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[texasmr2]

They want the punishment to be extremely harsh so that nobody will dare do it again. Losing 10 grid spots and paying a fine might not be enough to get the message across.

you make It sound as If they did it on purpose.

Well, the FIA seems to think (as do I) that Renault took the risk of the wheel coming off knowingly, so yes, the FIA thinks that Renault took that risk "on purpose."

You forget that it is not the fact that the wheel came off that is the problem, it is that the FIA thinks that Renault knew that the wheel was very likely to come off that is the problem. The FIA thinks that Renault decided to put the safety of others at risk in an attempt to get the car back to the pit.

That seem's to be the case at this time.

[bud]

is this a knee jerk punishment? without recent events would Renault have been banned?

I think that it played a part, however you have to admit that it looks bad for Renault to lose a wheel during this weekend with all that happened.

Yeah it did look bad, i was yelling for Fernando to park it, it was obvious the wheel nut was loose and that the wheel would fly off! I do understand the punishment but i think its abit harsh.

[shani182]

Oh my gosh :/


I didn't expect this...
But to be fair, Alonso and Renault did do the wrong this by keeping it on the track.

[Amanda]

At the end of the day who loses out the most? The spectator.
Formula One needs to get its head out of its own arsecheeks and start looking at the big picture. Attendance is down, and I doubt it'll be very high if there is no Alonso in Spain.

Excellent point.

[Big Azza]

I'm happy with this decision.

While harsh, just imagine if that wheel flew off and killed a driver, Flavio or Mr. Symonds (or the guy operating the wheel gun), would have been charged of manslaughter, and it would have been justified if they were sentenced for it.

So they can be happy with this outcome.

It's a stupid, stupid, stupid move by the team. And they deserve every single bit of this punishment!

I would have also felt the same way if it were a Red Bull car. Or a McLaren.

[pilotfriend]

I agree, after Surtees and Massa's accidents, they deserve the punishment

[8-ball]

I agree Renault should be punished but a race ban is too harsh. Banning the main attraction at Valencia is not going to go down well with the race organisers. They spend and invest heavily into providing a race and the FIA turn around and do this? If this is not overturned you might as well cancel the race because no one is going to be watching.

Secondly why should Piquet be punished? If the FIA want to adequately punish Renault ban them from receiving constructors points at Valencia but allow the drivers to keep any drivers points they collect. Throw in a fine and that is a just and proper decision. The FIA knee-jerk over-the-top reaction to the newly raised safety concerns is causing them to punish the fans along with the team.

[EwanM]

is this a knee jerk punishment? without recent events would Renault have been banned?

Yes definately. (as I eluded to in my jumbled post previously)

[EwanM]

At the end of the day who loses out the most? The spectator.
Formula One needs to get its head out of its own arsecheeks and start looking at the big picture. Attendance is down, and I doubt it'll be very high if there is no Alonso in Spain.

Excellent point.

Gracias

[scotty]

Obviously a knee-jerk reaction here, but i can see both sides of the argument. I think Renault will be successful in an appeal, and just get a 10 place grid penalty or similar. Look at Vettel in Australia, he attempted to continue with a terminally damaged car and got just that...

[Monzilla]

Banning the team from the next GP is too muchI think the penalty is wrong. They should have fined Renault or Alonso, yes, Deducted points if they like.
I agree there needs to be a penalty though. How many times have we seen drivers try to make it back to the pits with dangeously loose car parts or a serious puncture. The result is nearly always a retirement and car body parts being spewn all over the track. Im pretty sure no-one in their right mind would send a car out knowing a wheel is going to come off, but Alonso admitted after the race he suspected something serious as he left the pits. He should have pulled off the track straight away in as safe a manner as possible.

[Gaz]

No i'm not playing that Game.

I'm saying somthing happned after Ferrari looked at the part in question and choose to let him go.

Renault didn't have that option they must of thought it would stay on and told alonso to tiptoe around to the pits.

It was dangerous but like i said its a sport and people take risks

It's not just a question of whether they do or don't take risks, it's about the magnitude of the risk taken. Not all risks are equal, and therefore not all risks have the same proper response. Every car that's not 100%, even if it's only a spongy brake pedal, poses an additional risk over and above a perfectly working car. But the risks due to loose wheels are huge, as shown by the number of fatal accidents caused by loose wheels. Which is what makes the difference in this case.

True, but i again bring up Ferrari @ France that in my opinion was just as risky if not more so than this they got away scot free.

You can't have a enforcement system that punishes a team for making a mistake when previous incidents of a simlar nature have been completely unpunished.

Renault should of told Alonso to stop and pull over as soon as they realised but Ferrari having inspected the loose part in the Pit in france should of stopped kimi or removed the loose part.

The two problems with this punishment is your making an example of a team which is just stupid same way the did with Mclaren over the fine its just so heavy handed.

2ndly you punishing the drivers and even the fan's for somthing the team did.

A heafty fine, suspended ban or a constuctors point penalty would of been much more fitting.

[scotty]

He should have pulled off the track straight away in as safe a manner as possible.

But in reality, NO driver would do that when they can still keep going under their own power, get back to the pits and potentially rejoin the race. Look at Le Mans (where the cars are almost as fast as F1 cars), there are sometimes accidents out on circuit and the driver will do a quick repair job so they can hobble back to the pits to get their cars properly fixed. I know that is endurance racing, but it's still the same thing happening.

Thinking about it more, if Renault do get banned this could open a huge can of worms regarding drivers going around with broken (or very slow) cars...

[Gaz]

He should have pulled off the track straight away in as safe a manner as possible.

But in reality, NO driver would do that when they can still keep going under their own power, get back to the pits and potentially rejoin the race. Look at Le Mans (where the cars are almost as fast as F1 cars), there are sometimes accidents out on circuit and the driver will do a quick repair job so they can hobble back to the pits to get their cars properly fixed. I know that is endurance racing, but it's still the same thing happening.

Thinking about it more, if Renault do get banned this could open a huge can of worms regarding drivers going around with broken (or very slow) cars...

yeh good point how many time do we cars with bits of loose wing, tire material (all potentialy dangrous) hobble back to the pits even if its just to stop.

Are they supposed to just pull over now even if its just a damage front wing.

[Monzilla]

I certainly think its time that the regulations stated in these cases that the teams must remove a car from the track when something is hanging off the car ( eg Ferrarri Exaust ) or Flapping a tyre carcass smashing bodywork off the car or front wings stuck under the car floor. I do not however want to see less cars on the starting grid as a result of over zealous officials. The Stewards should reconsider their decision in the light that serious financial repercusions culd be felt at Valencia. Unless of course Marc Gene could race in Phillipe's place. I think he is a perfectly adeaquate driver for the job.