Should Renault be kicked out of F1?

The race-fixing scandal involving Renault’s Formula 1 team is the most damaging event in Formula 1’s history, and the team should suffer for it.

But if the wrongdoing was solely the work of team boss Flavio Briatore, executive director of engineering Pat Symonds and driver Nelson Piquet, should the rest of the team pay the ultimate penalty?

By getting rid of Briatore and Symonds, and by announcing that they will not contest charges of race fixing, Renault is effectively admitting that it asked Piquet to crash deliberately in order to hand an advantage to his team mate Fernando Alonso.

This is not just cheating – this is not the furtive exchanging of confidential information, or trying to run a piece of bodywork larger than regulation size. This is asking a young man to slam his car into a wall at very high speeds, risking his life as well as those of nearby safety marshals and the crowd from the debris of the impact.

The sport of Formula 1 has a long and rich heritage but has been plagued by controversy in recent years. McLaren were given a huge fine for obtaining confidential information from rivals Ferrari in 2007. Back in 1987, Toyota was excluded for a year for using an illegal turbocharger.

But this is far more serious, and an example needs to be made of the Renault team to send a firm message to the global F1 community – the fans, the reason that F1 exists in the first place, will not tolerate being taken for fools, and society will not tolerate unnecessary risks being taken with human lives in the search for ill-gotten points.

I love Formula 1 and hate to see it torn apart from scandal. But despite Renault’s actions in getting rid of those identified as responsible, my immediate reaction is that the team should be kicked out of the sport. Only such drastic action will make it plain to everyone that such illegal and immoral actions are unacceptable and unforgivable.

Of course, it’s not as easy as all that. Renault employs hundreds of people at its F1 factory in the UK, all of whom would lose their job if the team is booted out. It’s easy to argue that they shouldn’t bear the consequences of the actions of a few.

But clearly action needs to be taken, and no doubt will be taken next week when the FIA World Motorsport Council meets in Paris to decide Renault’s fate. The sport’s governing body has a tough call to make.