Renault begin appeal over European Grand Prix ban

Renault's appeal against its suspension from the European Grand Prix began today, with the French team hoping to overturn the decision so that two-time world champion Fernando Alonso can take part in Sunday's Formula One race.

Renault cleared to race in European Grand Prix

The Renault Formula One team and Spain's Fernando Alonso were given the green light to compete in Valencia this weekend after getting their one-race suspension overturned today.

Fernando Alonso: 'With all the fights, this may be F1's worst year ever'

You have to love Fernando Alonso. Apart from Mark Webber, the 27-year-old Spaniard is the only star in Formula One who tells it like it is. He shoots straight from the hip, and his aim devastates political correctness. He believes that the endless politicking is killing the sport, and he says so.

Lewis Hamilton's first pole of 2009

• Hamilton follows up win in Hungary with pole in Valencia• Heikki Kovalainen will start second in McLaren one-twoLewis Hamilton claimed his first pole position of the season as McLaren locked out the front row for tomorrow's European grand prix in Valencia.The reigning world champion, fresh from winning his first race of the season last time out in Hungary, posted a time of one minute 39.498 seconds to beat Heikki Kovalainen to top spot by less than a tenth of a second."Clearly, we have very, very good pace this weekend," said Hamilton. "We thought we would be competitive, but I don't think we thought we'd be on the front row. We've not had a one-two qualifying experience for quite a long time, so it's great to be here."Despite the turnaround in McLaren's fortunes, Hamilton insists there is no question of him getting carried away. "For sure, going into tomorrow we stand in the best position for a podium, but it all depends of strategy and how the start and the race goes."Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello will start behind Hamilton and Kovalainen in third, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel fourth and championship leader Jenson Button fifth. Home favourite Fernando Alonso will be disappointed with eighth place for Renault.Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil's rapid practice pace failed to convert into anything more than 12th on the grid for Force India, Renault debutant Romain Grosjean had to settle for 14th and Felipe Massa's stand-in Luca Badoer suffered a torrid return to Formula One. Back behind the wheel of a grand prix car for the first time in a decade, the 38-year-old Ferrari test driver qualified last on the grid."I was hoping for better, but that more or less was the range," the Italian said. "We were expecting this. One year without driving and a new track, what could I do? This race is a test. I have to be better in the next race."Positions after qualifying:1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 39.498secs, 2 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:39.532, 3 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:39.563, 4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:39.789, 5 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:39.821, 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:40.144, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:40.185, 8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:40.236, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:40.239, 10 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:40.512, 11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:38.826, 12 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:38.846, 13 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:38.991, 14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:39.040, 15 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.514, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:39.531, 17 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:39.795, 18 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:39.807, 19 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.925, 20 Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1:41.413Formula OneLewis HamiltonMcLarenMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Renault admits fixing Singapore GP

• Renault will not dispute allegations of deliberate crash• Team remains committed to Formula One until 2012Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds have stepped down from their posts after Renault decided not to dispute allegations that the team ordered former driver Nelson Piquet Junior to crash deliberately at last year's Singapore grand prix.The sensational move comes ahead of Renault's appearance before the governing FIA to explain their role in the crash. There has been intense speculation about the role of Briatore and Symonds in the incident, which saw Piquet's Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso benefit from the deployment of a safety car, after which he went on to win the race.The Renault team itself is committed to remain in Formula One at least until 2012, but there is nothing preventing the manufacturer and parent company from seeking a buyer for the outfit.The CEO and President of Renault Carlos Ghosn earlier told L'Equipe that the parent company would not react "in hot blood" to the allegations that were made against the Formula One team. "Above all we don't want to make a premature judgment one way or the other," he said.Yesterday a transcript of the radio conversations between team engineers and the driver was published, revealing Briatore's outburst about Piquet in the immediate aftermath of the Singapore crash. He swore repeatedly and proclaimed Piquet was "not a driver".Despite this latest twist in the affair, the extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council scheduled for Monday at the FIA's headquarters in Paris will still go ahead. The WMSC may yet choose to impose severe sanctions on the team now they have chosen not to launch a defence.The FIA charged Renault with "conspiring with its driver, Nelson Piquet Jnr, to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore grand prix with the aim of causing the deployment of the safety car to the advantage of its other driver, Fernando Alonso."Alonso went on to take the chequered flag at Formula One's first night race, his first victory for two years, and at a time when Renault were considering quitting the sport. The French manufacturer will almost certainly plead for clemency from the FIA as they will claim the actions of two men should not affect the employment of nearly 700 other staff within the team. The FIA have the power to exclude Renault from the championship.RenaultFormula OneMotor sportJeremy Campbellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

European GP Organizers Hope Renault Ban Reversed

Valencia's European GP organizers asking F1 authorities to rescind Renault ban