Renault F1 Scandal

At last week’s Italian Grand Prix it was mentioned that Renault were embroiled in yet another formula one scandal, after last year’s spying problem that saw Mclaren lose all its constructors points and $100 million I figured that Renault would be mad to try and cheat, I was wrong!!.

Flavio Briatore one of the most charismatic and well known faces in formula one has stepped down after accepting allegations that the Singapore GP was fixed, he was joined by Pat Symonds the head strategist in the team.

When I first heard about the claim from young Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet Jnr, I like much of the media thought it was a case of sour grapes; his father had been massively successful and he had been a massive disappointment in comparison but it turns out there was some truth to the allegations that Briatore and Symonds had asked the driver to crash in a specific place on the track to bring out the safety car and ultimately allow his world champion team mate Alonso to win the race.

Alonso claims no part in the dealings, but bearing in mind his former issues with Mclaren few will believe his cries of innocence.

Briatore and Symonds have been partners in Benetton (which became Renault) and helped bring around two world championships for Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, this is another slap in the face for Formula One at a time when the sport is struggling to keep big name teams in the sport due to the recession.