19/08/2009
NEWS STORY
The FIA has revealed that four rival teams gave their support to Renault when the French team faced a one-race ban which would have seen it miss this weekend's European Grand Prix.
Announcing its reasons for overturning the ban, the FIA revealed that McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Toyota all wrote letters of support for the French team, with two claiming that they have now changed their pitstop procedure in light of the incident at the Hungarian GP that caused all the trouble.
The ban, which came in the wake of two high-profile accidents, one involving Henry Surtees and the other Felipe Massa, was because the French team was adjudged to have released Fernando Alonso following his pitstop despite knowing that his right-front wheel had not been properly fitted. However, the ban was subsequently overturned because there was no proof the team had acted deliberately.
The International Court of Appeal, which subsequently handed the French team a reprimand and a $50,000 fine, said it would be "wrong in the circumstances of this case to ignore the other teams' views".
The full reasons for the International Court of Appeal's decision can be found in this (pdf) file.