Briatore, Symonds out
From this morning’s Autoweek:Renault said Wednesday that team boss Flavio Briatore and engineering chief Pat Symonds have left the team in the wake of the Singapore crash saga. The manufacturer said it will not dispute the FIA’s case against it.
They now likely hope that they will avoid the embarrassment of an interrogation by the World Motor Sport Council on Sept. 21. However, they already provided evidence in the form of interviews that took place during the Belgian GP more than two weeks ago and subsequent written submissions. Therefore, they could still be subject to personal bans from FIA-sanctioned motorsports.
What a stunning development. It certainly seems clear now that Renault think there is enough evidence against them to warrant the departure of their team leadership. Both Briatore and Symonds are long-time fixtures of Formula 1, and this announcement is no doubt rippling through F1 garages today.
Renault isn’t the only team facing public embarrassment this season. Following their lies to race stewards at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, McLaren’s Ron Dennis stepped down after 40 years in the sport, while team director Dave Ryan was fired outright.
It now appears that the 2009 Formula 1 season is likely to go down as “The Year of Consequences.”
