FIA slapped the ING Renault Formula One team a two-year ban at a hearing Paris today for orchestrating a crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to provide an advantage to Fernando Alonso (who won that race). The ban is suspended, however, provided Renault is not found guilty of "a comparable breach" over the next two years.
The team will reimburse FIA for the cost of the investigation and make "a significant contribution to the FIA's safety work," according to the FIA statement.
Renault's decision not to contest the charges evidently contributed to the lenient sentence, as did its dismissal of Managing Director Flavio Briatore and Executive Director of Engineering Pat Symonds. FIA placed an indefinite ban on F1 drivers forming business associations with Briatore while banning Symonds from any participation in a FIA-sanctioned event for 5 years.
Alonso has been cleared of any involvement in the scandal, though he attended today's hearing. FIA has taken no punitive action against the whistleblower, former Renault driver Nelson Piquet, who admits that he crashed his car deliberately on that fateful day.
IL News -- Formula 1: Renault Gets Suspended Two-Year Ban in Race-Fixing Scandal
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