yours here.

He sustains that the Head of Mechanics Nigel Stepney was invited to cease sending information.

Same again : you pick up the phone and you tell him, you don't send one of your staff to meet him in Barcellona and take delivery of a ton of paperwork...

Dennis swears that his teams' behavior, aside from Coughlan, has been " immaculate ".

Yes, he repeated the word " immaculate " about twenty times the other day. I don't believe him anymore. Besides, here no-one is immaculate, least of all him.

What do you think about the " non-belligerence " pact that Dennis pressed Todt to sign ?

I don't like this type of alliance : it seems like an agreement to be cheeky and cover-up for each other.

Are there any analogies with the ban on mass-dampers that was imposed upon your team a year ago whilst fighting for both titles ?

Well, it was McLaren that brought it to FIA's attention. Everyone already knew what we had in 2005 and they tried to copy us or entice technicians with the know-how to join them, like Red Bull did. When they realised they weren't able to imitate us satisfactorily they signaled FIA. A wave surfed by McLaren and by those who were contending the championship with us ( Ferrari ). They took that great invention from us and we lost three tenths a lap, racing for the rest of the championship with a handicap. But we won.

Have you ever felt the temptation to have a peek at other people's designs ?

If you do that you display a lack of seriousness within your own team and you become susceptible to blackmail. The Head of such a structure can't afford to do that.

Why do you have an observer at the World Council in Paris?

Because we are also a damaged party, like Ferrari, Honda and the others.

Were you suspicious at the beginning of the year with McLaren's competitivity ?

No, but I couldn't understand it. I said to myself : look at that, they are clever and lucky, they have the Bridgestone tyres all figured out and are even ahead of Ferrari that had a considerable advantage, having worked with the japanese for many years. And I also thought : what idiots we are, we have the same problem as McLaren to deal with and we can't sort it out.

Both Stepney and Coughlan worked with you in the past .

What they did is disgusting. If they worked at FIAT or Renault they would maybe be payed 10% of what they have earned here: what I am saying is that those who are in F1 are priviledged and should be thankful for such a fantastic path. Instead they do not deserve this luck: the inclination of some people towards corruption is something quite indecent. There should no longer be space for such people.

In 2003 there was also a spy story between Toyota and Ferrari. Why is Maranello always implicated in such stories ?

Maybe because if you want to rob a bank you chose the one with the weakest alarm system : the responsibility of all of this is partly theirs as well.

What do you think of the contradictory sentence emanating from the FIA World Council ?

If you summon an extraordinary meeting you must have evidence, and if you do you must have a punishment. They lacked in one of these areas and I won't add anything else.

There should be a punishment ?

If all this happened, McLaren should certainly be punished. In this case, even with exclusion from the championship. We have to clean up, so that in future those who want to play dirty think about it a thousand times before acting.

Do you agree with Dennis' idea of incouraging" snitching "so as to render the game more transparent ?

No, but I understand that a technician moving from a team to another may bring ideas with him. In 2005 I couldn't figure out how come the Hondas never seemed to pit : then I hired two of their engineers and I found out that they had a twin fuel tank .

What would restore F1's credibility ?

At the sporting level clear rules laid down by the teams, black and white rules that are not subject to interpretation. At a technical level less technology : it's not good for the show, it costs alot and all you need is one unfaithful staff member and everything changes hands.

Why can the teams never agree on these issues ?

Because we are a bit like the Prodi government : the small teams' opinion carries too much weight and blocks everything.

In 2008 everyone will have to use an Electronic Control Unit made by McLaren.

I will write to FIA that I don't want it and in this Ferrari, BMW and the others are with me. With that stuff, which also happens to be very expensive, we couldn't even start the car. And at times the accelerator remained open, imagine the safety... And you want to know how I am supposed to fix these problems ? By sharing the technical details of my car with McLaren ... I don't agree anymore.


Let me tell you something. There are two types of people who can see nothing and hear nothing and know nothing and do nothing whilst being totally unaware of anything as Dennis suggests the whole McLaren team is.
The first case would be someone who is blind and deaf and mute and has alzheimers in it's final stages to top it. The second is a third generation Sicilian being interrogated by the police as a potential witness for a court case against the local mafia boss.

And somehow I don't think his employees are Sicilian...

 

That's awesome... Dennis is a megalomaniac control freak who doesn't know how to handle his new-found speed. Alonso will just take this title and runoff with... Ferrari!

 

Both of you are dilusional...

Egxpimp, take a breath, count to 10, and lighten up, dude. It's one thing to be a devout Ferrari fan, but it's something else to fixate in obsession over this. On this Mercedes site, it's starting to get a bit boring.

Who gives a crap what Flavio Briatore has to say over something in which he is not involved? He's just another F1 ego happy to run his mouth when attention is thrown his way. He must be starved for it since his team's performance is in the ****ter, and this is the only way he can get some air time. He's grown to love the attention over the last three years, but can't hardly buy an interview this year.

 

Flavio is only saying this because he wants McLaren to be found guilty so he can get his precious donkey back.

 

While it is possible that the *** could be released from his three year contract with McLaren... http://f1.dancewithshadows.com/Drive...l_claims_true/

the question is... why in the HELL would he want to go back to Renault? This year's Renault is just barely top 10 material.

 

MB-Bob take a count to 100, i can careless what you have to say capiche ? I'm a devoted Tifosi, i'm pissed off that my team got screwed, it takes two partys to tango its as much as Ferraris fault for letting that ******* get the papers as its Macas for getting them...if we were to reverse this you would be all over... as much as im a tifosi im not blind just as i think its fuked up that your team is a moron - for not letting Alonso race... your team has more problems right now that it can handle so why dont you shut it--since your team/fans have no room to talk as it ... go fix urselfs up..

 

Capiche this, check your Private Messages.

 

The whining of the scuderia is wearing thin on me. I can see how mclaren isnt being penalized without being biased. If mclaren was to be punished, the first thing I'd do if I was the manager of a third tier team would be to send technical documents to all other teams and then cry ferrari on them. Ferrari needs to look in the mirror and blame themselves for lack of security.

And about the donkey. I rather see him leave than tear apart mclaren.

 

Who gives a hoot what Briatore says? How can anything he says be taken seriously let alone unbiased. Next.

 

 

Folks, it is Hamilton who is tearing up McLaren...

 

I think your right, and yes i am a fan of him but a bigger fan of Team Mclaren.
He's whineing about his pay and is walking around like his ***** don't stink. He signed his contract drive and you and your daddy shut the *** up and deal w/ it. if they don't watch it he might end up roll'n a Torro Rosso or worse a spyker!

 

Wow, I didn't know Hamilton was whining about his pay. Is there an estimate of how much Hamilton's contract is?

 

I dont remember exactly but if i recally correctly its about 200 k ?

 

yeah, that will never hold up in ANY court. Just because "I don't believe it."
OK

can we move on ? and just race....

Mercedes-Benz > Ferrari

 

300K,,, plus about 20 Million that McLaren has invested over the kid's career!

Anyway, I read somewhere that in his contract, there was a clause to renegotiate pay if Hamilton led WDC points halfway through the championship, which he did, so this number is going up substantially very soon.

 

i have to say that some of flavio's comments seem to have validity, contrary to Ron's statments. Anyway its something for the FIA to decide. One thing we dont need, is the outcome of the championship to be decided in the courts, however imo mclaren deserve somesort of punishment

 

Agree w/ both hatem and nola.
Re: Hamilton. I had hardly heard of the "kid" before this season, and then doubted his sustainability of his talent in the 1st 2 races. But there can be NO doubt about his talent, determination, skill nor for the most part "staying cool in school" attitude. He may well be the first rookie to win the Title....and IF he does, fantastic for him. Yes, he has 1 of the finest cars to drive, but he is a great driver (so far). Re his contract and "*****ing" about it. He signed it and needs to live by it; that's what contracts are supposed to do; if he's got some big up's in it for performance, good for him; he's delivered. Nola is right: McLaren has invested years and millions in him and HE needs to be incredibly grateful to Dennis and MM for that! He could wind up driving for Toro Rosso or Spyker and then he'll be f'd!
R: Briatore interview and remarks. Look, everyone has a right to their opinion. While he may be opinionated, arrogant, he's also won 2 championships, is highly knowledgable (> anyon on this or any other forum) and I believe essentially correct in some of his points. It very simply has the ring of truth to it and it is hard to find other compelling explanations of the points he discussed.

Just my $0.02.

 

Ferrari fans sure are mad about McLaren finding out about them cheating and not being able to use the illegal moving floor anymore. McLaren isn't to blame for a leak inside Ferrari. They are only whining because the bloody tampon on 4 wheels can't compete this year.

 

Small correction, Briatore has won 4 championships, no 2.

 

Nola-correction noted. Then even more so one must respect what Briatore says, regardless of what one's opinion of him might be.