Renault 1 race ban appeal successful - race ban dropped

Ed · Post by Ed » Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:18 pm

The FIA announced that Renault's appeal for the 1 race ban will be heard on the 17th of August by the International Court of Appeal.

The FIA statement read:

The following hearing of the International Court of Appeal will take place in Paris:

Hearing
Appeal lodged by the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile (FFSA) on behalf of its competitor ING Renault F1 Team against decision N°45 taken by the Panel of the Stewards on 26 July 2009 at the 2009 Grand Prix of Hungary and counting towards the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship

On 26 July 2009, the Stewards of the Meeting decided to suspend the Competitor ING Renault F1 Team (“Renault”) from the next event in the 2009 Formula One World Championship for the following reasons:

- Renault knowingly released car N°7 (Fernando Alonso) from the pit stop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position;
- being aware of this, Renault failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pit-lane;
- Renault failed to inform the driver of this problem or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances;
- This resulted in a car part detaching at turn 5 and the wheel itself detaching at turn 9.

The FFSA has appealed the Stewards’ decision on behalf of Renault.

When
10.00 hrs
Monday 17 August 2009

Where
FIA Salle du Comité,
8, place de la Concorde,
75008 Paris

Decision
The decision is expected on Tuesday18 August 2009, in the afternoon

F1greyhound · Post by **F1greyhound** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 2:25 am

"knowingly released the car..." is not quite true but you could see the man doing the right front wasnt entirely happy when FERNANDO drove off....

I think you can blame the team for not alarming FERNANDO that not all is well after the stop. No constructors points or a suspended ban would do. Terrible for Spain and Valencia if the appeal proves unsuccessful.

Southernman · Post by **Southernman** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 3:33 am

I don't agree with race bans fullstop. Points deduction and/or fine I could agree with but I like to see as many top class drivers on the grid as possible.

JayVee · Post by **JayVee** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:02 pm

An immediate suspension doesn't seem fair but if they did release him and didn't tell him then they should be penalised. Perhaps a warning!

What really surprised me is that Alonso's car had a problem anyway so why take the risk ? I suppose when you are leading you tend to forget everything else!

Julian Mayo · Post by **Julian Mayo** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:57 pm

I am totally convinced that this is Mad Max having one last chew on Briatore.
Nothing more and nothing less.

coldautumn · Post by **coldautumn** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 6:27 pm

I agree that an immediate ban on the team would not be fair. They could fine them or even give them a warning. This seems a bit harsh...

Ed · Post by Ed » Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:44 am

The International Court of Appeal decided to overturn the decision by the Stewards and replaced the one race ban with a reprimand and a fine of $50,000.

Full statement:

International Court of Appeal - Decision - 17/08/2009

Reminder of the facts

On 26 July 2009, the Stewards of the Meeting suspended the competitor ING Renault F1 Team (“Renault”) from the next event in the 2009 Formula One World Championship (namely, the Grand Prix of Europe to be held in Valencia) for the following reasons:

- Renault knowingly released car N°7 (driver Fernando Alonso) from the pit stop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position;

- Being aware of this, Renault failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pit-lane;

- Renault failed to inform the driver of this problem or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances;

- This resulted in a car part detaching at turn 5 and the wheel itself detaching at turn 9.

The FFSA appealed the Stewards’ decision on behalf of Renault.

Decision

Renault admitted to the Court that it breached the Sporting Regulations, in that it failed to ensure that car no. 7 complied with the conditions for safety throughout practice and the race, and that it released the car after a pit stop when it was unsafe to do so. However, it requested the Court to reconsider the severity of the sanction imposed by the Stewards.

Having heard the arguments of the parties, the Court has decided as follows:

1. to allow the appeal and overturn the sanction imposed by the Stewards in the Contested Decision;

2. to issue a reprimand and impose a fine of $50,000 upon Renault.

The reasons for this decision will be published in a full judgment in the coming days.

Ed · Post by Ed » Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:55 am

Renault released the following statemtent:

ING Renault F1 Team statement following the decision of the FIA International Court of Appeal on 17/08/09

The ING Renault F1 Team welcomes the decision of the FIA's International Court of Appeal to lift the team's suspension from the European Grand Prix. However, the team acknowledges that sporting regulations were breached during the incident in the pit lane of the Hungarian Grand Prix, which compromised safety. The team therefore accepts that the decision of the FIA to issue a reprimand and a $50,000 fine is fair and balanced. The ING Renault F1 Team now looks forward to concentrating on preparations for racing this weekend in Valencia

JayVee · Post by **JayVee** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:15 pm

That is a relief!

Glad that common sense prevailed.

Hopefully Alonso will have a good race unlike last year!!

Julian Mayo · Post by **Julian Mayo** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:30 pm

I need a long, very alcoholic drink to steady myself.
Commonsense from the FIA ?????????
mad max must be way out on the outer.........................

News On F1 Forums - Talk Formula 1

Renault 1 race ban appeal successful - race ban dropped

Should the FIA ban Renault for 1 race ?

Renault 1 race ban appeal successful - race ban dropped