London – Renault will face charges of fixing last year’s SingTel Singapore Grand Prix by staging a crash that helped Spaniard Fernando Alonso win, Formula One’s governing body said on Friday.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that Renault’s representatives had been summoned to an extraordinary meeting of its World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Sept 21.
This year’s Singapore race will be held on Sept 27.
The charges were that ‘the team conspired with its driver, Nelson Piquet Jr, 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’.
If found guilty, the 2005 and 2006 champions could be fined or kicked out of the world championship.
The Times of London reported that investigators had conducted interviews with Renault team principal Flavio Briatore – who has told friends he knew nothing of the alleged plans – Renault’s engineering director Pat Symonds and Alonso.
Investigators have also looked at telemetry from Piquet’s car and radio transmissions from the Renault pitwall to the Brazilian’s car during the race until the crash on lap 14.
After Piquet’s crash at the Marina Bay floating platform, Alonso’s gamble of running a short 12-lap strategy before pitting for fuel paid off.
The Spaniard secured an unlikely victory as other cars came in to refuel while Alonso had enough fuel to move ahead of the field.
Piquet said then that the crash was a simple mistake.
Renault said they acknowledged the request to appear in Paris, and would make no further comment before the hearing.
The team were accused of breaching article 151c of the international sporting code, which covers ‘any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally’.
Renault and Piquet parted last month and Brazilian television reported allegations about the Singapore race last weekend.
A spokesman for race promoters Singapore GP said that they had not heard from the FIA over the investigation.
Reiterating a statement made earlier this week, he added: ‘The governance of Formula One is strictly the responsibility of the FIA.’
Reuters, AP
Source : Straits Times – 6 Sep 2009
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