Flavio Briatore excluded from team for life

F1 Renault suspended two years with deferment, Briatore excluded for life.

The world Council of the international Federation of the automobile (FIA) was quite clement with the Renault team, less with his ex-manager Flavio Briatore. The team is condemned on two-year suspension with deferment for grave deceit during Grand Prix of Singapore in 2008. Mr Briatore, who is accused of having given the order to his pilot, Nelson Piquet, to damage his single-seater, is suspended as for life. His assistant Pat Symonds took the rap of five years of suspension.

The team, which had pleaded culprit, incurred a very heavy penalty, even a pure and simple exclusion from F1. Finally, this condemnation with deferment does not oblige Renault at all to leave the Formula 1.

Mr Briatore, as well as the chief engineer Pat Symonds, accused of having organized the deceit, have already left the team. They were not present during the announcement of the sentence. Nelson Piquet Jr and Fernando Alonso, both concerned pilots, had been heard-out on the other hand, as well as Bernard Rey, president of Renault F1.

- We apologized in front of the world Council of the automobile. We recognized our responsibility and hope to see better days in the future -, declared Mr Rey after the verdict. He did not, however, announce if Renault still plans to be present during season 2010 of Formula 1.