Renault Case: Alonso Completely Cleared

Fernando Alonso, double world champion of Formula 1, denied any knowledge of the Renault scandal and the FIA concluded that he had no part in the affair. This did not prevent rumors from spreading in the sport and among fans about how Alonso managed not to know. When questioned in the paddocks at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend about the knowledge of Nelson Piquet Jr’s planned crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Alonso responded emphatically: « No ».

And, unintentionally, the Spaniard benefited from a safety car to win the race starting from the fifteenth position on the grid. He then described this victory as very, very, very lucky. Alonso was in constant contact with the ‘cheating’ leaders throughout the weekend in Singapore but insists that he was unaware of their ploy. FIA radio communications show that Alonso did not raise any objections to pitting for refueling on the 12th lap, which caused him to drop to last place.

Despite the speculation, the FIA keeps Alonso on the sidelines. The Board of Directors has no evidence suggesting knowledge of the deception. Therefore, the organization does not ask the Iberian to attend the World Motor Sport Council meeting, which will rule on the matter on Monday in Paris.

During their investigation into the case, conducted at the Belgian Grand Prix last month, FIA delegates interviewed Alonso and concluded that he knew nothing about the conspiracy. The Spaniard was described as firm, confident, and relaxed, and his performance was that of a self-assured driver. The track stewards accepted the argument that he completed a short first stint solely to do something different from the cars around him.

In their separate interviews with the Renault race engineers, the delegates did not find any discrepancies in the same story. A short first stint was a good strategy considering the tires Renault had available that night. The softer compounds were more effective at the beginning of the race and particularly susceptible to rapid degradation and graining. Therefore, it made sense to have a relatively short first stint with this type of tires.

Piquet informed the FIA that his former teammate was not involved. The only person who directly implicated the Spaniard to date is Piquet’s father, Nelson Piquet Sr, who alerted Charlie Whiting, the Formula 1 race director, of this scandal as early as November 2008. Piquet Sr initially stated that Alonso knew everything and argued that his short first stint strategy made no sense, implicating Alonso since he could only accept it with knowledge of the cheating: If you’re fifteenth on the grid at a street circuit, there’s no point in going out with no fuel. At best, you’ll pass three cars and after your last stop, you stay where you are, it’s a senseless strategy.

The former world champion then softened his stance, stating that he was simply trying to argue that a clever driver in Alonso’s position could certainly have suspected that something was amiss…