F1 driver 'sacked after crash fight'

A South Staffordshire driver who worked for a top racing team was sacked after a fight with a colleague that resulted in a car crash, an employment tribunal heard.

Simon Connelly, of The Avenue, Featherstone, was fired to set an example to other unruly staff at Williams Formula 1, a tribunal heard.

Mr Connelly was employed as a "test team truckie" to transport the high-performance cars to racetracks around Europe.

The 30-year-old was sacked after a fight broke out between him and fellow employee Greg Senior as they drove to work at the team's base in Grove, Oxon.

The tribunal heard Mr Senior grabbed Mr Connelly around the neck and the latter then crashed the car. Mr Senior is then said to have punched Mr Connelly and accused him of smashing the car into a barrier deliberately in a bid to injure him.

As a result of the incident, both men were suspended and Mr Connelly was sacked for gross misconduct following an internal investigation.

But yesterday he was claiming unfair dismissal at the hearing in Reading, Berkshire.

Marc Brown, representing Mr Connelly, said that some Williams workers were "at war" and there had been a nightclub fracas just a week before this incident.

Mr Brown asked Charnelle Hasler, the team's senior human resources officer, if she had used the disciplinary procedure to make an example of Mr Connelly to other truckies. Ms Hasler replied: "No, that was not the case. I simply looked at the incident as it was put to me."

In a statement presented to the tribunal, Ms Hasler admitted Mr Connelly had not been warned he was facing suspension before a meeting where he was sent home from work.

The driver was also deprived of the right to an independent representative at the suspension meeting, she added.

The boss of Williams Formula 1 denied there were any problems between his truckies.

Chief operating officer Alex Burns also denied Mr Connelly was fired to send a strong message to other staff.

Williams F1 is contesting the claim for unfair dismissal.

The hearing was adjourned until November 18 when it is expected to last another two days.