Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has again come under the spotlight for his role in the ‘crash-gate’ scandal which led to the sackings of top officials with the Renault team.
On the orders of Renault, Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed at the Singapore Grand Prix last year, opening the door for team-mate Alonso’s remarkable win after he had started at the back of the grid.
The scandal led to the downfall of team principal Flavio Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds, but as the ”whistleblower”, Piquet, who was sacked by Renault in July, was given immunity from official sanction.
Alonso has so far avoided fallout from the affair, but a day after Brazilian Felipe Massa claimed Alonso knew of the team’s plans Piquet Jr’s father, former racing driver Nelson Piquet, told Gazzetta dello Sport that everyone in the team was aware.
”Briatore convinced Nelsinho [Piquet Jr.] to provoke the accident, and Alonso knew about it. Everyone knew, do you think that Alonso would start from 15th on the grid and stop shortly afterwwards to refuel [if he had not been aware of the plan]?” Piquet said.
Piquet Jr. has always claimed he acted on the orders of Briatore and Symonds, however documents published by the FIA appear to suggest that Piquet Jr. suggested the scheme to the team.
Ferrari driver Massa reignited the controversy over the affair on Thursday when he said Ferrari-bound Alonso must have been involved in the Renault plot.
Speaking at a meeting late Wednesday with reporters ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, Massa said: ”He knew. [It’s an] absolute certainty.”
The 27-year-old Brazilian driver’s comments caused uproar and prompted Ferrari to issue a statement on the team’s website stressing that he was talking only about his own feelings, rather than any factual evidence.
In his Ferrari-vetted official statement, Massa added: ”What I’ve said is the outcome of a hunch I’ve had and is not based on any concrete evidence.”
Alonso rejected the allegations on Thursday, saying: ”I made it clear to the World Council I had nothing to do with what happened in Singapore last year.
”I was not involved in anything, I didn’t know anything, so there were no doubts.” — Sapa-AFP