Flavio Briatore denies any involvement in Crashgate
In an interview, Flavio Briatore denies having ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to cause a crash to help Renault win the 2008 F1 Singapore Grand Prix.
The scandal, nicknamed Crashgate, broke after Nelson Piquet Jr was dismissed in 2009. The latter then claimed that Flavio Briatore, who was the Renault team boss at the time, had suggested he deliberately cause an accident to skew the race in favor of the team.
On the 15th lap of the first-ever Singapore Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet Jr indeed crashed, triggering a safety car. His teammate Fernando Alonso then won the race from 15th on the grid, giving Renault and Flavio Briatore their first victory of the season.
One year later, Nelson Piquet Jr was dismissed mid-season by Renault, which was still led by the Italian.
Following an investigation, Flavio Briatore and technical director Pat Symonds were banned from the sport. Flavio Briatore initially received a lifetime ban, which was later overturned. Pat Symonds was suspended for five years before making his return to F1 with the Williams team.
Read also: Briatore and Symonds leave Renault
Flavio Britatore denies the accusations.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Flavio Briatore denied ever talking to Piquet during his time at Renault. « No, I’m not interested. I didn’t talk to him much even when he was driving for me », he stated.
He and I never discussed it, and moreover, the French court annulled the suspension imposed by the FIA and granted me symbolic compensation. The most ironic thing is that the president who suspended me – Max Mosley – is the same who disqualified Schumacher.
Flavio Briatore also reflected on the reasons for his departure from F1 at the time. When I left, I was tired: I had won everything, I had launched new drivers. It was no longer a passion for me, it had become just a job, and that’s when I stop being effective.
Moreover, my son Falco was about to be born, and I wanted to be with my wife.
At the age of 75, the businessman recently returned to Formula 1 as the executive director of Alpine. He now plays a key role in the team’s strategic decisions, whether for recruiting drivers, such as the arrival of Franco Colapinto, or the decision to become a customer team in 2026.
The Crashgate scandal continues to have lasting repercussions, particularly on the campaign for the 2008 World Championship title for Felipe Massa. The safety car triggered by Nelson Piquet Jr’s crash likely deprived the Brazilian of a potential victory.
