Formula One news

'Singapore a genuine accident?' - Hill

Former World Champion and current British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) Chairman Damon Hill has joined the long list of concerned voices in F1 over the Piquet/Renault saga. Putting it simply, Hill states that the case 'is not a good episode for Formula One'.

1996 Champion Hill has commented that, personally, he had never heard of tactics such as the alleged 'deliberate crash' supposedly implement by the Renault team in Singapore last year.

Hill remains unsure over whether Piquet's spin was a simple mishap

The Briton went on to mention deliberate crashing consisting of two cars colliding, possibly reminiscing of battles from his own championship struggles. "There have been suggestions in the past that, if one driver from a team were to collide with another driver of a differing team, that might help the first teams chances," he mused.

When asked whether or not he believed the Piquet/Renault incident to be a deliberate attempt at staging a crash and implementing team tactics the, the '96 Champion took a neutral view. "It's easy to crash (an F1 car), but to make it look like an accident..." Hill gestured at the difficultly and improbability. "There have been attempts at spinning and making it appear as an accident but it generally turns out to be very obvious; but in Piquet's case it's hard to tell from the telemetry - it could have been a genuine accident."

Hill, who retired from racing just under a decade ago, also feels that the situation could damage the sport's reputation and alienate some fans. "Formula One is a worldwide sport, with a worldwide interest," he concluded. "Sometimes controversies can help add to this but, ideally, you would want it to be for the right reasons."

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