Will Renault stay to fight, or will it leave Formula One?

The big question following today’s shock announcement that Renault F1 team principal Flavio Briatore and engineer Pat Symonds “have left the team” is whether the French manufacturer will remain in Formula One.

Despite the scandal and embarrassment of this whole mess, Renault had been rumoured to be considering leaving the sport at the end of this year because of the recession. Like Honda and BMW before it, Renault has been feeling the pinch and one way to save $300 million or $400 million a year is to stop spending it.

My guess is that Renault will tough it out, which will be good for F1 which needs all the help it can get at the moment. Renault will go before the World Motorsport Council on Sept. 21 and say:

– we delegated responsibility to the running of the racing team to Briatore. We have relieved Briatore of his responsibility, as we have engineer Symonds, and we have installed new management.

– having said that, we accept full responsibility for what happened. We are sorry.

– we wish to assure the World Motorsport Council that what happened is inexcusable. We remain fully committed to the sport, however, and will fight to restore our good name and credibility.

I hope the council will accept that apology. Of course there will be a hefty fine and condemnation in the form of a written decision, but that should end the matter.

If – and it’s a big if – the council suspends Renault and strips the team and drivers (particularly Fernando Alonso) of all points earned this season, then all bets are off.

It would be much better to ban Briatore and Symonds from the sport for life – and Nelson Piquet Jr., for that matter – than to alienate a manufacturer (and a country, for that matter).

I don’t know about Pat Symonds (although if you want a study in evasiveness, read the transcript of his FIA interview that was posted on this site a few days ago by a reader), but the sport will be much better off without Briatore.

I don’t know of any other industry where someone with the conflicts of interests of Briatore would be allowed to operate. He’s immoral (in one published interview he questioned Piquet Jr.’s sexuality) and he’s a liar. And Renault’s actions today in firing him prove he’s a crook.

Good riddance.

Comments

[Kevin Freeman]

It's an interesting story and I'll be curious to see just how the FIA handles it, given what transpired with the 2007 StepneyGate spying scandal. Certainly a monetary penalty of similar amount needs to be handed down; MM got rid of Ron Dennis and now the opportunity to get rid of Flavio must have him salivating. :)
It is unbelievable that after what happened in '07 that this would take place. I'm shocked but sadly, not overly surprised.

Good riddance Flav, tough break Pat.

[Alex T]

2nd Submission:

Sir:

Renault is certainly hoping, indeed, that the FIA will impose a minimal fine on the team. Their 08 F1 budget was $275m. As you know, they have been threatening to leave F1 prior to the financial melt-down. So, I cannot envision them staying if a hefty fine and added penalties are imposed.

Having imposed that outrageous fine on McLaren for an infraction not proven, the FIA ought to be compelled to impose a penalty of a greater severity and magnitude on Renault. In fact, in an interview with Autosport, over the weekend, Max indicated that he consider crash-gate to be a more serious infraction than spy-gate. Under normal circumstances, the FIA’s hands would be tied by the precedent of the McLaren fine. I must note however, that the McLaren fine does not appear to have been based on McLaren’s guilt, fairness, justice or facts. Instead, it appeared to be based on Max’s petty vindictiveness towards Ron Dennis, a miscarriage of justice and by McLaren’s ability to pay.

The folly of that McLaren fine is further magnified by the FIA’s written decision. Here is the verdict of the WMSC: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/62348. In their official verdict the WMSC acknowledged that they could find no evidence that McLaren directly benefited from the Ferrari dossier. However, their findings appeared riddled with some highly irresponsible, irrational, and sweepingly speculative generalizations about possible indirect benefits.

Anyway, based on precedent, fairness, the severity of the infraction and consistency then Renault should be severely penalized; however, Max generally appears to play by his own rules so I will not be surprised if Renault is given a slap on the wrist.