Above all, Pat Symonds did not say this, whose letter - one of the key documents of the case - on the point is very evasive.
"The idea of that crash entirely came from Nelsinho. I should've told him right away not to do that".
Symonds then explains that Alonso's strategy was studied at the table and changed during the race but independently of the crash, which Nelsinho did of his own free will. In short: from Briatore, not even the shadow. And this forced the FIA to rely on a secret witness. A comedy character, called in the official records, witness X, because she does not want to end up being fed to the press. His words are reported in the ruling but it is not clear where they were pronounced. This mysterious witness X reportedly said:
"Briatore was informed by Symonds on Saturday, after qualifying".
A general accusation that will be difficult to stand up to in an ordinary court. The lawyers of Flavio Briatore believe above all that they can be inserted in the contradiction in which the FIA fell that accepted both the letter of Symonds ("The idea was Piquet's") and the confession of Piquet Jr. ("They asked me to do it"). The civil case, however, would be only the first part of a strategy that would aim to solve everything with a compromise to be reached with the new president of the FIA (Todt should take office within a month) and thanks to the contribution of Ferrari. Since long an orphan of Ron Dennis and now without Flavio Briatore, the FOTA, the team association so dear to Luca Montezemolo, is very weak. Of course, Flavio Briatore's place in Renault will still not be taken by Alain Prost. The French team announces that it will be Bob Bell who will lead the team at least until the end of the season. Luca Montezemolo says:
"I'm sorry for Briatore, I hope that his sentence will be reduced".
Ferrari's chairman concludes his speech by making a nod about the future of his drivers:
"Massa will stay for sure".
Words that make Kimi Raïkkönen's seat shake. In the meantime, Bernie Ecclestone - one of the directors of Flavio Briatore's ouster from Formula 1 - gives some advice to his victim:
"He does not want to file a civil case: before a court, the FIA would be forced to defend itself, and someone could say that he sent a young boy to hit a wall, risking killing him. He would lose. Better to appeal to the FIA".
Where - Bernie Ecclestone suggests - Flavio Briatore would find fertile ground:
"I think that the FIA ruling was too harsh. There was no need for it".
But there is no more relationship between the two:
"Flavio doesn't speak to me anymore. He thinks that I should have defended him, but I couldn't".
Following the FIA ruling, on Thursday, 24 September 2009, a tense atmosphere was felt in Singapore in the Renault pits. It is enough to take a walk in the paddock to see a couple of the team men taking the stickers of ING and Mutua Madrilena off the pits and off the single-seaters: the sponsors no longer want to know about it. They looked too bad with this crashgate affair. In the last few days, every time a TV was showing those images, the images from Nelsinho Piquet's car crashing into the wall at turn 17, someone was heard shouting in the rooms of the bank's and the insurance company's top management. And since they had already both decided for some time to stop their collaboration with the team, they seized the opportunity and rushed to separate their brands from the now muddy one of the team.
"ING intends to terminate its contract with the Renault Formula 1 team with immediate effect".
The sponsor says they are deeply disappointed with the evolution of the events. And more or less the same words used a few hours earlier by the other main sponsor of the French team:
"Mutua Madrilena acknowledges that the team's reaction was perfect, but this crash not only compromised the integrity of the sport, but also endangered the health of the spectators, drivers and staff of the circuit. This can influence our image and our reputation".
In addition to the economic pain of the damage, for Renault, whose survival in the circus for the next few years at this point is at least in strong doubt, there is also the bitterness of mockery: because Mutua Madrilena communicates that it will continue to work with F1. And, in particular, to follow his reference driver: Fernando Alonso, currently at Renault but, evidently, about to change his racing suit (otherwise we would not understand the move of the sponsor who, instead, is well informed). Montezemolo himself, on the other hand, also lets a gaffe slip with Spanish journalists:
"Next year, we'll have a team with Alonso".
Before correcting himself, smiling:
"I wanted to say a team with Massa, Raïkkönen and a great Spanish sponsor…".
Alonso's mind seems to be somewhere else. And he was overwhelmed by the climate ending up dumping Briatore more or less as brutally as the sponsors dumped Renault.
"That week that just passed was a normal one. And now I'm happy that it's clear and official that I had nothing to do with how successful that has been. What does the absence of Briatore change? Nothing. Everything is normal".
How come everything is normal? And the banishment of Flavio? Is it a proper punishment?
"I have nothing to say".
Who has lied between Flavio and Nelsinho?
"Nothing to say".
Has the F1 lost credibility?
"Nothing to say".
Will it miss Briatore?
"There are other persons that will do his work. With Flavio I had and I have a very good relationship. He will be missed, but in the end, it will be difficult to say whether with him the result of Sunday's race would have changed which is the only thing we are interested in".
The immunity was not enough. To convince Nelsinho Piquet to screw (copyright Bernie Ecclestone) Flavio Briatore by telling of the deliberate crash of a year ago, it seems that it took much more than the simple assurance not to run into a disqualification: say a seat insured in Formula 1, maybe driving a Manor GP, one of the new teams, the dearest to Max Mosley. Here, thus, is the real reason for the exchange between the FIA and the Piquet family. It began to emerge in Singapore, thanks to the words of the usual rulers. The first one to start, as always, is the boss Bernie Ecclestone:
"Piquet will find another team".
Then, in front of the general astonishment, he tries to defuse the tension:
"The young man proved to be a driver who does what he's told... And it's not like everyone".
In the meantime, John Booth, the Manor GP boss, says:
"Signing Piquet? I haven't talked to him yet. For the moment. But I wouldn't have a problem signing him in".
Then, just to be in tune with Bernie Ecclestone, he makes a joke:
"Nelsinho is a young and disastrous driver…".
All this talk has produced some nervousness among the other drivers who have not appreciated Nelsinho Piquet's move at all. Like Kubica:
"If a person who has killed someone goes to the police and reports another person who has killed three people, he is not released the next day".
Or Giancarlo Fisichella:
"If I would shake his hand? I've never shaken it…".
Even Kimi Räikkönen wakes up from his communication hibernation, and says:
"He'll have difficulties coming back".
The impression is that he will come back. If not at Manor, at Williams or in any other team looking for federal complacency. After all, in F1, everyone comes back at some point. And Briatore also has very good opportunities. Bernie Ecclestone says again:
"I'm convinced that he will soon come back among us. I'll talk to him after the Japanese Grand Prix. He has to defend himself, appeal to the FIA and he will come back".
The British media closer to Max Mosley are betting on the appeal ruling: eighteen months. In the meantime, Bernie Ecclestone seems rejuvenated and in a good mood, as if he had taken new life from the disgrace of his friend Flavio Briatore:
"And by the way, Briatore was not banished forever, but only for his entire life".
Meanwhile, however, Flavio Briatore has an extra evidence to take to court: to get the Piquet corner wrong - as turn 17 of the Singapore circuit has been renamed - there is no need to agree, just to be in a Renault. During the free practice, in fact, Romain Grosjean, that is to say the French driver put by Briatore in place of Piquet Jr., went straight reproducing, with a surgical precision, the exact same crash as his colleague Nelsinho Piquet. When the yellow and white car went against the wall, a laughter broke out in the huge press room of the circuit, followed by a fifteen-second applause. Then, the TV broadcasts the close-up of the new Renault bosses who cannot help laughing. They had just asked their men for a return to the Renault-style. Who knows if they meant that. And as if that is not enough, it is late afternoon when, in Singapore, Vitantonio Liuzzi is on his way to the pit lane to start his first free practice session. He has his helmet in his hand and a dark face. They tell him:
"Vitantonio, the tax police is chasing you".
But he replies:
"Better tax police than Alonso. In Monza, they made me crazy".
But it can be seen that he is prepared for it. Liuzzi, 1.800.000 dollar is a lot...
"Indeed. The first thing I thought when I was told this story was: maybe I earned it".
The tax police claims that Liuzzi changed his residence on purpose.
"I changed my house just because I had a hard time traveling around Abruzzo for work".
And he went to England. But didn't you work for the Scuderia Toro Rosso, based in Faenza?
"But it does have a factory in England, the one of Red Bull Racing, its parent company. And then I had a little bit of commuting trouble in general".
He then moved to Switzerland.
"When I was with Force India. But the tax has nothing to do with it. It's just that I didn't like England".
The tax police speaks of houses bought in Italy...
"A house, bought before changing residence".
And some yacht.
"One. A twelve-meter yacht worth 300.000 euro".
How will you defend yourself?
"For those who do this work, certain situations are a daily occurrence. I talked to my lawyer: he'll run it from Lugano".
On Friday, 25 September 2009, the first session of the weekend ended as the previous race finished with the two Brawns on top, Rubens Barrichello in front of Jenson Button. The Renault of Romain Grosjean caused the session to be stopped after losing control of the car at the same corner that Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed out during the race at last year's event. Adrian Sutil and Heikki Kovalainen were the others who had on track incidents. Fernando Alonso split the two Red Bull's in fourth, Mark Webber finished the session in third and Sebastian Vettel in fifth. Giancarlo Fisichella continued to struggle as he finished the session in P17, around 1.6s behind his teammate Kimi Räikkönen. The second session was also red flagged this time with Red Bull's Mark Webber. A big accident on the pit straight as the nose, front left wheel and the wing took the impact as a lot of debris was put onto the track. However the other Red Bull of Vettel finished the session at the top, 0.2s ahead of Alonso. Kovalainen took third, Heidfeld fourth and championship leader Button finished the day's final session in fifth. Jenson's teammate, Barrichello, struggled to take eleventh almost one second slower than Vettel. Although Webber crashed out with one hour remaining in the session, he managed to finish sixth. The final practice session got under way with no cars setting a time for the best part of 15 minutes. With the first session of the weekend not being red-flagged, it was Lewis Hamilton who finished at the top of the time sheets. Sebastian Vettel finished second trying to make the most of this Red Bull car as his teammate Mark Webber struggled for pace finishing down in thirteenth. The Williams of Nico Rosberg came third with Hamilton's teammate Heikki Kovalainen in fourth. Rubens Barrichello finished in sixth behind the two BMWs of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld. Rubens's teammate and championship leader, Jenson Button, struggled and only managed to finish in fourteenth. The two Force India drivers did not look quick at all as the high downforce circuit of Singapore did not seem to suit the car. They ended the session in P16 and 17. Giancarlo Fisichella seemed to be struggling a lot being 1.2s behind his teammate Räikkönen and 2.4s behind Lewis Hamilton. On Saturday, 26 September 2009, the first qualifying session began with the Renault of Romain Grosjean going down the escape road round at turn 17 due to brake issues. Rosberg set the early pace but Button, Vettel and Hamilton responded quickly with their own flying laps. Both Ferraris were struggling until Räikkönen took second place with three minutes remaining. His teammate Fisichella was eliminated alongside Sutil, Alguersuari, Romain Grosjean and Liuzzi. At the beginning of the second qualifying session, Mark Webber was the pace-setter, but an amazing lap by Nico Rosberg secured his place in Q3. Button was struggling throughout the session, and, after narrowly avoiding putting the car into the wall on his final lap, he qualified a dismal twelfth.
His teammate, Barrichello, made it through to Q3, but a post-qualifying gearbox change saw the Brazilian take a five-place grid penalty. Alongside Button, Nakajima, Kimi Räikkönen, Buemi and Trulli were knocked out in this session. The top ten drivers set their early quick laps. Hamilton took the early lead with Vettel and Rosberg close behind. Barrichello spun off and hit the wall hard, destroying much of the left side of his car, which brought out the yellow flags. The red flag was brought out with 26 seconds remaining on the clock. The session was restarted, but the very low amount of time meant that no one was able to get back on track, and the session was effectively ended early. Hamilton took pole position ahead of Vettel, Rosberg and Mark Webber. Although Barrichello qualified fifth, he started the race tenth after his gearbox change. This session was the third of four to be red flagged during the weekend; only the third practice session was not interrupted. Water fight and sea trips are missing. Then, for the rest, the climate from the last days of school, in Singapore, you can take it all in. There are still four Grand Prix to go but no one cares about the World Championship anymore, not even almost the English journalists. Besides, the only thing left to understand is who will manage to win the World Championship, either the disappeared Jenson Button or Rubens Barrichello: if he manages to finish behind his teammate again this year, the Brazilian would end straight in the annals as the only driver in the history to have driven the best car of the World Championship during seven years (Ferrari then, Brawn GP now) without having won it once. With the aggravating factor that Button is not Schumacher. An orphan, therefore, of adrenaline, the Circus of Formula 1 is also crumbling on itself from a sporting point of view. The best example is Ferrari. The team from Maranello has seven drivers under contract (in no particular order: Michael Schumacher, Giancarlo Fisichella, Felipe Massa, Luca Badoer, Marc Gené, Kimi Raïkkönen and the next to be announced Fernando Alonso) and a slow car; each day that goes by, the drivers do not decrease and the car slows down, for the Tifosi anguish. On Saturday, the two drivers of the moment for this end of season, Kimi Raïkkönen and Giancarlo Fisichella, have tried them all, but nothing doing and they did not go higher than thirteenth and eighteenth, among the worst results of the season. The Finn, disconsolate, says:
"While the other cars continue improving, we've stopped and this is the price we pay".
Those are more or less the same words used on Friday by Stefano Domenicali, the team principal. And so it happens to cross a Kimi Raïkkönen with his head elsewhere in the paddock, more focused to understand what will be his next team than to try to score some points.
"Our problem? We're not fast enough, and it will be the same in Suzuka as here, because we lack aerodynamics downforce".
Then he makes a joke, maybe involuntary:
"For the race? We would need a beautiful Safety Car".
From the win in Spa to the podium in Monza, until the depth in this night of Formula 1. Interpretations? Each driver has his own.
"We've decided to stop the development of the F60 and we're paying the consequences race after race. I don't know if it was the right choice, ask the team. Besides, we're fighting for the third place, not for the title".
The races in Belgium and in Italy went well because they have specific characteristics and have been prepared a long time in advance.
"Where aerodynamics downforce is needed, we do bad because we don't have any. We'll also suffer in one week in Japan. We hope it will be better in Brazil. Then, there is Abu Dhabi which is new for everyone. We'll see".
And then he runs into a very visible corner of the paddock and talks with his agent. A few meters away, there is Giancarlo Fisichella, who is trying to explain himself:
"I struggle to find the limit of the car. I'm still not familiar with the braking and the circuit, with all these walls close up and all the irregularities that it has, it doesn't help a bit. Scoring some points will be difficult, I'm frustrated: I was feeling more at ease in Monza than here".
The only training on track allowed are the aerodynamics tests. The week before the Singapore Grand Prix, in Vairano, Giancarlo Fisichella did 500 kilometers on a 1000-meter straight: 250 times in a direction, 250 in the other. Like that, he gained confidence with the 30 steering wheel controls which had made him go insane in Monza and he practiced his starts. Then he worked on the dynamic simulator of the Fiat Research Center in Turin and on the static one of Maranello, he memorized the track, but one thing is to touch the walls with the simulator, another is to see them passing in front of the eyes at 300 km/h, in all their compact physicality.
"I have to driver as much as possible so as not to take risks to avoid crashes. I brake early and my speed in corners is inferior to my teammate's speed".
The transfer from Force India to Ferrari has been more traumatic than expected.
"I found the automatisms with the wheel, but I have to change driving style, think twice about what to do. For sure, it's a single-seater different than the one I had before".
A miscalculation also occurred at the pits: his engineer, Rob Smedley, told him the minimum time to enter the second qualifying session.
"He predicted that driving in 1'48"6 would be enough for me. I was 0.3 seconds faster, but it was still not enough. But we have not sinned of presumption: more precisely, there was no competitiveness".
The other bad news for Ferrari is that Lewis Hamilton is in pole position: McLaren can score valuable points for the standings of the Constructors' World Championship and reach the third place. Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg will start behind the British driver, seventy years in three. Vettel still has high title ambitions and higher status as the leader of the standings, Jenson Button, will start from the twelfth position and his direct follower, Rubens Barrichello, will be relegated from fifth to tenth for having replaced the gearbox. Again, the values on the track are altered. Giancarlo Fisichella comments:
"I've never seen a championship of this kind. Nothing makes sense".
On Sunday, September 27, 2009, approximately three hours before the scheduled Singapore Grand Prix start, it was announced that Nick Heidfeld would be starting the race from the pit lane, after his team discovered insufficient ballast had been fitted to his car. This promoted all the cars behind him one position up on the grid, significantly moving both the Brawn cars onto the 'clean' side of the starting grid, on the racing line. The race began shortly after 8:00 p.m. local time with Lewis Hamilton making a clean start from pole position. Nico Rosberg took advantage of being on the clean side of the track to overtake Sebastian Vettel into the first corner. Fernando Alonso attempted to also overtake Vettel but was unsuccessful, giving Mark Webber the opportunity to overtake Alonso on the outside of Turn 7.
Both Alonso and Webber went off track as Webber completed the move. The stewards deemed Webber's move illegal and on lap seven he was told to hand the position back to Alonso, which also meant letting Timo Glock through as the German had also overtaken Alonso on the first lap. Alonso's Renault teammate Romain Grosjean was not having any more luck, having to retire at the end of lap three with a recurring brake problem. With Barrichello in seventh and Button out of the points scoring positions in 10th, Vettel looked to capitalise and try to close Button's 26-point lead in the Championship. By lap 13, he was 2.1 seconds behind Rosberg, who was in turn 2.5 seconds behind Hamilton. Vettel was the first of the leaders to stop, on lap 17. A lap later, Rosberg pitted but he misjudged the level of grip on the pit exit, causing his car to cross the white line that distinguishes the pit lane from the race track, an offence that is punished by a drive-through penalty. Rosberg was issued with the penalty on lap 20 and would have to serve that penalty within three racing laps. Hamilton also pitted on lap 20. The following lap, an accident involving Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld necessitated the deployment of the Safety Car to remove debris from the track. Sutil spun attempting to overtake Jaime Alguersuari on the inside of Turn 14 and, with his car facing the wrong way, attempted to rejoin the circuit as Heidfeld was taking the corner, causing a collision that forced both cars to retire, Heidfeld's first non-finish since the 2007 United States Grand Prix. Sutil was later reprimanded and fined $20.000 by the stewards for dangerous driving. Most cars that had thus far not pitted for fuel and tyres did so under the Safety Car conditions, including both Brawn cars. The Safety car did not benefit Rosberg, as Formula 1 regulations prevent a drive-through penalty being served under Safety Car conditions, meaning he would have to stop within two laps of the restart when the field was still closely bunched. During this round of pit stops, Alguersuari repeated the infamous mistake made by Felipe Massa at the 2008 race by attempting to exit his pit garage with the fuel hose still attached. The race restarted on lap 26, with Vettel now pressurising Hamilton for the lead. Rosberg served his penalty on lap 28, demoting him to 14th position. Hamilton and Vettel traded fastest laps with the gap between them hovering under a second.
Behind Vettel, the longer-fuelled Timo Glock was being encouraged to keep pushing as his team believed they could leap-frog the Red Bull in the pits. Vettel pitted for his second stop on lap 39 and was clearly pushing very hard, running over a kerb on his out lap and damaging the underside of his car, having already lost his right wing mirror. However, worse was to come, as on lap 40 the stewards handed him a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This left Hamilton 9.2 seconds ahead of Glock, who was in turn 7.6 seconds ahead of Alonso as Vettel served his penalty on lap 43. Red Bull's afternoon went from bad to worse three laps later as Webber spun out at Turn 1 after a right-front brake failure. McLaren brought in both Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen for their second stops and Timo Glock also pitted. The Safety Car was not deemed necessary to clear Webber's car, giving Jenson Button, who had been following Kovalainen, the opportunity to put in a series of fast laps before his pit stop. With Barrichello running in seventh after a small problem at his second pit stop, Button had an opportunity to stay ahead of his teammate and extend his Championship lead. He pitted on lap 51, emerging in a net fifth position behind the impressively recovering Vettel and ahead of Barrichello. Button seemed to have the speed to catch Vettel, who was concerned about his brakes following the retirement of Webber as well as that of Alguersuari, of Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso, also with brake problems. Button closed the gap to under two seconds before he too appeared to develop brake problems. Fortunately for Button, his attempts to catch Vettel had given him a ten-second cushion over Barrichello with two laps to go. Nearly two hours after the race started, Hamilton completed the final lap to take the chequered flag, ahead of Glock and Alonso. Vettel and Button held on for fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of Barrichello, Kovalainen and Robert Kubica in the final points scoring position. When people in the grandstands start to cheer for the Safety Car, it means that something is wrong. Especially if even the Safety Car cannot make interesting a soporific race like a night program. Everyone says that it is a problem of circuit, Singapore is a street circuit and thus you cannot overtake but the impression is that the problem comes from elsewhere. In the very structure of a sport that has long lost identity and meaning.
So, while waiting for the owners of Formula 1 to address the issue, we find ourselves talking about the umpteenth Grand Prix in which the winner is the one who starts in pole position, that is to say Lewis Hamilton, and the loser is the one who is the victim of some unexpected events, that is to say Sebastian Vettel (fourth after a thousand mistakes), Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber and Rubens Barrichello. So Hamilton, the mistake that cost you the podium at Monza is forgotten?
"Yeah, I really wanted to get over that disappointment. Here it was difficult, because of the heat but also because of the track characteristics. The asphalt is bumpy and there is no pause, you must always maintain the highest level of concentration, if you distract yourself you risk touching the walls. But it's a fantastic track, an incredible show, the fans get excited, there was a large crowd on the grandstands. I had a very intense weekend. My father, my girlfriend and a friend came here, in Singapore. Then, I met Beyoncé and now I'm waiting for the celebrations for the win. Like I said, there's no pause".
Whose main merit is this result?
"Our work is teamwork. I wouldn't go at this speed without the dedication of the guys here at the circuit and at home. But the only person for me is God. He's the one who allowed me to be here, who keeps me healthy, who gave me a wonderful family and surrounded me with wonderful people".
The goal of McLaren is the third place in the Constructors' World Championship: it is a bit reductive for a World Champion, isn't it?
"The team would be glad to finish third. To me, the standings doesn't really matter: since that I've no more possibility to win the world championship title, a position is as good as another. Only the first place matters, but for McLaren, after the effort that was done to catch up, now it becomes important to overtake Ferrari".
On Sunday, October 4th, 2009, the Japanese Grand Prix will take place at Suzuka: you have never raced there in your career?
"No, never. But, it has been described to me as an amazing circuit. When I was watching TV as a kid, I got hooked seeing the achievements of Senna, Prost, Alonso and Raïkkönen. I'm convinced I can also do a beautiful race there because our single-seater is a wonder. I can't wait to race there".
Button is fifteen points clear of Barrichello: is the World Championship finished?
"In 2007, I had seventeen extra points and yet I lost, so it's always better to continue pushing, for him and for the others. Having said that, Jenson has done really great until now, he deserves to be at the top of the standings and I wish him the best".
The Singapore Grand Prix is 61 laps of perfect boredom that also gets the masochistic result of assassinating the World Championship: Jenson Button witnesses the errors of the drivers of Red Bull Racing and scores a point in the standings against Rubens Barrichello. At the end of the race, the Brazilian starts an almost surreal complaint, accusing Ross Brawn of turning off his engine during the pit stop. Rubens, what happened, did they change strategy?
"No, it's that I lost twelve seconds in the pits, the engine turned off".
Is it an accident?
"We hope so…".
It must be said that Brawn's radio call to ask Barrichello to slow down on the last lap because Button, by now well reachable for him, had brake problems was not elegant. But Brawn - who took Honda away from Honda, renamed it by his name, and now we are going to win the World Championship, he is a genius and the geniuses are always right. Then, after, behind, far behind, there is Ferrari. Of good, for the team of Maranello, there is only that the Way of the Cross, which is by now, coming to an end, only three rounds are missing. The machine is of an exasperating slowness and not even a Kimi Raïkkönen in good shape can make it go well. Giancarlo Fisichella is not Luca Badoer, and in fact he is only a little slower than the Finnish. But he is having too much trouble and some people are beginning to speculate that Felipe Massa may be returning early. Beyond the never say never institutional Stefano Domenicali, the hypothesis is unlikely. After the Singapore Grand Prix, third place in the World Constructors' Championship, with McLaren unleashed three points away, seems impossible. The explanation given by Stefano Domenicali is that the team is focusing all on next year.
"It's a definite strategic choice that I'd be prepared to make again".
Next year officially starts this week. Before Suzuka, Ferrari will finally announce the arrival of Fernando Alonso.
"Yes, it will be the decisive week".
The final contract details were fixed over the weekend. There has been talk (ever since) of a three-year contract (around 25.000.000 euro per season), and a deal has been found with Kimi Raïkkönen (free to go to McLaren). The Spaniard will also have a fundamental role in the development of the new car. Developing single-seaters has always been one of his strengths, and Maranello's team counts a lot on it. Also because, precisely because of the strategic choice of which Stefano Domenicali talks, 2010 has turned into a mortal crossroads for the current management: on the one hand victory, on the other a ravine. For his part, Fernando Alonso is happy. After a hell of a week, between Paris (where he testified at the World Council) and Singapore, he can finally breathe. He comes down, not just symbolically, from his Renault and says firstly:
"It's not true that after the sentence I dumped Briatore. Actually. I dedicate that splendid podium to him today. Briatore is a friend. I hear from him every day, we go on vacation together in Kenya, by boat. He is the man who brought me into F1. I just said that the team would go ahead anyway".
Then, a moment that the entire F1 has been waiting for months, he takes off the clothes he has been wearing for the last two years and wears the red ones:
"Next year will be a beautiful fight for the World Championship, with Hamilton and McLaren going strong, with Red Bull that will be able to develop this year's car, which is an extraordinary base, and, of course, also with Raïkkönen. In short: it will be amazing".
After taking away the big doubt, that is to say, having finally made clear that the pair of drivers on which Ferrari is counting will be Massa-Alonso (for the latter the announcement is now a matter of hours), all the rest of the paddock can finally begin to work to prepare for the new season. In other words, from Singapore starts the great race to the most prestigious seats, a race that risks being more exciting than this World Championship finale now dominated by Brawn GP and in particular by Jenson Button. McLaren will, of course, be the first to move. And this is directly related to the official announcement of Fernando Alonso at Ferrari. Because Kimi Raïkkönen, rightly, in order to leave the Maranello team without making too many stories, not only claimed to find a good accommodation (McLaren, precisely) but also, from an image point of view, handled the matter honorably. He does not want to pass as a dumped driver. The only way to achieve this is to communicate the two transfers more or less simultaneously. A globally complicated maneuver as Ferrari, thanks also to the contribution of their sponsor Santander in common with McLaren, has now completed the 2010 team. The Hamilton-Raïkkönen pair will thus be the likely Anglo-German response to Ferrari's move. The war between the Maranello and Woking teams will become even more radical: on the one hand, the Latin and passionate people; on the other, the Nordic and rational ones. A separate consideration is the one concerning Brawn GP. The future World Champions will most likely become the official team of Mercedes (they should also abandon the white to wear a silver livery) and, in view of this important development, Canon confirms the sponsorship relationship. Ross Brawn is doing things big. This is why he wants to get rid of, if not both drivers, at least Rubens Barrichello, considered old and complaining. The first target is Nico Rosberg (though he has been doing too much weird stuff lately). Williams, who will also say goodbye to Kazuki Nakajima without regret, is looking for two drivers. One could be the new GP2 champion, Nico Hulkenberg. The other is yet to be found. The Renault seat left empty by Fernando Alonso will be occupied by Robert Kubica. The Polish driver has always been considered one of the rising stars of the Circus and has never had a real chance. From Sauber to Renault, it is undoubtedly a good step forward, even if much depends on what kind of investment the French team will decide to make. Heikki Kovalainen could be at his side, unless Paris decides to give Romain Grosjean another chance. Giancarlo Fisichella, would gladly stay in Maranello, even to be the third driver, but it does not mean that instead he decides to put himself back in the game: between Williams, Renault, Force India and Sauber something could pop up. Jarno Trulli seems destined to leave Toyota. Regarding Vitantonio Liuzzi, there should be no problem with Force India.