Renault Formula One crash controversy
The Renault Formula One crash controversy, dubbed "Crashgate" by some in the media, was a sporting scandal caused when Renault F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to give a sporting advantage to his Renault teammate, Fernando Alonso.
On 28 September 2008, on the 15th lap of the Singapore race, which was close to the expected pit window for everyone's first stop, the Renault R28 driven by Piquet Jr. crashed into the circuit wall at turn 17, necessitating a safety car deployment. Alonso had previously made an early pitstop, and was promoted to the race lead as other cars were running out of fuel and were forced to pit under safety car conditions, resulting in a penalty, or shortly after the safety car period, which pushed them several positions behind the now compact pack. Alonso subsequently won the race after starting 15th on the grid. At the time, Piquet Jr. described his crash as a "simple mistake", excusing himself with how hard the car was to drive with heavy fuel.
After being dropped by the Renault team following the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, Piquet Jr. alleged that he had been asked by the team to deliberately crash to improve the race situation for Alonso, sparking an investigation of Renault F1 for race fixing by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, Formula One's governing body. After an investigation, Renault F1 were charged with conspiracy on 4 September, and were to answer the charge on 21 September 2009.
On 16 September, Renault stated that they would not contest the charges, and announced that the team's managing director, Flavio Briatore, and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, had left the team.
On 21 September, it was announced that the Renault F1 team had been handed a disqualification from Formula One. The disqualification was suspended for two years pending any further comparable rule infringements. Briatore was banned from all Formula One events and FIA-sanctioned events indefinitely, whilst Symonds received a five-year ban. Their bans were subsequently overturned by a French court, although they both agreed not to work in Formula One or FIA-sanctioned events for a specified time as part of a later settlement reached with the governing body. Briatore would ultimately return to F1 in 2022 as an ambassador, and to Team Enstone in 2024 as an advisor, and in 2025 as team principal, while Symonds would return to the sport in 2011 as a technical consultant for Virgin Racing.
Background
Renault F1
The Renault F1 Formula One team came into existence with the car manufacturer Renault's re-entrance into Formula One in 2000, by purchasing the Benetton Formula One team. Italian businessman Flavio Briatore had been managing director of Benetton until 1997, when he was replaced by Prodrive boss David Richards. After managing Renault's motorsport sister company Mecachrome, Briatore returned to the main team following the Renault takeover, again as managing director. In addition to his Formula One sporting interests, as of August 2007, Briatore was chairman and part owner of the English football club Queens Park Rangers F.C., which he purchased jointly with Formula One president Bernie Ecclestone, being joined later by funds from Indian industrialist Lakshmi Mittal.Spanish racing driver Fernando Alonso had been involved in Formula One since 2001, and drove for the team from 2002 to 2006. After becoming World Champion in 2005 and 2006 and a one-year stint with McLaren in 2007, he returned to the team in 2008. English engineer Pat Symonds had risen to his position as executive director of engineering with Renault F1 having worked for the Benetton team, and having entered Formula One with Benetton's predecessor Toleman Motosport in the early 1980s. Brazilian racing car driver Nelson Piquet Jr. – son of Formula One triple-world champion Nelson Piquet – joined the Renault F1 team as the second driver alongside Alonso for the 2008 season, having been their reserve and test driver during 2007. Since October 2006, Piquet Jr. was also personally contracted to Flavio Briatore's management company FFBB. Before the Singapore incident, Renault F1 had not won a race for almost two years, and were said to be close to quitting the sport.
2008 Singapore Grand Prix
The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix was the fifteenth race of the 2008 Formula One season, and took place on 28 September 2008. The race was Formula One's first night race. On the race weekend, despite Alonso being close to the top in practice, Renault had a poor qualifying session and started well down the grid, with Fernando Alonso starting in fifteenth place, and Nelson Piquet Jr. alongside him in 16th. Alonso was eliminated during qualifying because of mechanical failure.During the warm-up lap, Piquet Jr. spun at the exact corner where he would later crash out, but was in this instance able to continue. After the race started, Alonso was the first driver to make a routine pit stop for fuel and tyres on lap 12, rejoining the race at the back of the field. He had put in a light fuel load at the start of the race in an attempt to pass the cars in front of him; most drivers that qualify in low positions tend to do the opposite and go for heavier fuel loads to make one fewer pit stop than the leaders, as they do not want to waste a light car and an extra pit stop for a faster car that is stuck behind slower vehicles. Three laps later, Piquet Jr. hit the circuit wall at turn seventeen, one of the turns on the circuit which did not have a crane nearby, necessitating the deployment of the safety car.
File:Felipe Massa 2008 Algarve.jpg|thumb|Brazilian Felipe Massa was leading the Grand Prix for Ferrari before Piquet Jr.'s crash
Safety car regulations in 2008 meant that the pit lane was closed until all cars had been bunched up behind the safety car. Hence the advantage of the lead cars would be eliminated before they were able to pit and after they did pit, they would re-enter the race at the back of the field. Alonso, having pitted just before the safety car was introduced, therefore gained a significant advantage. In order to avoid running out of fuel, some drivers did need to pit while the pit lane was closed and they were penalised for the infraction.
Most of the leading cars ended up behind Alonso and also behind some slower drivers who proved difficult to pass on the narrow circuit; those ahead of Alonso were lighter on fuel and whilst they were able to pull away, they still needed to make a pit stop. After gaining the lead in the final third of the race, Alonso went on to win the race.
No action was initially taken over the crash. Piquet Jr. initially characterised the crash as "a simple mistake". In the post-race press release from Renault F1, the team described Alonso's performance as a "brilliant tactical drive", while both Briatore and Symonds attributed the safety car use as a case of good luck. Following the race, freelance Formula One journalist Joe Saward, writing on grandprix.com, stated that "some cynics" were questioning the incident, but dismissed it with the opinion that "one likes to believe that no team would ever be so desperate as to have a driver throw his car at a wall". According to the Brazilian television station Rede Globo, Brazilian driver Felipe Massa, who finished the Singapore race in 13th having been leading at the time of Piquet Jr.'s crash, and eventually lost the 2008 World Championship to Lewis Hamilton by one point, questioned Briatore about the crash at the time, although FIA president Max Mosley stated the sport could take no action based on "speculation".
Piquet Jr. leaves Renault
Fernando Alonso ended the 2008 season fifth in the Drivers Championship with 61 points, while Nelson Piquet Jr. finished in twelfth place, with 19 points. Their collective total earned Renault F1 fourth place in the Constructors Championship. Despite rumours that he was set to leave the team, Renault re-signed Piquet Jr. on a one-year contract for the 2009 season, once again alongside Alonso. By the tenth race of the 2009 season, Piquet Jr. had failed to score any points whereas Alonso had managed 13. On 3 August 2009, Piquet Jr. confirmed that he had been dropped by Renault. The departure was acrimonious, with Piquet Jr. criticising both the team and Briatore. He was replaced by test driver Romain Grosjean for the remainder of the season.Piquet Jr.'s accusations
Initial reports and investigation
On 30 August 2009, during coverage of that year's Belgian Grand Prix, the Brazilian television station Rede Globo reported that Piquet Jr. had been ordered to crash during the Singapore race. Formula One's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, immediately announced it was investigating "alleged incidents at a previous F1 event". It was widely reported that the race in question was the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.Renault charged
On 4 September, following the investigation by the FIA, Renault F1 were formally accused of interfering with the outcome of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, and conspiring with Piquet Jr. In a statement, the FIA stated that the charges against Renault F1 included "a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, 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." The team was called to a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on 21 September, days before the 2009 running of the Singapore Grand Prix. After being charged, the Renault F1 team stated that they would be making no comments until the hearing.Leaked evidence
On 10 September, Piquet Jr. made the second of two statements to the FIA. On the same day, a transcript of Piquet's first statement to the FIA made at their headquarters in Paris on 30 July was published by F1SA.com.In response to questions over its authenticity, FIA president Max Mosley stated "I haven't seen anything which I believe to be a forgery." In the transcript, Piquet Jr. states that he was asked by Briatore and Symonds to crash his car at a specific corner. Alonso denied knowing of any plan to ask Piquet Jr. to crash, stating "I cannot imagine these things, these situations. It's something that never entered my mind." Piquet Jr. questioned whether Alonso knew that a crash was planned, citing that in his place, he would have questioned Renault's "senseless" Alonso race strategy of starting with a low fuel load and making an early pit stop on the twelfth lap. During the course of the investigation and before the WMSC hearing, Alonso was absolved of any blame by the FIA.
On 11 September, Mosley confirmed that Piquet Jr. would face no action after making his two statements, even if the case was found in favour of Renault.