Renault Will Race at Valencia, Fined $50,000

As expected, Renault's one race ban following the Hungarian Grand Prix was overturned by the International Court of Appeal on Monday. The FIA judges agreed that the initial sanction issued by the Hungaroring stewards was too harsh and have instead handed the Enstone based team a $50,000 fine.

“Renault admitted to the Court that it breached the Sporting Regulations, in that it failed to ensure that car no. 7 complied with the conditions for safety throughout practice and the race, and that it released the car after a pit stop when it was unsafe to do so. However, it requested the Court to reconsider the severity of the sanction imposed by the Stewards,” said the statement from the ICA this morning.

“Having heard the arguments of the parties, the Court has decided as follows:

• to allow the appeal and overturn the sanction imposed by the Stewards in the Contested Decision;
• to issue a reprimand and impose a fine of $50,000 upon Renault.

The reasons for this decision will be published in a full judgment in the coming days.”

During the Hungarian GP, Fernando Alonso's wheel came off during the race, after previously leaving the pits less than a lap earlier. This caused the initial one-race ban from the FIA, as it was considered the Renault mechanics were aware of the mechanical mistake after letting Alonso return to the track.