The Pontrieux Report » McLaren http://blog.lepontrieux.com An English Tea Room in France, Democracy and Formula 1 Sat, 26 Jun 2010 12:02:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Santander sticks with the cheats and continues to support corruption and dishonesty http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/09/14/santander-sticks-with-the-cheats-and-continues-to-support-corruption-and-dishonesty/ http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/09/14/santander-sticks-with-the-cheats-and-continues-to-support-corruption-and-dishonesty/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:14:03 +0000 Gary Pepworth http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/09/14/santander-sticks-with-the-cheats-and-continues-to-support-corruption-and-dishonesty/ Clearly I jumped the gun the other day, not expecting a major sponsor to hedge its bets in such a unusual fashion. A basic understanding of marketing makes it easy to understand why a bank, which usually aims to project an image of trust, would no longer wish to be associated with an outfit that has shown to be institutionaly dishonest.

Perhaps they are after a particular market segment, after all even receivers of stolen goods and liars have banking needs.

This may even be good news for those of you caught making fraudulent loan and mortgage applications – just cite the “Melbourne” defence.

]]> http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/09/14/santander-sticks-with-the-cheats-and-continues-to-support-corruption-and-dishonesty/feed/ 0 Santander dumps the cheats, Vodafone continues to support corruption and dishonesty http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/09/11/santander-dumps-the-cheats-vodafone-continues-to-support-corruption-and-dishonesty/ http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/09/11/santander-dumps-the-cheats-vodafone-continues-to-support-corruption-and-dishonesty/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:59:26 +0000 Gary Pepworth http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/09/11/santander-dumps-the-cheats-vodafone-continues-to-support-corruption-and-dishonesty/ Being associated with corruption and dishonesty is not the most sought after of  brand values, so it is no surprise that Santander have decided not to renew their association with McLaren.  What is surprising is that Vodafone continues to show faith in a team that is still under a suspended three race ban after admitting guilt on five charges of bringing the sport into disrepute.

Referring to the Santander deal their President , Emilio Botin, referred to Ferrari as “….. an irreplaceable pillar and a symbol of tradition, success and strength.”

I have no idea if Vittorio Colao is attending his home Grand Prix this weekend, but it would be the ideal place to announce that Vodafone wishes to atone for its treachery and is returning to Ferrari.

]]> http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/09/11/santander-dumps-the-cheats-vodafone-continues-to-support-corruption-and-dishonesty/feed/ 0 We’ve all had our pound of flesh, let’s leave him be. http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/04/04/we%e2%80%99ve-all-had-our-pound-of-flesh-let%e2%80%99s-leave-him-be/ http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/04/04/we%e2%80%99ve-all-had-our-pound-of-flesh-let%e2%80%99s-leave-him-be/#comments Sat, 04 Apr 2009 03:47:20 +0000 Gary Pepworth http://blog.lepontrieux.com/2009/04/04/we%e2%80%99ve-all-had-our-pound-of-flesh-let%e2%80%99s-leave-him-be/ I am not a Lewis Hamilton fan. I support Felipe Massa and Ferrari. This means I want them to win and to do so they have to beat someone else. As with football or any other sport there are some teams you oppose with as much vigour as you support your own team. If your side is not doing so well you can still delight in the downs of your favourite bête noir team. As a Pompey fan, I get as much enjoyment from their FA Cup win as seeing the Scummers languishing in the Championship. In F1 this role is fulfilled by Lewis Hamilton and McLaren, I am shamelessly partisan.

Up to a point. Like many F1 fans my loyalty is not blinkered, I enjoy the totality of the sport. I know that Lewis Hamilton is a fantastic racing driver and brings a lot to the sport. I cheered for Lewis at his final GP2 race at Silverstone. When I attended my first British Grand Prix I went to see Schumacher win. Yet when it was DC that took the chequered flag, I along with everyone else stood and applauded him on his victory lap. All the players contribute to my enjoyment of the sport.

So when ‘Truligate’ or ‘Liegate’ or whatever it becomes known as, was brewing I was having a whale of a time, poring over every poisonous newspaper article and blog comment. It was almost as much fun as race day.

Up to a point. Until I saw a solitary Lewis facing the media and giving them the apology they demanded. Despite all the hype, he is still a relatively young man trying to cope with the enormous pressure that his extraordinary talent has brought him. I can’t imagine how awful it must have felt to be in that press conference facing those who built you up as the ‘Second Coming’, some of whom are now gleefully trashing your reputation in their fickle tabloids.

He did wrong, he was found out and has apologised. What more can or do we want Lewis Hamilton to do? So can we now move on and enjoy the racing before we all lose any further sense of perspective?

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