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FIA under fire over ‘easy ride’ for Renault

Max Mosley answers questions as he leaves FIA headquarters in Paris on Monday after a hearing at the World Motor Sports Council as part of the “crashgate” affair. PHOTO: AFP

World motorsport federation FIA came under fire from press commentators yesterday after it imposed a “lenient” suspended ban on Renault in the Formula One “crashgate” affair.

Several reports suggested FIA and its president Max Mosley bowed to commercial pressures in imposing a suspended two-year ban on Renault for its role in fixing last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.

Others claimed the ruling may have been an act of “revenge” against former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore who was banned from FIA-sanctioned events indefinitely.

Spanish daily Sport spoke of a “vendetta,” saying, “Max Mosley gets the head of Flavio Briatore.”

Sports daily Marca said: “The punishment for Briatore is an act of revenge through and through. Max Mosley finishes off his arch-enemy.”

“A dubious decision,” wrote El Mundo. “The FIA shoves all the blame on Briatore and lets Renault off any sporting and economic punishment.”

British press commentators were also highly critical of the ruling.

“Renault let off as F1 chief Flavio Briatore is banned for life,” a Mail headline said.

“Formula One fury as Renault get easy ride over ‘Crashgate’, said the Times, while a Telegraph headline said: “Money talks as realpolitik guides FIA’s judgment on Renault crash.”

Despite the “lenient treatment” of a suspended ban on Renault, the Guardian said the ruling on the Singapore race-fix scandal “provided as many questions as answers.”

It pointed to the massive US$100 million fine and points deductions imposed on McLaren in 2007 for illegally obtaining confidential technical data from rivals Ferrari.

The Times motor-racing correspondent Edward Gorman, under a headline “FIA fails in its responsibility over Renault,” said that FIA had imposed a “punishment of unparalleled leniency.”

“The governing body of motor sport has failed in its duty sufficiently to penalize Renault and its Formula One team for one of the worst acts of cheating in sporting history and allowed commercial considerations to cloud its judgment,” he wrote.

The Telegraph was also critical, describing the ruling as “a convenient outcome all round.”

In Germany, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the ruling was “mild” in view of the severity of the affair and “a joke” in view of the sanctions imposed on McLaren over “spygate.”

France’s Le Figaro wrote: “The affair is over, there remains merely a question mark on Renault’s desire to stay in Formula One, and if so in which form.”

Former world champion Damon Hill, now president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, said there were broader forces at work in the ruling.

“You can’t escape from the suspicion that it was all very expedient, given that Briatore was also one of the ringleaders of the pressure group FOTA,” he said.

“No one can excuse what happened to Piquet, it’s totally abhorrent. That has been dealt with. [But] it’s not the whole story. The whole story is that there has been a power struggle for a very long time and it’s got to stop because it’s ruining the sport. It’s absolutely deplorable,” Hill said.

Mosley meanwhile rejected suggestions the judgement was too soft.

“I think it’s the right decision. I think the blame has been placed where the blame should be placed,” he said.

Mosley added: “The penalty that we have imposed is the harshest one we can inflict, which is disqualification, and it is complete expulsion from the sport.”

“However, because Renault demonstrated that they had absolutely no moral responsibility for what took place — that is to say Renault F1 the team did not know and still less did the company have any responsibility — it would be wrong in the circumstances to impose an immediate penalty. I think we’ve demonstrated that we’ve dealt with it,” he said.
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