The Daniel Abt files, or: Audi and their double standard
Greetings, friends of motor racing!
Today's announcement by Audi to suspend Daniel Abt with immediate effect is a reason for me to put a few personal lines on virtual paper. After all, the bone of contention was also of a virtual nature...
Although they can basically move a race car fast, this is a new experience for most of the drivers, unless they have already gained some private simracing experience. And so the races are mostly dominated by the same drivers, although of course they all have the same prerequisites. Daniel Abt is none of them. He was always one of the drivers in the rear half of the field in the first few
At the fifth race, staged on the virtual circuit in Berlin-Tempelhof, Abt suddenly was right at the front of the field in qualifying. In the race he finished third. However, it was noticeable that Abt did not stream simultaneously this time (as in the previous races) and his face was covered by a microphone stand in the official Formula E live stream. Already during the race Stoffel Vandoorne said that Daniel Abt couldn't be at the wheel there.
And, as it turned out, he really wasn't. It quickly became apparent that there was a simracer behind the wheel. The consequence: Abt was disqualified, his points were taken away and he committed himself to make a donation of 10,000 Euros to a charity of his choice. Understandably, he is not entitled to the points either. After all, he did not drive himself. He made the donation shortly afterwards at an institution for disabled people in his neighbourhood.
Today the big news: Audi suspended Daniel Abt with immediate effect! This might be tantamount to his expulsion, as Abt later admitted in a video statement. However, I personally think the wording used by Audi to justify the decision is particularly interesting:
Audi is a brand of the Volkswagen Group. This is the company that has been deliberately deceiving registration authorities and consumers worldwide for years with the illegal software used in its diesel engines. This software ensured on test benches that significantly better exhaust emission values were achieved than was the case in "normal" operation. A 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine (called VW EA897) developed by Audi in a lead role was also equipped with the illegal software.
"Integrity, transparency and consistent compliance with applicable regulations" - none of this could be felt when VW and Audi concealed the true extent of the emissions scandal for years.
Wickens drove significantly slower for laps and slowed Scheider down so that Wehrlein was able to catch up and overtake both of them shortly before the finish. With sixth place, which he now occupied, Wehrlein would have retained the lead in the championship.
The viewers of the live coverage then heard a radio message live on television, which was delivered by Head of Audi Motorsport, Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich: "Timo, schieb ihn raus." ("Timo, push him out"). Although Ullrich later on could not remember having sent the radio message. "It couldn't have been me," he still said at the press conference after the race. Scheider denied having heard a radio message at all. But just seconds after the radio message, at the end of the straight Scheider braked too late and pushed the two competitors into each other, who then spun off the track.
For the German Motorsport Association (DMSB), the matter was clear: Scheider was suspended for two races, Ullrich was denied access to the pit lane and the team radio until the end of the season. In addition, Audi lost all points from that race and a 200,000 Euro fine was imposed on Audi Sport and the Phoenix Racing Team. "Since such behaviour massively damages the reputation of motorsport in public, the penalty had to be correspondingly severe," the DMSB stated.
Just to remember: "Integrity, transparency and consistent compliance with applicable regulations." There seems to be little sign of it. Quite interesting how Audi reacted to this incident: They didn't at all. There haven't been personal consequences whatsoever. At least none that were publicly communicated - neither for Scheider nor for Ullrich. There was merely an apology from both of them. But that was it. Both Scheider and Ullrich were of course allowed to keep their jobs.
Especially against this background the suspension or rather the expulsion of Daniel Abt seems like an absolute farce. Was it alright what Abt did? From a sporting point of view, certainly not. Should he be punished for it? Yes, that's what Formula E did.
But that's all. It was just a fun event and according to his statement Abt did not make any effort to hide or disguise the accused "fraud" in any way. Moreover, the incident was miles away from the kind of unsportsmanlike behaviour for which the suddenly oh-so-integral brand with the four rings had no consequences whatsoever just a few years ago.
To be honest: Audi, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Today's announcement by Audi to suspend Daniel Abt with immediate effect is a reason for me to put a few personal lines on virtual paper. After all, the bone of contention was also of a virtual nature...
What happened?
But
let's start at the very beginning. Due to the interruption of its
championship season, Formula E has created the "Race at Home Challenge".
Here, all 24 drivers of the championship compete for points in a season
consisting of eight races. As the name suggests, the races are held
from home. Each driver has a Formula E simulator at his disposal, the
races are held in rFactor 2. The races are not only for the
entertainment of the fans, but also for a good cause: donations are
collected for the worldwide coronavirus fund of UNICEF.
Although they can basically move a race car fast, this is a new experience for most of the drivers, unless they have already gained some private simracing experience. And so the races are mostly dominated by the same drivers, although of course they all have the same prerequisites. Daniel Abt is none of them. He was always one of the drivers in the rear half of the field in the first few
races.
And
so, during a live stream at Twitch together with a simracer, Abt came
up with the idea that he could drive the next race for Abt and thus
compete with the professional Formula E drivers.
At the fifth race, staged on the virtual circuit in Berlin-Tempelhof, Abt suddenly was right at the front of the field in qualifying. In the race he finished third. However, it was noticeable that Abt did not stream simultaneously this time (as in the previous races) and his face was covered by a microphone stand in the official Formula E live stream. Already during the race Stoffel Vandoorne said that Daniel Abt couldn't be at the wheel there.
And, as it turned out, he really wasn't. It quickly became apparent that there was a simracer behind the wheel. The consequence: Abt was disqualified, his points were taken away and he committed himself to make a donation of 10,000 Euros to a charity of his choice. Understandably, he is not entitled to the points either. After all, he did not drive himself. He made the donation shortly afterwards at an institution for disabled people in his neighbourhood.
Today the big news: Audi suspended Daniel Abt with immediate effect! This might be tantamount to his expulsion, as Abt later admitted in a video statement. However, I personally think the wording used by Audi to justify the decision is particularly interesting:
"Integrity, transparency and consistent compliance with applicable rules are top priorities for Audi - this applies to all activities the brand is involved in without exception."
How do I classify this?
First of all, I understand that as a manufacturer you have to react to apparently unsportsmanlike behaviour, no question. But this statement can only be a very very bad joke in my eyes.
Audi is a brand of the Volkswagen Group. This is the company that has been deliberately deceiving registration authorities and consumers worldwide for years with the illegal software used in its diesel engines. This software ensured on test benches that significantly better exhaust emission values were achieved than was the case in "normal" operation. A 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine (called VW EA897) developed by Audi in a lead role was also equipped with the illegal software.
"Integrity, transparency and consistent compliance with applicable regulations" - none of this could be felt when VW and Audi concealed the true extent of the emissions scandal for years.
But perhaps this does not apply to the entire company policy, but only to sport?
Here, too, I am not the only one who remembers an incident that makes the present statement seem even more ridiculous: The DTM race at Spielberg on August 2nd, 2015. Audis top driver Mattias Ekström was in the lead, while the championship leader, Mercedes driver Pascal Wehrlein, was in the midfield. In front of Wehrlein there were Audi driver Timo Scheider and Mercedes driver Robert Wickens.
Wickens drove significantly slower for laps and slowed Scheider down so that Wehrlein was able to catch up and overtake both of them shortly before the finish. With sixth place, which he now occupied, Wehrlein would have retained the lead in the championship.
The viewers of the live coverage then heard a radio message live on television, which was delivered by Head of Audi Motorsport, Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich: "Timo, schieb ihn raus." ("Timo, push him out"). Although Ullrich later on could not remember having sent the radio message. "It couldn't have been me," he still said at the press conference after the race. Scheider denied having heard a radio message at all. But just seconds after the radio message, at the end of the straight Scheider braked too late and pushed the two competitors into each other, who then spun off the track.
For the German Motorsport Association (DMSB), the matter was clear: Scheider was suspended for two races, Ullrich was denied access to the pit lane and the team radio until the end of the season. In addition, Audi lost all points from that race and a 200,000 Euro fine was imposed on Audi Sport and the Phoenix Racing Team. "Since such behaviour massively damages the reputation of motorsport in public, the penalty had to be correspondingly severe," the DMSB stated.
Just to remember: "Integrity, transparency and consistent compliance with applicable regulations." There seems to be little sign of it. Quite interesting how Audi reacted to this incident: They didn't at all. There haven't been personal consequences whatsoever. At least none that were publicly communicated - neither for Scheider nor for Ullrich. There was merely an apology from both of them. But that was it. Both Scheider and Ullrich were of course allowed to keep their jobs.
Especially against this background the suspension or rather the expulsion of Daniel Abt seems like an absolute farce. Was it alright what Abt did? From a sporting point of view, certainly not. Should he be punished for it? Yes, that's what Formula E did.
But that's all. It was just a fun event and according to his statement Abt did not make any effort to hide or disguise the accused "fraud" in any way. Moreover, the incident was miles away from the kind of unsportsmanlike behaviour for which the suddenly oh-so-integral brand with the four rings had no consequences whatsoever just a few years ago.
To be honest: Audi, you should be ashamed of yourself.
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