An arrangement did take place between Renault and Piquet Jr!

The accusations against Renault, which allegedly asked Nelson Piquet to crash deliberately at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, reportedly come from Nelson Piquet Sr, the father of the former Renault driver.

British newspapers, including *The Times* and *The Mirror*, claim that, according to unofficial reports, Nelson Piquet Sr went to inform the FIA about the Renault and Piquet affair during this year’s Hungarian Grand Prix. The three-time Formula 1 world champion reported to them that before that infamous Grand Prix, Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds held a meeting with Nelson Piquet Jr, but without Fernando Alonso, during which they agreed that the Brazilian driver would crash voluntarily. A few days after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Piquet Jr went to Place de la Concorde, the FIA headquarters in Paris, to make his official statement.

He claims that he was indeed asked to crash his car at turn 17 in the thirteenth or fourteenth lap. The timing was important as the crash had to occur after Fernando Alonso had refueled. The turn was not chosen at random either, as it is the only place on the circuit where a car cannot be quickly cleared, which forces the safety car to come onto the track.

The evidence shows that this meeting indeed took place, but on their side, Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds claim that the idea came from Nelson Piquet Jr to secure a contract for the 2009 season. It seems that the Brazilian driver’s crash was indeed staged.

In any case, the FIA would never have organized an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council if it only had the allegations of the Piquet family as evidence. Bernie Ecclestone warned both the Piquets and Renault that if they are found guilty, it could lead to serious consequences for both parties.