Motorsport Conspiracies

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Branching off from the failures thread.

Some conspiracies are speculation. Case in point; I honestly believe Ferrari sabotaged Eddie Irvine's chance of the title in 1999, even if only passively and even if he did have some bad races on his own merit. They didn't pay all of that money for Eddie Irvine to end the dry spell, it was destined to be Schumacher. I have no way of proving this but it's something I believe.

However some do turn out to be true; the long suspected "Ferrari veto" did transpire to exist during the most recent Concorde squabbling.

What other ones have you heard or read up about?

- One which was definitely true is that the 1939 European Grand Prix season, which was cut short by WWII, was wrongly awarded to Hermann Lang by the Nazis instead of the points leader at the time Paul Müller for propaganda reasons.

- When they were team mates at Ferrari, Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins were said to share winnings equally between them, excluding their other team mate Luigi Musso. Musso was very resentful of this, claiming that the two Englishmen were putting a wedge between him and themselves. Musso needed the prize money from the French GP because he was in debt and that's why he pushed so hard in the race and died in a crash.

- After Johnny Herbert came within 0.4 of Schumacher's practice times at Argentina 1995 (Rd 02), he wasn't allowed to see Schumacher's telemetry any more.

- Alonso/Hamilton in 2007? Something was going on there.
 
Alonso/Hamilton in 2007? Something was going on there.
I don't think that was really a conspiracy. Alonso joined McLaren with the expectation that he would be given lead driver status in the team, but this was never in his contract.
 
I don't think that was really a conspiracy. Alonso joined McLaren with the expectation that he would be given lead driver status in the team, but this was never in his contract.
This. They simply didn't like each other. No conspiracy about it.
 
I think that his time at Renault really created a misconception as to how teams are run. Flavio Briatore gave him whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it; he only ran a second car because he was obliged to. So Alonso arrived at McLaren as a little prince with the unwritten - but perhaps spoken - promise that he would be the designated number one driver from the outset.
 
I'll add one here. I've heard a few people make claims about the 2013 Indy 500. Namely, they claim that, since Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan were really close friends, Dario crashed intentionally at the end of the race once he saw TK in the lead to assure that Kanaan would win.
 
I'll add one here. I've heard a few people make claims about the 2013 Indy 500. Namely, they claim that, since Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan were really close friends, Dario crashed intentionally at the end of the race once he saw TK in the lead to assure that Kanaan would win.

I consider those claims as idiotic.

Considering Dario was running mid-pack at the time he hit the wall, it's doubtful if he even knew who was leading at the time. Also how visibly distraught both Dario and TK were after Dan Wheldon's passing 2 years before, crashing a car intentionally at race speed is out of the question.
 
This is probably the most ridiculous one: the suggestion that the FIA rigged the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. The theory goes that, following the spy scandal, the FIA did not want a McLaren driver to win the title, and so placed one of their own in the McLaren garage to sabotage the team under the guise of moderating their interactions with Alonso and Hamilton following Alonso's claim that the team was not supporting him. The theory claims that this was achieved with a directed-energy weapon that fired an electromagnetic pulse at Hamilton's gearbox causing it to seize up at the worst possible moment, preventing him from winning the title (quite how they sabotaged Alonso is never stated).
 
I'll add one here. I've heard a few people make claims about the 2013 Indy 500. Namely, they claim that, since Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan were really close friends, Dario crashed intentionally at the end of the race once he saw TK in the lead to assure that Kanaan would win.

I can't say I know much about that but that, along with the actually proven deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, has reminded me of something; is there anyone out there who thinks Michael Schumacher didn't try and crash into Damon Hill in 1994? That it was a genuine accident? Schumacher claims it was a racing incident, so does Murray Walker (publicly at least) but Damon Hill, after his initial silence, came out and said he believes it was deliberate and unsurprisingly Patrick Head said immediately that Schumacher is "100% guilty of foul play".
 
I can't say I know much about that but that, along with the actually proven deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, has reminded me of something; is there anyone out there who thinks Michael Schumacher didn't try and crash into Damon Hill in 1994? That it was a genuine accident? Schumacher claims it was a racing incident, so does Murray Walker (publicly at least) but Damon Hill, after his initial silence, came out and said he believes it was deliberate and unsurprisingly Patrick Head said immediately that Schumacher is "100% guilty of foul play".

As deliberate as Senna on Prost in 1990, and Schumacher on Villeneuve in 1997, no argument here. It was a very sad, pathetic ending to a sad and pathetic season that was ruled by death, drama and cheating.
 
This is probably the most ridiculous one: the suggestion that the FIA rigged the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix. The theory goes that, following the spy scandal, the FIA did not want a McLaren driver to win the title, and so placed one of their own in the McLaren garage to sabotage the team under the guise of moderating their interactions with Alonso and Hamilton following Alonso's claim that the team was not supporting him. The theory claims that this was achieved with a directed-energy weapon that fired an electromagnetic pulse at Hamilton's gearbox causing it to seize up at the worst possible moment, preventing him from winning the title (quite how they sabotaged Alonso is never stated).

From what I can remember of that race, the FIA member was there to ensure everything was equal between both Mclarens, Alonso had to run a specific brake pad that Hamilton and the team used, though it was claimed in the telecast Alonso wanted to use a different brake pad that he used at Renault which gave him better feel,
 
From what I can remember of that race, the FIA member was there to ensure everything was equal between both Mclarens, Alonso had to run a specific brake pad that Hamilton and the team used, though it was claimed in the telecast Alonso wanted to use a different brake pad that he used at Renault which gave him better feel,
Oh, the FIA delegate was definitely there to observe and moderate the team. The conspiracy just claims that he had an ulterior motive of sabotaging the race to prevent a McLaren driver from winning the title.
 
Oh, the FIA delegate was definitely there to observe and moderate the team. The conspiracy just claims that he had an ulterior motive of sabotaging the race to prevent a McLaren driver from winning the title.

I guess the best guess is, only those involved know really what happened, an electromagnetic pulse gun at a motor racing circuit sounds absurd, and surely wouldn't have gone unnoticed in the crowd,

Though I remember some whispers about Fisichella's failure while leading the Canadian GP in '05, something about a "phone call to the car" using Bluetooth or infrared technology to send the ECU into a meltdown, just weird...
 
If such a device had bern used, it would have fried Hamilton's gearbox. As it was, he just found neutral and managed to get it restarted.

Honestly, the idea of a corrupt governing body fixing races by sending mystery signals sounds like Hollywood on steroids. Add in a subplot about the Pentagon investing in CFD to try and appropriate the technology for the development of next-generation fighter jets, suspicion of a foreign power sabotaging the project, and an illegal transnational betting syndicate and you've got a summer blockbuster.
 
When I researched the Lancer Evo V WRC for the GT Car Suggestions forum, I stumbled a conspiracy theory. Here's that, quoted from the thread itself:
During the [1998] Rally Australia [...], Tommi Mäkinen had a penalty for jumping the start, but the start lights and the clock weren't synchronised, and later the penalty had to be removed! His championship rival, Carlos Sainz, who was badly affected by the decision, alleged a conspiracy between the organizers and Mitsubishi. It was never resolved.

💡
 
Does anybody have JK Rowling's phone number lying around? She could use this for the next Cormoran Strike novel:

Following a pre-season test at Silverstone, the chief racing engineer of a team is found dead. His death, while suspicious, is ruled "causes undetermined". His appointment was considered controversial given the circumstances under which he was hired, and the mystery deepens when he is found to have been in possession of sensitive technical data from his previous team. With more evidence pointing towards murder, the case is believed to be linked to espionage between the teams.

Things get complicated when the Ministry of Defence steps in. The team was using a radical CFD-only approach, and the government felt that it was worthwhile discreetly investing in the team as the competitive nature of motorsport means that the software could be developed faster, cheaper and more effectively than a defence contractor as the MoD sees a future for CFD in the development of fighter jets. However, large swathes of data from the team are missing, and the MoD believes that a foreign agent is sabotaging the project. This is a red herring; it is later revealed that the lead designer has been withholding the data because the CFD-only approach is flawed and not viable, but he wants the government money rolling in.

With the data restored, the investigators realise that the dead engineer has been in possession of the equivalent data from his old team. He had accidentally discovered a back door in the ECU programming: under certain conditions, a third party could gain access to the car's ECU independently of the team. Because changes to the engine formula have made the engines more complex, the engines were inadvertently entering this state, effectively pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del on themselves. At the time of his death, the engineer had been running simulations on the engine, trying to force the engine into this state. He discovered that both ECUs had the same problem, and that it was not a glitch in the software - it was intentionally written in.

The killer is ultimately revealed to be a corrupt administrator who had the fault written into the software so that he could access the ECUs of engines during races and trigger car failures, fixing the outcomes of races. His co-conspirators are an international betting syndicate, who have been sponsoring teams as a means of laundering their ill-gotten gains.
 
As deliberate as Senna on Prost in 1990, and Schumacher on Villeneuve in 1997, no argument here. It was a very sad, pathetic ending to a sad and pathetic season that was ruled by death, drama and cheating.

I'm definitely onside with it too, was just wondering if anyone had an alternative view.

How about electronic aids on the 1994 Benneton?

It wasn't just Benetton under scrutiny but they were certainly the major accused.

CX-ogFFWkAIr_qm.jpg:large
 
Darrell Waltrip loses engine just after crossing the finish line and winning the 1985 NASCAR Allstar Race. Was the car's engine illegal and purposely hand grenading the motor Waltrip and his team's way to cover it up?


1985-All-Star-Race-Darrell-Waltrip-finish_20100515150930_600_400.JPG



While the curious timing of Waltrip's blown engine raised many eyebrows, with some competitors even accusing Waltrip of deliberately making the engine expire so that it wouldn't be found illegal in post-race inspection, he vehemently denied the accusation and still does to this day. He insists the engine was "perfectly legal.



"You can't change people's minds," he said. "I don't know how many times I've told them and how many times NASCAR has told them. The engine was still in the car. The engine did not disappear. The engine just had a hole in the oil pan, and so it was pretty easy to take the heads off and check the engine like they did every week every time you'd win a pole or you'd win a race. ... They took the motor and they tore it down and checked it."
 
Brazil 1995. Coulthard and Schumacher got caught with illegal fuel. (F1 fuel at the time should be identical to the fuel you'd get at a petrol station) they were DQ'd and then reinstated for some reason much to the dismay of Ferrari's Niki Lauda. Conspiracy?
 
Brazil 1995. Coulthard and Schumacher got caught with illegal fuel. (F1 fuel at the time should be identical to the fuel you'd get at a petrol station) they were DQ'd and then reinstated for some reason much to the dismay of Ferrari's Niki Lauda. Conspiracy?
Probably not, a team I worked for ran a series a few years ago that had the same rule and a car was dq'd for the same thing but the driver was adement that you could get the "pump" fuel he was using at a petrol station that just happened to be owned by his uncle and was the only place in the uk to get it :lol:

His results got reinstated.
 
One I initially thought of was the 2001 Pepsi 400. There were rumors about the race being rigged so Dale Jr. would win, fittingly at the first Daytona race since Dale Sr passed away. I guess nothing was ever proven, but I've got to say, it looked suspicious how superior his car was to the others, with it being a restrictor plate race and all. It was even stated in the race coverage that he had to only hold the throttle about 75% so he'd maintain speed with the back and not get too far ahead, which would put the others in prime position to leapfrog past him.
 
Brazil 1995. Coulthard and Schumacher got caught with illegal fuel. (F1 fuel at the time should be identical to the fuel you'd get at a petrol station) they were DQ'd and then reinstated for some reason much to the dismay of Ferrari's Niki Lauda. Conspiracy?
In Brazil back in 2007, Rosberg, Nakajima, Kubica and Heidfeld were found to have fuel that was too cold. It was grounds for exclusion, but the FIA didn't follow through on a protest by McLaren - but McLaren only challenged Rosberg, Kubica and Heidfeld. Theur disqualifications would have handed Hamilton the title. But Nakajima finished behind Hamilton, so his disqualification would not have affected Hamilton, so McLaren didn't bother protesting his result.
 
One I initially thought of was the 2001 Pepsi 400. There were rumors about the race being rigged so Dale Jr. would win, fittingly at the first Daytona race since Dale Sr passed away. I guess nothing was ever proven, but I've got to say, it looked suspicious how superior his car was to the others, with it being a restrictor plate race and all. It was even stated in the race coverage that he had to only hold the throttle about 75% so he'd maintain speed with the back and not get too far ahead, which would put the others in prime position to leapfrog past him.
I think that was more due to the aero package they used at the time.
Darrell Waltrip loses engine just after crossing the finish line and winning the 1985 NASCAR Allstar Race. Was the car's engine illegal and purposely hand grenading the motor Waltrip and his team's way to cover it up?


1985-All-Star-Race-Darrell-Waltrip-finish_20100515150930_600_400.JPG
No, blowing the motor won't change the internals or prevent anyone from inspecting the motor. An engine won't go from illegal to legal by having it blow up.
 
I'm not entirely sure if this counts but the WRC Toyota Celica which had a system that allowed more air to reach the turbo and in the process making the restrictor plate useless. Even in the inspections nothing was found, not even when the turbo was looked at. With the air flow to the turbo basically not being changed by the restrictor plate the Celica had a a bonus of 50HP from it's original restricted 300HP which is a very significant advantage.

http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/cheatins-still-winnin-the-story-of-toyota-racings-best-cheat-ever/

Edit: @prisonermonkeys Right. Apologies
 
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