During the aforementioned race, his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. was allegedly told by Flavio Briatore (team boss) and Pat Symonds (head of engineering) to deliberately crash between Lap 13 and 14, in order to enforce the deployment of the safety car. The Brazilian stood by the plan and proceeded accordingly, while the safety car benefited Alonso.
The Spaniard went on to gain plenty of track positions after the drivers in front of him pitted for new tires and refuel, eventually winning his and Renault's first race of the season.
In some recent interviews with his home media, Piquet's father – 3-time world champion Nelson Piquet Sr – admitted he finds it hard to believe a driver with such intelligence as Alonso would not question the facts that Sunday.
In addition, it seems Alonso's appearance before the members of the Council is also related to his relationship with Flavio Briatore and how team bosses in Formula One are managing active race drivers at the same time. That may very well be considered a conflict of interests, as it could lead to favoritism in terms of race strategy and contractual status between a driver and a team.
“A more specific discussion about Briatore's ongoing involvement in motor sport, including his management firm FFBB or his methods over the years, may also be discussed during Monday's hearing,” said a report from the GMM news agency on Sunday, who also announced Briatore will be present at the meeting, while his “partner in crime” Pat Symonds will not.
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