Verstappen claims Schumacher used illegitimate means at Benetton

[Il_leone]

the point I think people have missed is the team tried to argue their way out of serving the penalty and then when the black flag was shown instead of pulling in . They decided to lets get away with the lesser of two evils and serve the stop go penalty.

Which really is ridiculous and shows the officials had no control. It could be seen as blackmail - not that any money was involved.

 

[FB]

I wasn't sure where to post this, it came from the Formula Once Facebook page. The machine translation is not great (I love that Domenico translates as Sunday) but it does give you a really interesting insight in to what was going on back in the mid 90's in F1 and the depths to which Flavio Briatore sank to gain all and any advantage he could.

“Jos Verstappen? Un pazzo scatenato, un ragazzo estroso e allo stesso tempo irascibile. Però andava molto forte e anche Schumacher diceva che gli dava del filo da torcere: tuttavia, all’interno del box Simtek, c’era una divisione e io non potevo accedere alle sue info e ai suoi dati telemetrici. Poi ho scoperto il perché: in quel momento Jos era il terzo pilota della Benetton, la Simtek stessa era una scuderia satellite della Benetton tant’è vero che Nick Wirth, quando chiuse il team, si trasferì proprio là. Ebbene, sulla macchina di Jos venivano montati dei particolari che invece io non potevo avere: me lo ha rivelato anni dopo il mio ingegnere di quel periodo. Ricordo che ogni venerdì o quasi lui rompeva il motore, quindi saliva sulla mia macchina oppure sul muletto e le nostre prestazioni si equivalevano: poi al sabato lui rimontava sulla sua vettura e mi dava sempre un secondo e oltre. E io mi incazzavo, al momento non capivo il perché…
A Monaco, il sabato sera prima della gara, ci dissero che quello del giorno seguente sarebbe stato l’ultimo Gp, a meno che qualcuno non avesse tirato fuori milioni di sterline. Quel fine settimana Jos corse con una macchina identica alla mia e guarda caso gli diedi un secondo in qualifica: però per la gara quei bastardi del team montarono di proposito sia a me che a lui dei rapporti del cambio a fine vita, che sapevano sarebbero esplosi dopo pochi km. Fecero questa roba in modo tale da non pagare poi la revisione dei motori, che all’epoca era intorno ai 300 milioni di lire per unità: al primo via ci fu un incidente alla Sainte Devote tra le due Ferrari e Coulthard, io frenai per mettere la prima ma già lì il cambio non funzionava più. Chiamai i box per segnalare il problema e loro si limitarono a un “ok sorry, spegni il motore”. Ma come…”
Domenico Schiattarella
28 maggio 1995, Gp di Monaco: la seconda vittoria di Schumacher sulle stradine del Principato e l’ultima apparizione di sempre del team Simtek.

"Jos Verstappen? A madman on the loose, an extinct boy and at the same time irresponsive. However, it was going very well and even Schumacher said that it was giving him trouble: however, inside the Simtek box, there was a division and I couldn't access his info and his telemetric data. Then I discovered why: at that time Jos was the third pilot of Benetton, the Simtek itself was a satellite scuderia of Benetton so true that Nick Wirth, when he closed the team, moved right there. Well, on the Jos car they had some particularities that I couldn’t have: my engineer of that time revealed it to me years later. I remember every Friday or so he would break the engine so he would get on my car or forklift and our performance would be equal: then on Saturday he would get back on his car and always give me a second and so. And I used to get pissed I don't understand why at this point..
In Monaco, on Saturday night before the race, we were told the next day would be the last Gp, unless someone brought in millions of pounds. That weekend Jos raced with a car identical to mine and you accidentally gave him a second in qualifying: but for the race those bastards purposely set up both me and him end of life switch relationships that they knew would blow up after a few km. They did this stuff in such a way that they would not have to pay for the overhaul of the engines, which at the time was around 300 million lire per unit: on the first street there was an accident at Sainte Devote between the two Ferraris and Coulthard, I stopped to put the first one but it was already there the transmission stopped working. I called the police station to report the problem and they just said “ok sorry, turn off the engine”. But how ... "
Sunday Schiattarella
28 May 1995, Monaco GP: Schumacher's second victory on the streets of the Principality and the last ever appearance of the Simtek team.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Sorry mate, I need a translation of the translation. I don't get what's going on?

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

Try this (from ChatGPT).

"Jos Verstappen? A wild and unpredictable guy, both eccentric and quick-tempered. However, he was very fast, and even Schumacher said he gave him a run for his money. Nevertheless, there was a division within the Simtek team, and I couldn't access his information and telemetry data. Later, I found out why: at that time, Jos was the third driver for Benetton, and Simtek itself was a satellite team for Benetton. In fact, when Nick Wirth closed the team, he moved to Benetton. Well, Jos' car had some specific parts that I couldn't have; my engineer from that period revealed it to me years later. I remember that almost every Friday he would break the engine, then he would get in my car or the spare car, and our performances would be equivalent. But on Saturdays, he would get back in his car and consistently give me a second or more. And I would get furious because I didn't understand why...

In Monaco, on Saturday evening before the race, they told us that the following day's Grand Prix would be the last one unless someone came up with millions of pounds. That weekend, Jos raced with a car identical to mine, and coincidentally, I beat him by a second in qualifying. However, those bastards in the team intentionally installed gearbox ratios that were at the end of their life span, knowing they would explode after a few kilometers, both on my car and his. They did this so they wouldn't have to pay for engine overhauls, which at the time cost around 300 million Italian lire per unit. At the start, there was an incident at Sainte Devote between the two Ferraris and Coulthard. I braked to engage first gear, but even then, the gearbox was no longer working. I called the pits to report the problem, and they simply said, 'Okay, sorry, turn off the engine.' But how..."

Domenico SchiattarellaMay 28, 1995, Monaco Grand Prix: Schumacher's second victory on the streets of the Principality and the final appearance ever of the Simtek team."

 

[cider_and_toast]

Are we shocked?

 

[FB]

That makes a lot more sense, although I got the premise of what was going on from the mechanical translation.

 

[cider_and_toast]

It's difficult to validate what Domenico Schiattarella is claiming by purely looking at the qualifying times. They only raced together for five races including at Monaco as referenced above.

The timings recorded in Friday and Saturday qualifying at Monaco do seem to bare out what he's saying in terms of the gap between him and Verstappen. At the previous GPS, Verstappen was always faster on the Friday and the gap widened on a Saturday. We can also compare Schiattarella's two races the previous season alongside David Brabham where in Europe the gap was around 1.2 secs on the Friday and 0.8 secs on the Saturday and in Australia the gap was around 2 seconds on the Friday with no time set on the Saturday due to rain. Brabham was clearly faster.

While I've no doubt Verstappen and Flavio were up to all forms of shenanigans Schiattarella was also a rubbish driver.

 

[F1Brits_90]

could they be faster on friday because the big teams turned there engines down or had less powerful engines in practise & then when turned them up or had their race engines in. they found all this speed

 

[Il_leone]

Not a surprise

 

[The Artist.....]

Schiaterella won nothing pre- or post-F1. Verstappen was one of the most talented juniors of the time (winning everything he had entered.

Just looking at the Races that they were together:

	Friday		Saturday
	Verstappen	Schiatarella	Verstappen	Schiatarella
Brazil	2:01.610	No time	1:27.323	1:28.106
Argentina	2:02.410	2:02.806	1:57.231	1:59.539
Imola	1:32.156	1:33.965	1:32.425	1:34.064
Spain	1:27.666	1:28.312	1:25.827	1:27.575
Monaco	1:29.391	1:29.439	1:30.015	1:28.337

So, Schiaterella was on a par with Verstappen at one race (Monaco), where they were basically bankrupt.

Verstappen had been running in the point in Argentina before his car grenaded itself.

 

[FB]

I'm sure he won't be the last driver to claim the team deliberately gave them the sh!tty end of the stick whilst taking no account of their own abilities, or otherwise.

It was interesting to know how much Benetton were involved with Simtek though, in the days before "junior" teams were really a thing.

 

[F1Brits_90]

Debunked: Simtek Mugen-Honda V10 - UNRACEDF1.COM

There is a story stating that Jos Verstappen tested on the 26th of June 1995 with the Simtek Mugen-Honda. Indeed the S951 fitted with an Mugen-Honda V10!

www.unracedf1.com