Former Renault Formula 1 team principal Flavio Briatore has returned to the series he was banned from 15 years ago over his role in the ‘Crashgate’ conspiracy.
The FIA gave Briatore the equivalent of a lifetime ban in a 2009 ruling by the World Motor Sport Council. It found he was involved in Renault’s plan to ensure victory for Fernando Alonso in the previous year’s Singapore Grand Prix by arranging for his team mate Nelson Piquet Jnr to crash, triggering a Safety Car period.
Renault CEO Luca de Meo appointed Briatore as executive advisor to its current team, which competes under its Alpine brand.
“Briatore will predominantly focus on top level areas of the team including scouting top talents and providing insights on the driver market, challenging the existing project by assessing the current structure and advising on some strategic matters within the sport,” said Alpine in a brief statement confirming the 74-year-old’s return.
He was one of two senior Renault executives held responsible for Crashgate by the FIA. The other, Pat Symonds, was originally given a more lenient five-year ban, which the WMSC said was because he had admitted his involvement. Symonds later returned to the championship and earlier this year ended a seven-year spell as Formula One Management’s technical director to join Michael Andretti’s nascent F1 project.
Briatore successfully challenged his lifetime ban at France’s Tribune de Grande Instance in January 2010. He and Symonds then reached a settlement with the FIA under which neither would participate in F1 before the end of 2012.
Former F1 driver Felipe Massa began legal proceedings against the FIA and FOM earlier this year over the Crashgate affair. He believes they were slow to act in reaction to the conspiracy and that the result of the race should have been cancelled before the end of the season, making him that year’s world champion.
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Formula 1
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