Renault has admitted to ordering one of its drivers to crash at the Singapore Grand Prix last year. It helped another driver to leap to the first position and win the race. The scandal was revealed shortly thereafter and few days back Renault admitted guilt upon series of revelations.
However, it escaped severed punishment from the governing body which handed it only two year suspended ban. This means that Renault will remain in F1 but that they would face permanent disqualification from the sport if they should breach FIA rules again within the next two years.
Meanwhile, Briatore who was team’s principal has been banned indefinitely from the sport. "It's sad because he's been in motor sport for twenty years, more actually, at the top level, and it's sad to see a career end like that but what could we do?" said FIA president Max Mosley.
Apart from escaping from a ban, Renault also escaped from a heavy penalty or fine. It will pay only for the investigations now. On the other hand the driver Nelson Piquet apologized for his role in race-fix scandal but stated that he was happy the way the matter has been brought to an end.
There have also been voices of discontent over the decision when Former F1 champion Damon Hill commented "I'm not surprised they've let Renault off. It's a crying shame for the sport. "You have to put this in the context of inconsistencies in the way in which the FIA has treated breaches of the regulations over the years and, knowing what we know, we cannot dissociate this from the power play going on behind the scenes for control of Formula One.”
