FOM Chairman Bernie Ecclestone has said Renault are more likely to quit if their name continues to be linked to the controversy surrounding Nelson Piquet’s crash at the Singapore GP last year. The FIA are mounting an investigation into the crash, which saw Piquet’s team-mate win the race.
Renault have been considered for a time one of the most likely teams to leave F1, and Ecclestone says this sort of thing would annoy bosses further.
“This is not the sort of thing we need at the moment,” Ecclestone was quoted by the Guardian as saying. “I think it will piss off Renault for a start. Them leaving the sport is a danger, obviously. I mean, I hope that it isn’t like that, but it’s the sort of thing that might happen.”
“What I know, I can’t say, to be honest with you. All I know is that Flavio is insisting that he knows nothing about it. I think the FIA are looking into everything. They are trying to find out the reality. I suppose they would be upset if they found out that what people are assuming is true, is in fact true, I suppose.”
Flavio Briatore is said to be saddened by the allegations of cheating, which are widely suspected to have come from Piquet himself, sacked by the team recently. The Brazilian left the team in acrimonious circumstances, which might have pushed him into coming forward. The FIA has not confirmed the source of the new information.
