How do you all feel about this? Che Symonds has been taken on in a consultancy capacity to review Virgin's unmitigated success in the being-completely-rubbish stakes. This is quite high profile compared to his previous dabblings with consultancy. Given Che's dangerous attitude to the safety of drivers and trackside fans, what do other not606 members think of this sleazy, creeping reintegration into F1?
Hmmmmmm I felt it was bad taste him talking alot in the F1racing magazine for what he has done in the past. But this just makes me more aggitated when I see his face. I hope to see both Lotus AND HRT beat the crap out of Virgin now...
I wasn't aware of that, but from the way you describe it it sounds like shameless self-promotion when the guy should be riddled with shame and remain in the shadows. He is the very epitome of evil and darkness, and I only mention this so that when Briatore makes his return you'll appreciate truly how much I despise him and resent his presence on the planet I share. The pair of them should be human-centipeded and left in a dark, damp, spider-infested cellar.
Opinion: Pat Symonds' fall from grace was the result of a weakness of character, buckling under the considerable pressure of the thug Briatore who I believe masterminded the whole thing - in spite of the tendency for this to be played down in the press for some peculiar reason… This does not excuse Symonds' involvement but I believe it does mitigate to some small degree. I repeat. This is purely my opinion. However, having been found to be complicit in what was the worst example of cheating in the history of motorsport at this level, I would prefer him not to reappear in spite of him 'serving his time'. (I cannot believe he will be properly re-established within his 5 year ban). I am also rather surprised that Sir Richard Branson would contemplate being associated with him, unless it can be demonstrated at some point that Symonds really did buckle under pressure from above (as I suspect).
[I know this is old news for F1 but I don't think it's been discussed on not606 so far and I think it's worth reconsidering what happened with the benefit of hindsight, especially as Briatore's and Symonds's F1 bans come to an end.] A typically balanced opinion. Can you tell I was in rant mode last night? I'm inclined to accept the validity of that opinion more because you suggest it than because of anything I've seen. IIRC Briatore's slant on the affair was that the whole thing was masterminded by Symonds and that he (Briatore) skulked about in the background deliberately not being directly involved in discussions. Piquet Jr's statement clearly described the initial request for him to crash to have taken place in Briatore's office, with both Briatore and Symonds present, and to have been made to him (Piquet) by Symonds. Following that meeting, Symonds alone took Piquet to "a quiet corner" and explained where on the circuit Piquet was to crash his car. From this information it's not unreasonable to deduce that Briatore was in charge and that Symonds ("buckling under the considerable pressure of the thug") was working to Briatore's instructions. It's also not unreasonable to at least suspect that it was actually Symonds's idea and that he got Briatore on board - Symonds certainly did all the running in terms of discussing the idea with Piquet and instructing Piquet where to crash. Witness X (Alan Permane) certainly implied that the latter was the case: "Witness X had been personally present at a meeting shortly after qualifying on Saturday 27 September 2008 when Mr Symonds had mentioned the possibility of a crash plan to Mr Briatore." It is a very small degree, I think. At the end of the day Symonds was balls deep in the whole affair, whether he was bullied or not. Sadly, the reason we're talking about opinions instead of facts is partly because Symonds, having been quite chatty in setting up the crash, became tight-lipped when questioned by the FIA about it. It's also because outgoing FIA president Max Mosley decided to use the scandal to settle old scores with Briatore, which led to a complete shambles of an investigation, initially offering Symonds immunity in return for damning Briatore, and then holding an illegal WMSC hearing, at which Briatore received a lifetime band Symonds received a five-year ban. From that you could deduce that Briatore was indeed the ringleader, but Symonds remained loyal to Briatore and maintained that it was all Piquet Jr's idea. Perhaps, but then at the moment Symonds is definitely available and probably cheap. It's surprising because Branson strives to present Virgin as an ethical business but it's possible that, ethical or not, business is business and Symonds certainly has knowledge, experience and ability that is of great value to a team like Virgin. Symonds also made a full apology and on that score I don't doubt his sincerity. Perhaps that influenced Virgin's decision.
