The Sporting Arena

Over the past few weeks, much has been said about Crashgate, the race-fixing scandal involving Renault conspiring to win last year’s SingTel Singapore Grand Prix. The alleged perpetrators, including team boss (”He who shalt not be named” in the pit garages) Flavio Briatore, have been sanctioned, but many questions remain why Nelson Piquet Jr has gotten away, especially as he knowingly carried it out. Many people are still sceptical over whether Fernando Alonso, who went on to win that race, knew anything about it, despite the two-time world champion’s insistence he knew nothing of the plot throughout the half hour long media scrum outside the Renault motorhome behind the Paddock last Thursday night.

Many left unconvinced, but my gut feel is that he is innocent, although his defensiveness that evening didn’t help matters. I may be wrong, but my initial feeling was that if you’re going to do something below the belt, you would want as few people to know about it as possible. And as the old saying goes, your initial feeling is usually the right one. Alonso didn’t need to know what was really going on for the plot to work. In fact, I read somewhere that Alonso remarked to Briatore on the podium in Singapore last year with seemingly genuine surprise at the win.

Unless new information comes up, we may never know the full details in its entirety. But there is no denying Alonso’s class as a driver, someone who can make an uncompetitive car look good and is widely regarded as the most naturally gifted driver currently on the grid. Imagine what it be like if the double world champion was put behind the wheel of a Ferrari, which may happen next season if all that talk of him moving to Maranello next year is true.

Crashgate has left many wondering if this latest blow will leave the embattled sport on its knees, particularly after recent scandals in “Spygate” and “Liegate”. Several drivers, like Nico Rosberg, believe the sport will bounce back, and I for one tend to agree.

Yes, such scandals give the sport a bad image, with ING and Mutua Madrilena ending its deal with Renault immediately. But there is no denying that Formula 1 has grabbed the Lion’s share of the limelight in recent weeks, and while sponsors may think twice about being part of it, fans in general will still continue supporting the sport. Ironically because of this controversy, we could actually see more interest in the sport. We may deny it and take a moral high ground, but we all love drama, the characters, the plots and the subplots with more twists and turns, bumps and dust than the Marina Bay street circuit than not even the safety car can dampen. It’s like an unfolding soap opera, and we all want to know what happens next, and that is why I believe the sport will bounce back. That is one of the reasons why sport has such universal appeal and charm.

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