Motor racing
September 16, 2009
The shock announcement came ahead of next week's meeting with the sport's ruling body to discuss the race-fixing allegations. FIA reportedly offered Renault full immunity from punishment in exchange for full disclosure about what happened in Singapore.
At the center of the scandal are accusations that Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet Jr. was asked to deliberately crash his car on lap 14 of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to give his Renault teammate Fernando Alonso a better chance of winning the race. Former World Champion Alonso did indeed go on to win the race, which later was dubbed 'crashgate'.
"The ING Renault F1 team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix," Renault said in a statement Wednesday.
"It also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore, and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team," it added.
Italian Briatore has always denied all the accusations against him, saying they were "outrageous lies".
But in statements leaked to the press, Nelson Piquet Jr. told officials of a meeting he had with Briatore and Symonds before the Singapore Grand Prix.
"Mr Symonds, in the presence of Mr Briatore, asked me if I would be willing to sacrifice my race for the team by 'causing a safety car'," said Piquet. The driver then went on to crash his car where it could not easily be removed, which meant the safety car had to be brought on.
Piquet and his father, three-time world champion Nelson Piquet Senior, claimed that Renault conspired to fix the Singapore race. This prompted Renault last week to launch criminal proceeding against them, accusing father and son of blackmail.
Briatore led the team to two Formula One constructors' and drivers' championships with Alonso in 2005 and 2006 after also winning titles with Benetton and Germany's Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 1995.
FIA chairman Max Mosley has said he considered the case to be more serious than the 2007 spying controversy that cost Mercedes-McLaren a $100 million fine and loss of all their constructors' points.
The sports council will meet on Monday Sept. 21, and if Renault are found guilty of race-fixing, they could be expelled from Formula One racing.
nrt/dpa/AFP/AP
Editor: Susan Houlton