10 Biggest Formula One Controversies
6. 2008 Crashgate Scandal: Renault's Demise
Back in 2008, Renault were two years removed from their dethroning of Ferrari and Schumacher from their all-conquering success from 2000-2004. Fernando Alonso had recently returned from a spell at McLaren (see: Spygate) and now sought refuge back in his old team.
After a bad qualifying, the team decided to put Alonso on an aggressive two-stop strategy when he came in on lap 12. Two laps later, Piquet Jr (Alonso's teammate) crashed into Turn 17. This later led to Alonso winning the race from Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton then went on to win the championship from Felipe Massa by a single point.
Just under a year later, Nelson Piquet Jr was dropped from Renault, who then reported to the FIA that Renault boss Flavio Briatore and engineering head Pat Symonds had ordered him to crash at the specific corner to help Alonso. The FIA then found Renault guilty of race-fixing, leaving Renault to receive a suspended sentence whilst Briatore and Symonds were banned from FIA activities (which were later overturned).
Renault eventually left Formula One after selling their team to Genii Capital in late 2010 and only returned by re-purchasing the team from Lotus in late 2015. Pat Symonds returned to Formula One with Williams for a bit before joining Sky Sports. Flavio Briatore left Formula One indefinitely and had to relinquish his chairman role in Queens Park Rangers Football Club as this conviction meant he failed the 'fit and proper person' test under English law.