The WMSC hearing into the Fixgate scandal has resulted in Flavio Briatore being banned from motorsport for an "unlimited period", Pat Symonds receiving a 5 year ban, and Renault F1 themselves receiving a two year suspended ban from the sport.
The long-awaited hearing in Paris took just over 90 minutes to play out, after the FIA accepted Renault's admission of culpability and chose to punish the individuals involved rather than the team as a whole.
The FIA said that they did see the crime as suitable grounds to ban the team, but Renault's decision to part company with Briatore and Symonds before the trial unsurprisingly meant that they took a softer approach to the remaining team personnel.
A statement released by the FIA after the hearing said that "[Renault] had accepted, at the earliest practicable opportunity, that it committed the offences with which it was charged and cooperated fully with the FIA's investigation. It had confirmed that Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds were involved in the conspiracy and ensured that they left the team; It apologised unreservedly to the FIA and to the sport for the harm caused by its actions
"It committed to paying the costs incurred by the FIA in its investigation; and Renault (the parent company, as opposed to Renault F1) committed to making a significant contribution to FIA safety-related projects."
The statement explained the reasons behind the suspended ban, as opposed to a full-on expulsion, saying: "The World Motor Sport Council considers Renault F1's breaches relating to the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to be of unparalleled severity.
"Renault F1's breaches not only compromised the integrity of the sport but also endangered the lives of spectators, officials, other competitors and Nelson Piquet Jr. himself. The World Motor Sport Council considers that offences of this severity merit permanent disqualification from the FIA Formula One World Championship.
"However, having regard to the points in mitigation mentioned above and in particular the steps taken by Renault F1 to identify and address the failings within its team and condemn the actions of the individuals involved, the WMSC has decided to suspend Renault F1's disqualification until the end of the 2011 season. The World Motor Sport Council will only activate this disqualification if Renault F1 is found guilty of a comparable breach during that time."
The ban for Briatore extends far beyond F1, with the FIA now not sanctioning "any event, championship, cup, trophy, challenge or series involving Briatore in any capacity – or grant any licence to a team or entity that is engaged with Briatore", with the statement adding that "It also hereby instructs all officials present at FIA-sanctioned events not to permit Mr. Briatore access to any areas under the FIA's jurisdiction."
Briatore will be required to relinquish his role as manager for drivers involved in motorsport.
The statement concluded that: "In determining that such instructions should be applicable for an unlimited period, the World Motor Sport Council has had regard not only to the severity of the breach in which Mr. Briatore was complicit but also to his actions in continuing to deny his participation in the breach despite all the evidence."
Symonds faces a similar level of ban, but for a shorter, five year period. This was explained in the statement as due to extenuating circumstances in Symonds' conduct during the runup to the hearing.
"In determining that such instructions should be effective for a period of five years the World Motor Sport Council has had regard: (i) to Mr. Symonds' acceptance that he took part in the conspiracy; and (ii) to his communication to the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council that it was to his "eternal regret and shame" that he participated in the conspiracy."
Piquet Jr was immune from punishment, while Fernando Alonso, who was present at the WMSC court in Paris to offer testimony, has also been found innocent of any involvement.
Renault reacted to the news with a statement of their own, from team president Bernard Rey, who said that: "We are very sad to find ourselves in front of the Word Motor Sport Council today. By way of background, as a result of our own enquiries, we informed the FIA last week that we would not defend the charges and we accepted our responsibilities in relation to the incident in Singapore and we immediately took appropriate action inside the team.
"Today, we fully accept the decision of the Council. We apologize unreservedly to the F1 community in relation to this unacceptable behaviour. We sincerely hope that we can soon put this matter behind us and focus constructively on the future. We will issue further information in the next few days."
For further reaction if and when it comes, keep your eye on Patty's newswire here.
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