The 2008 F1 season is well known for the titanic championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa. However, it is also renowned for one of the biggest cheating scandals the sport has seen. Current Alpine boss Flavio Briatore was at the heart of it.
The Crashgate scandal saw Renault, headed by Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds, win their first race since Japan in 2006. Briatore and Symonds were punished, and the Italian was given a lifetime ban from F1. This was reduced after a hearing in court, and Briatore has now rejoined the team. However, Flavio now claims that he wasn’t involved in Crashgate at all.
Flavio Briatore claims he and Piquet never spoke
Renault was having a difficult season in 2008. Nelson Piquet Jr had scored the team’s only podium in round 10 in Germany. When F1 rocked in Singapore for its inaugural GP, Renault won the race. However, in 2009, Piquet Jr was dropped by the team after 10 races. Following being let go by the team, Piquet Jr shocked the paddock when he claimed he was told to crash on purpose by Briatore to help Fernando Alonso win.
Briatore was given a lifetime ban by F1, a decision annulled by a French court. And the Italian has now claimed he had no part to play in Crashgate. He even denies ever speaking to Piquet Jr.
Talking exclusively to Corriere della Sera, Briatore was asked if he ever talks to Piquet Jr. he said: “No, I’m not interested. I didn’t even speak to him much when he was driving for me. He and I never spoke, and in fact the French court annulled the ban imposed by the FIA and awarded me a symbolic compensation.”
Briatore has since returned to F1 in 2024, where he held an advisory role for Alpine. He is now the man in charge of the French team and is striving to make them the championship-winning team they once were.
What was Crashgate, and what were the ramifications?
The first Singapore GP saw championship contender Felipe Massa lead early on in the race. Fernando had qualified low and wasn’t making much progress. He stopped for fuel and tyres in the early stages of the race. After his stop, Piquet had an unusual accident in turn 17, which brought out the safety car.
Regulations in 2008 meant the pit lane was closed until the field had bunched up. The leading cars would then pit, coming out behind Alonso. He would take the lead after slower cars boxed towards the end of the race and would take his first win of the season.
Felipe Massa has filed a lawsuit in London against the FIA, Formula One Management and Bernie Ecclestone over the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. pic.twitter.com/tflHxNWsiH
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 11, 2024
Crashgate had massive ramifications on the championship. Felipe Massa had a botched pitstop under the ensuing safety car and finished the race in P13. He had begun the weekend one point behind Lewis Hamilton, and would have taken the lead of the championship if he had won.
Hamilton finished in third, so he pulled out six more points from Massa. Felipe ended up losing the championship by a single point, and he has since filed a lawsuit against the FIA and FOM.
