Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds have stepped down from their posts after Renault decided not to dispute allegations that the team ordered former driver Nelson Piquet Junior to crash deliberately at last year’s Singapore grand prix.
The sensational move comes ahead of Renault’s appearance before the governing FIA to explain their role in the crash. There has been intense speculation about the role of Briatore and Symonds in the incident, which saw Piquet’s Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso benefit from the deployment of a safety car, after which he went on to win the race.
The Renault team itself is committed to remain in Formula One at least until 2012, but there is nothing preventing the manufacturer and parent company from seeking a buyer for the outfit.
The CEO and President of Renault Carlos Ghosn earlier said that the parent company would not react “in hot blood” to the allegations that were made against the Formula One team. “Above all we don’t want to make a premature judgment one way or the other,” he said. Guardian.co.uk
“The ING Renault F1 Team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix,” a Renault statement read.
“It also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore, and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team.
“Before attending the hearing before the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on 21 September 2009, the team will not make any further comment.
The case against Renault is due to be heard at an extraordinary meeting of the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) in Paris on Monday. The WMSC may still impose severe sanctions on the team now they have chosen not to launch a defence. The French marque may attempt to plead for clemency by claiming the actions of two men should not affect the employment of nearly 700 other staff within the team.
The FIA have the power to exclude Renault from the championship, although it is unlikely such a strict penalty will be administered. Times Online
