Renault pin the blame on Briatore and Symonds

Formula 1 team Renault is desperately trying to draw a line under the Crashgate scandal that has shaken the motorsport, distancing itself from its former principal Flavio Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds. The pair resigned on Wednesday after they had been accused by former driver Nelson Piquet Jr of instructing him to crash his car during last year's grand prix in Singapore.

The team's chief operating officer Patrick Pelata told French radio station RTL that "there was a fault and a fault requires a sanction. Flavio Briatore considered he was morally responsible and resigned. We will know more about the details after what will happen on Monday with the FIA," he said.

"For the moment we have assumptions but it is clear that basically there was a fault. We don't like this, nor do we want a fault by two people to reflect upon the whole company and the entire Formula One team."

The Renault boss also refused to answer questions about the future of the manufacturer within the sport; "This is not the debate today. We will have it calmly," Pelata said. "Formula One is the world's most-watched show and you have to respect that. Formula One has been in the vanguard of progress for car technology. It is probably not the case at the moment, but it could be again and it is always what Renault have tried to do."

The dramatic departure of Briatore and Symonds has essentially confirmed the claims of Piquet Jr, which will be addressed by motorsport governing body the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Monday. Sanctions available to the FIA against Renault include a huge fine or even suspension of the team from Formula 1.

Against the backdrop of sponsors and teams leaving the sport - Renault sponsor ING is pulling their backing at the end of the season - the governing body may tend towards lenience in the wider interests of motor racing.