FIA sue Phillipe Streiff

[Frogfoot9013]

Apparently, the FIA are taking legal action against former F1 driver Phillipe Streiff for comments he made about the Jules Bianchi incident.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2015/01/t ... -comments/

[Bobby Doorknobs]

What's up with Todt's face in that picture?

As for the comments, it looks like Todt has a valid case for defamation. Some of Streiff's comments can be found here (in French): https://fr.sports.yahoo.com/news/streif ... 00478.html

Ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is a prime example of the Streisand Effect.

[mediocre]

Jesus, what is wrong with Streiff? That guy's been sticking his nose in everywhere he could since Schumi's accident. He just keeps on commenting everything, spreading rumours and making himself important. For once, I'm actually on the side of the FIA.

[Captain Hammer]

Ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is a prime example of the Streisand Effect.

The FIA were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't. By going after Strieff, they only drew attention to his comments. But by not going after him, they would only enable him in the future.

[FMecha]

That's the guy who was paralyzed when driving for AGS, right?

[good_Ralf]

That's the guy who was paralyzed when driving for AGS, right?

Yes, he had a crash in testing/practice for the first round of 1989 in Brazil, at the reviled Jacarepagua track.

[Captain Hammer]

It seems Gary Hartstein is intent on going down with the Good Ship Streiff, wilfully ignoring the obvious implications of libel in his comments to criticise Todt and Salliant as cynical and malevolent on Twitter.

If Streiff believes that the FIA engaged in a criminal conspiracy to cover up their negligence, then he needs to back that up with hard evidence. And as much as Hartstein would love to get his own back, he should know better than to enable it. He was whinging that Todt and Salliant were trying to get him fired, but if he thinks that this is at all appropriate, then what does he expect?

[FMecha]

That's the guy who was paralyzed when driving for AGS, right?

Yes, he had a crash in testing/practice for the first round of 1989 in Brazil, at the reviled Jacarepagua track.

That being said, I wonder if his comments against Bianchi could be connected to his '89 crash...

[Captain Hammer]

That's the guy who was paralyzed when driving for AGS, right?

Yes, he had a crash in testing/practice for the first round of 1989 in Brazil, at the reviled Jacarepagua track.

That being said, I wonder if his comments against Bianchi could be connected to his '89 crash...

Salliant was the first doctor on the scene ...

But I suspect it's more likely that Streiff's role as pundit has gone to his head.

[LellaLombardi]

I thought he was a good source on the Schumi story until his management said there'd been no contact. Now this. Very strange behaviour.

[mario]

Ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is a prime example of the Streisand Effect.

The FIA were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't. By going after Strieff, they only drew attention to his comments. But by not going after him, they would only enable him in the future.

And given the serious nature of the charges that Streiff was laying against the FIA, and in particular Todt and Saillant (not just the claims that the report was fixed, but also the accusations of embezzlement), I suppose that they took the attitude that it would ultimately be more damaging to let them go unchallenged rather than tackling them head on.

As it is, it looks like the threat of legal action from the FIA has had the desired effect - Streiff has immediately withdrawn the comments and apologised for his remarks, claiming that he let himself get carried away in the interview. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/01/2 ... AQ20150123

[LellaLombardi]

That "well aware of my health problems" line in his apology is bizarre. I thought he was only a paraplegic, not that he was delusional.

[Press_Play2002]

That "well aware of my health problems" line in his apology is bizarre. I thought he was only a paraplegic, not that he was delusional.

Well, it could be that for some unknown reason Streiff has just decided to choose *that* moment to throw his most misguided 2 cents on a matter that should be closed by now. He didn't do this in '99 after Schumacher broke his leg at Silverstone. Nor in 1997 when Panis was sidelined due to his Montreal crash.

[mario]

That "well aware of my health problems" line in his apology is bizarre. I thought he was only a paraplegic, not that he was delusional.

To a certain extent, I cynically wonder if he is playing up that aspect to try and garner more sympathy from the press and the public, therefore putting pressure on the FIA not to pursue the case any further. I have certainly seen a number of people who seem to have reflexively sided with him seemingly for the sole reason that they think it is cruel for the FIA to prosecute a disabled person, irrespective of what he actually said.

[Frogfoot9013]

That "well aware of my health problems" line in his apology is bizarre. I thought he was only a paraplegic, not that he was delusional.

To a certain extent, I cynically wonder if he is playing up that aspect to try and garner more sympathy from the press and the public, therefore putting pressure on the FIA not to pursue the case any further. I have certainly seen a number of people who seem to have reflexively sided with him seemingly for the sole reason that they think it is cruel for the FIA to prosecute a disabled person, irrespective of what he actually said.

I was also thinking he was playing the 'disabled person' card to escape prosecution and make himself look better, even though his comments were reckless and he should be prosecuted just like anyone else.

[LellaLombardi]

Using that logic, Oscar Pistorius should have been let off (even more than he was...) for killing Reeva Steenkamp.

Playing the "please don't sue me because I'm disabled" card really doesn't improve my opinion of him, unless he has a genuine mental disorder that's making him talk twaddle, in which case he shouldn't be going anywhere near a journalist. The FIA were right to threaten legal action, because it sounds like he needs taking down several pegs.

[CoopsII]

When Streiff had his accident it was news but not as big as the coverage Schumacher and Bianchi received. Equally, for many non-F1 followers Streiff was quickly forgotten about (and, perhaps, by some F1 followers too). I think there's a reasonable chance that Bianchi and his accident will still be remembered in the years to come unlike Streiffs and I wonder if this nonsense is the manifestation of a perceived sense of injustice on Streiffs behalf? Perhaps it's a misguided attempt to remind the populous that he suffered mightily from his accident and maybe didn't received the level of support he felt he should have?

[Frogfoot9013]

When Streiff had his accident it was news but not as big as the coverage Schumacher and Bianchi received. Equally, for many non-F1 followers Streiff was quickly forgotten about (and, perhaps, by some F1 followers too). I think there's a reasonable chance that Bianchi and his accident will still be remembered in the years to come unlike Streiffs and I wonder if this nonsense is the manifestation of a perceived sense of injustice on Streiffs behalf? Perhaps it's a misguided attempt to remind the populous that he suffered mightily from his accident and maybe didn't received the level of support he felt he should have?

If Streiff's accident had happened during a race rather than in a test session it'd probably got more coverage and be better remembered by people, if you ask me. It would've been thought of as more serious if it occurred at a race weekend, car safety would probably have been improved a bit, and he would also have probably got more support to help him with his disability due to more people hearing about it.

[CoopsII]

Makes you wonder who will remember Maria de Villota in ten years time, although her being a woman will keep her as a statistic, I guess.

[Frogfoot9013]

Makes you wonder who will remember Maria de Villota in ten years time, although her being a woman will keep her as a statistic, I guess.

To be quite honest, I think she'll be forgotten by most people ten years down the line sadly.

[Dj_bereta]

To be frank, despite the bad behavior and bad words from Streiff, FIA deserves some harsh words. Instead of starting a lawsuit against Streiff, why FIA don't show which the former F1 driver is wrong with work? I'm not defending Streiff, but FIA needs to improve.