- 10 Dec 11, 10:41#286082Frst of all, this isn't news, this is olds... all of these issues have been known about for years and years.
Secondly, some people really need to read up on their F1 history. And before I go on I'd like to point out that I'm a big Schumacher fan and genuinely believe that the best racers in history have had both an aggressive and borderline rulebreaking attitude. And I don't see anything wrong with that. I also believe that turning in to Hill at Adelaide '94 was a deliberate act, but not one that Schumi considered and calculated, I think it was pure instinct. Wrong, but excusable.
The part that it's clear some people need to read up on is that it's not even debatable that these driver aids were on the car - they were. The factual run down is that launch control and traction control were there in a hidden program that could only be activated by pressing buttons on the steering wheel in a very specific order in order to make the option of turning them on available. The existence of the aids would go completely undetected if an ordinary FIA check were made of the menu options. Benetton did try to block the FIA at various attempts to have the software scrutinised in detail, eventually only allowing it after what amounted to not far off a court order! It was found, it was detected and it did exist.
The only thing that is in question is if the aids were actually used during qualifying and / or race conditions. That is something that we can debate until the cows come home but will never have a definitive answer on unless either Schumacher or Briatore come out and admit it. Two things though relating to proof. There are two acceptable standards of proof generally used around the world - 'beyond reasonable doubt' in a criminal case, which this isn't comparable to, or 'on the balance of probabilities' in a civil case, which this is comparable to. Given the non-debatable existence of the aids and Benetton's actions of blocking the FIA scrutinising along with what would amount to expert testimony from others in F1 at that time (many have given informal evidence of what behaviour of the car at the time indicates that the aids were indeed being used), it is certainly arguable that the evidence may well meet the second of these burdens of proof.
On a more serious note, and it's a discussion point, not something I am asserting before the daggers are drawn, the question is, if Benetton were using these aids, and had they been more sporting and not used them, would Senna have been killed or might he still have been with us today?
Favourite racing series: F1, Indycar, NASCAR, GP2, F3, Formula E, Trophee Andros, DTM, WTCC, BTCC, World Endurance... etc. etc.