Friday, 11 September 2009

Alonso says scandal a total surprise

Fernando Alonso says the Singapore Grand Prix scandal that has enveloped Renault came as a total shock to him.

The team will appear before the World Motor Sport Council on 21 September to answer allegations that it instructed Nelson Piquet to crash deliberately to cause a safety car period that proved critical to Alonso's race-winning strategy.

Alonso declined to discuss the furore at length when he met the press at Monza on Thursday, but expressed his surprise at the charges.

"For me there was not even time to think or pay attention to this," he said.

"It's difficult for me to understand all this situation, these investigations.

"Of course, I'm very surprised - I cannot imagine these things, this situation."

He said he had put the scandal to the back of his mind and was entirely focused on this weekend's Italian GP.

"It's just another day, I'm preparing for the Monza grand prix and trying to do a good result here and fully concentrated on the job," Alonso insisted.


"After the hearing on the 21st everything will be clarified and it will be time to say something, but for now it makes no sense [to discuss it]."

But he did express his support for team boss Flavio Briatore, who is one of the central figures in the case.

"Flavio has always been a nice boss with me, as a friend and a boss he has always supported my career from the time I was with Minardi," said Alonso.

"I think Flavio is one of the good people here and he has all my support always."

Autosport has reported that the evidence against Renault centres on a meeting between Briatore, Piquet and Renault's engineering director Pat Symonds on the morning of the Singapore GP, in which Piquet claims that a deliberate accident was planned to make Alonso's strategy succeed.

Symonds and Briatore both deny this suggestion.

Piquet reportedly gave a testimony to the FIA in the week after Hungary, and senior Renault personnel were then interviewed by three stewards from the Singapore GP plus investigators from the Quest agency at Spa last month.

Alonso had been a strong contender for pole in Singapore until a fuel pump problem in qualifying left him in 15th on the grid.

But he made a very early fuel stop in the race, and then jumped to the front when the rest of the field had to pit during the safety car period for Piquet's crash.

Autosport reports that Piquet approached the FIA with his allegations after this year's Hungarian GP, which proved to be his last race with the team, and that the evidence set to be presented to the WMSC absolves Alonso of any involvement in the affair

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