Renault F1 - politics wins

There is no doubt in my mind that the winner in the "crashgate" affair is the internal political set-up of Formula One, namely, Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley.

It has been clear all along that the departure of Renault from F1 would cause a chain reaction, with other teams leaving in its wake. This could not be allowed to happen, and so, just like a Muslim Peer who gets two weeks in a cosy nick for killing a driver whilst driving and texting, Renault are off with a suspended sentence. Contrast this with the eye-watering fine ($100 million) McLaren got for exchanging engineering data with Ferrari or the departure of Ron Dennis after he advised Lewis Hamilton to lie to a stewards enquiry.

The difference is, Mclaren feuded with the FIA and had a poor personal relationship. Renault have been the darlings of the pit lane and the result is that the most hideous and most dangerous bit of cheating in its history has been swept under the carpet.

And it's Bernie what done it (who just happens to have very considerable business connections to Flavio Briatore)

It stinks. Anyway, as I said, F1 has long ceased to be an arena of the brave and gifted and is now merely, a circus. Our mistake is to see it as a sport. It has no more relation to "Sport" than Giant Haystacks and Kendo Nagasaki - and is a lot less entertaining.

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