Flavio Briatore: The ego who landed... with a crash

Flavio Briatore, the son of two primary school teachers from northern Italy, started out as a ski instructor in the Maritime Alps, which exposed him to the rarefied air of the wealthy elite. It would also provide excellent training for the slippery slopes he would negotiate so adroitly until 16 September 2009, when his Formula One team announced that: "The ING Renault F1 Team... wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore, and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team."

Renault may leave F1 over probe fears Ecclestone

Allegations about race-fixing at last year's Singapore Grand Prix could prompt Renault to walk away from Formula One, the sport's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone warned today.

Renault poised to pull out of F1

• Renault will not dispute race-fixing allegations at hearing• Bernie Ecclestone 'sorry and surprised' by friend's exit Renault could be poised to withdraw from Formula One at the end of this season after effectively admitting its guilt in a race-fixing scam and confirming the departure of the two senior figures at the centre of the allegations, including the managing director, Flavio Briatore.The team said it would not contest accusations that its management encouraged Nelson Piquet Jr to crash deliberately in last year's Singapore grand prix. Having last Friday launched legal action against its former driver, the U-turn came as a surprise even in a Formula One season that is losing its power to shock. Piquet Jr was alleged to have been ordered to crash on a specific lap in order to help his team leader, Fernando Alonso, win, thanks to the appearance of the safety car.Senior executives at Renault Group had said they would not rush to any hasty conclusions about the team's future, but its presence in next year's championship has already been called into question by the departure of its main sponsor, ING, and the likely departure of its main driver, Alonso, for Ferrari.Briatore, the Renault team's managing director and a colourful figure in the sport for more than two decades, and Pat Symonds, the executive director of engineering, left their posts with immediate effect ahead of next Monday's meeting of the FIA's world motor sport council."The Renault team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore grand prix," it said in a statement.  "It also wishes to state that its managing director Flavio Briatore and its executive director of engineering Pat Symonds have left the team."Monday's extraordinary meeting will proceed in Paris as planned to decide what penalty should be imposed on the French car maker for its part in the latest of a seemingly endless string of scandals which have embroiled the sport for the past decade or more.Leaked documents detailing interviews with Symonds and Briatore and transcripts of the team's radio communications at the Singapore race appeared to indicate that, at the very least, there is a strong case for Renault to answer.The FIA offered Piquet Jr immunity in return for outlining his allegations. Symonds is also believed to have been offered immunity, but it now appears unlikely he will take up the offer.The Formula One rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone, said he could not comment on the likely decision of the council, on which he sits alongside the FIA president, Max Mosley, and 24 others, but said he "felt sorry" for his close friend Briatore."Obviously, I'm surprised at what has happened, and I'm taken by surprise that they've decided to walk away," he said.Whether Briatore jumped or was pushed is neither here nor there in the ultimate analysis; Renault concluded that both had to go if the team was to have a hope of drawing the sting from any penalty the FIA might have in mind – which could include their exclusion from the title race a few days before the first anniversary of the controversial event.This has been a fast-moving saga, fuelled by the embittered Piquet who was dropped from the team last month, through to the symbolic sacrifice of Renault's leading player, Briatore.The sequence of events mirrors the way in which the McLaren chairman, Ron Dennis, and his lieutenant, Dave Ryan, were sidelined following the so-called "Liargate" controversy involving Lewis Hamilton at this year's race in Melbourne. Both Ryan and Symonds were caught in the crossfire and were not the main targets of the FIA's ire.Formula One insiders are split on Renault's likely intentions. Some argue that the decision to part company with Briatore and Symonds suggests the team was preparing a case that would appeal for clemency by the FIA and enable it to honour an earlier commitment to remain competing in the championship until at least 2012.Others are convinced that the scandal will merely have hardened Renault's intention to pull out, but that Briatore and Symonds had to go in order to limit the damage to the team's reputation.Formula OneRenaultFlavio BriatoreMotor sportOwen GibsonAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Ecclestone: Briatore treated harshly

• Briatore handled the situation badly, says Ecclestone• Former Renault boss warned not to go to civil courtBernie Ecclestone believes the lifetime ban handed to the former Renault team-principal Flavio Briatore for race fixing was too harsh. However, he went on to add that Briatore "handled the whole thing badly" and could have avoided the punishment if he had confessed to his involvement."There were three people who knew what was going on and that is it. No one else was involved," said Ecclestone. "Those people have been dealt with – in my view quite harshly in [regards to] Flavio. I don't think it was necessary, but I was on the commission so I am probably just as guilty as anyone else."On reflection it wasn't necessary. It was too much. Definitely too much," he added.Renault's former director of engineering Pat Symonds admitted his involvement in the scandal before the FIA met to rule on the incident that took place at the Singapore grand prix last year. He was given a five-year ban from motor sport and Ecclestone says Briatore could have received a more lenient sentence if he had followed Symonds's example."Firstly he [Flavio] was invited to appear [in front of the World Motor Sport Council] and his lawyers wrote and said the FIA have no jurisdiction as far as he is concerned, which was probably right," said Ecclestone "But it was not the right thing to say. It would have been just as easy to say: 'I was caught with my hand in the till, it seemed a good idea at the time, and I am sorry.' There is an organisation that works very, very well on that idea – where the people go to a box and confess."Honestly, I am a friend of Flavio's. He has just handled the whole thing badly. He could have handled it in a completely different way, and they would have said, 'you were a naughty boy' and that would have been the end of it," he added.Ecclestone also warned Briatore not to take the matter to a civil court."It would be stupid of Flavio to do that. He should ask to be heard by the court of appeal," he said. "He should appeal to the FIA. If he goes to a civil court I don't think he would win. Because the FIA would have to defend and somebody will say that he sent a young guy out to what could have been to his death. So it wouldn't go down too well."Bernie EcclestoneFlavio BriatoreRenaultFormula OneMotor 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

Ecclestone urges Briatore to appeal life ban

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone urged Renault team principal Flavio Briatore to appeal his life ban from Formula One for organizing Nelson Piquet Jr.'s crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.