Italian model finds love with millionaire 30 years her senior

Italian businessman is Flavio Briatore is known by most as the MD of the Renault F1 team and part owner of Queens Park Rangers. Among gorgeous women, however, he is known only as a breathtaking inferno of sexuality, on a par with the Brad Pitts of this world. This accounts for why the rotund perma-tanned 58-year-old has put away Heidi Klum, Naomi Campbell and 28-year-old Wonderbra model Elisabetta Gregoraci, to whom he is now married. I think he may have a few quid laying around, too.

Shock, outrage, furious anger. Gridcrasher rounds up the reaction to one of the most controversial grands prix in F1 history

“This is the worst judgment in the history of F1, the most perverted judgment I have ever seen. It’s absolutely unacceptable when three functionaries [the race stewards] influence the championship like this.”
Niki Lauda, former F1 driver, gets off the fence

“This is motor racing and if there’s a penalty, then there’s something wrong because I was ahead going into that corner, so I didn’t gain an advantage from it. We were still able to race at the next corner and I gave him his spot back, and I think it was fair and square, so I think it would be absolutely wrong.”
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren driver, quoted before he knew about his penalty

“This is racing.”
Ferrari team chief Stefano Domenicali, when asked about the Hamilton/Raikkonen incident

Spa stewards make scandalous decision to strip Lewis Hamilton of Belgium win

We could chuckle at yet another breathtakingly blatant example of an anti-McLaren decision made by Ferrari-loving Max Mosley’s race stewards - except that joke isn’t funny anymore.

When you manipulate a sport for your own gain, it loses the very essence of what makes it sport; it then becomes a farce, and one that mocks the supporters who were on the edge of their seats - either at Spa or in front of the television - throughout a gripping grand prix.

Does the FIA think F1 fans are idiots? Lewis Hamilton gained an advantage by cutting the chicane and overtaking Kimi Raikkonen, but he immediately gave back the place, as the rules require. How that equals a 25-second penalty, only the one-eyed stewards know. We could mention all the times that Ferrari-powered drivers f**ked up this season without any punishment whatsoever - Kimi driving into the back of Sutil at Monaco, for example - but we’d be here all day.

So, Lewis was shafted, but hey, the suits at F1 suddenly have the tight title race they crave. Shameful.

Anyway, that’s our take. Watch the incident below and make up your own mind: