Paris, Sep 21: International Automobile Federation (FIA) has handed a two-year suspended ban to Renault's Formula One racing team for conspiring with Nelson Piquet Junior to cause a deliberate crash in 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
FIA delivered the verdict after a 90-minute long hearing at the Paris headquarters on Monday, Sep 21. In the incident which has now come to be known as the 'crashgate', Piquet Jr staged a crash to help his Brazilian's teammate Fernando Alonso win the race.
There was a very good possibility that the French team could have faced permanent exclusion from the sport. However, due to departure of Piquet, team boss Flavio Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds the sentence was relaxed.
The controversy hit the media just a few weeks ago. Following high drama, Briatore and Symonds both left the team and Renault said it will not dispute the allegations.
OneIndia News