F1 spares Renault, bans guilty official

PARIS (AP) — Nelson Piquet Jr. wishes every day he had refused orders to deliberately crash at a race.

The fallout from that incident hit Monday, when Formula One spared his former team severe punishment but indefinitely banned the disgraced official who called for the crash.

Renault received a suspended ban; the team would be permanently disqualified from the sport if it breaks the FIA’s rules within the next two years. Flavio Briatore, who quit as team principal last week, was banned indefinitely from F1 activities by the World Motor Sport Council. Engineering executive director Pat Symonds, who also left Renault last week, was banned for five years after expressing his “eternal regret and shame” that he participated in the conspiracy.

“We gave them a suspended sentence because Renault demonstrated that the team had no responsibility and the company even less,” FIA president Max Mosley said.

Piquet, who received immunity from FIA, was ordered to crash at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix to help teammate Fernando Alonso win.

“I bitterly regret my actions to follow the orders I was given,” Piquet said in a statement. “I wish every day that I had not done it. I don’t know how far my explanation will go to making people understand because for many being a racing driver is an amazing privilege, as it was for me.”

The introduction of the safety car on the 13th lap after Piquet’s crash helped Alonso win the race, as he had just made an early pit stop and could move up the field when the other cars had to refuel.

Alonso, who attended the hearing in Paris, was cleared of any wrongdoing.

“He answered all the questions and demonstrated that he had no responsibility in the case,” Mosley said.

FIA described the scandal as being of “unparalleled severity,” but the departure of Renault’s top two men meant the team avoided being thrown out of F1 or handed a heavy fine, although it will pay for the investigation. By comparison, McLaren Mercedes was handed a record $100 million fine two years ago after being found guilty of using Ferrari secret data to enhance its own cars’ performances.