Racing
© TMWolf
Renault’s decision to drop Nelson Piquet Jr. on 3 August 2009 did more than end a failing Formula 1 stint. It set off the accusations and FIA testimony that exposed Crashgate, after Piquet Jr. and his father alleged he had been ordered to crash deliberately in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
Piquet Jr., son of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, had been sliding toward the exit for months. He scored 19 points in 2008 and finished second in Germany, but the first 10 rounds of 2009 brought no points at all, with 10th in Bahrain his best result before Renault ended the relationship.
After his dismissal, Nelson Piquet Jr. launched a direct attack on Flavio Briatore, his former manager and Renault team boss. “A manager is supposed to encourage you, support you and provide you with opportunities. In my case it was the opposite. Flavio Briatore was my executioner,” he said. He also accused Briatore of intimidation, saying: “On numerous occasions, fifteen minutes before qualifying and races, my manager and team boss would threaten me, telling me if I didn't get a good result, he had another driver ready to put in my place.”
The split soon became something far more serious. In sworn testimony given to FIA investigators after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Piquet Jr. said Briatore and Renault engineering director Pat Symonds had asked him shortly before the Singapore race to “deliberately crash my car” to trigger a safety car and help Renault.
According to his account, Symonds used a map to identify the exact place and lap for the crash, choosing a section of the circuit at Turn 17 where recovery would be difficult because there were no cranes or side entrances nearby. Piquet Jr. said Fernando Alonso was due to refuel on lap 12, and that he then carried out the plan by hitting the wall on lap 13 or 14 after repeatedly checking the lap number over the radio.
The race unfolded exactly as that strategy required. Piquet Jr.’s crash brought out the safety car, and Alonso, who had already stopped, jumped from 15th on the grid to win Formula 1’s first night race.
The FIA investigation later confirmed the plot. Renault was given a suspended disqualification, Briatore was banned indefinitely from FIA-sanctioned events, and Symonds received a five-year ban. Alonso was cleared of any involvement, while Piquet Jr. was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony, turning Renault’s decision to sack an underperforming driver into the trigger for one of the biggest scandals in Formula 1 history.