Oh my God – IT’S ALL HAPPENING! And this, JUST after Michael Schumacher almost returned to the sport! What a manic off-the-track season!

Flavio Briatore
Ex-boss of Renault Formula 1

Now listen up..

Guardian.co.uk tells us:

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.

 

 

Renault are due to appear before a meeting of the FIA world motor sport council on Monday which will convene in Paris to discuss what penalties should be imposed on the team as a result of the race crash.

In a statement Renault said: “The Renault team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore grand prix.” “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 the team will be making no further comment.”

This has been a fast-moving saga which has run from the first tentative rumblings of speculation, fuelled by the embittered Piquet who was dropped from the team last month, through to the loss of these two leading players, Briatore and Symonds.

Renault now look set to bow their heads and submit whatever punishment the FIA chooses to mete out to them, although the French team’s parent company will be hoping that by shedding these two senior staff members they will successfully have taken the sting out of any penalties. The FIA could equally suspend the team from the world championship, although insiders believe if that were to happen then Renault might withdraw from the sport after the remaining four races of 2009.

The CEO and president of Renault Carlos Ghosn had earlier told L’Equipe 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.

The FIA had charged Renault with “conspiring with its driver, Nelson Piquet Jnr, to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore grand prix with the aim of causing the deployment of the safety car to the advantage of its other driver, Fernando Alonso.”

Following the crash, which took place on a part of the circuit where no cranes were available to lift Piquet’s car over the barriers, the safety car was deployed. Alonso was the only driver to have pitted before the incident, and consequently he emerged in the lead after the rest of the field refuelled after the safety car came out. Alonso went on to take the chequered flag at Formula One’s first night race – his first after rejoining the team following a season with McLaren in 2007 – and at a time when Renault were considering quitting the sport because of the huge expense involved at a time when domestic car markets were struggling.

Jeepers creepers!

All I can say is Bernie Ecclestone must be LOVING this – as the F1 soap opera and circus continues. Hey can you believe he turns 79 this year? Wow!

Oh and I see Giancarlo has joined Ferrari! Did you see that story?

I’m fine with that..

[thanks phil]