Crashgate Totals Renault

Can This Reputation Be Saved?

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The short answer: Not for a long, long time.

by Katie Delahaye Paine

I don't normally follow Formula 1 racing, but even I heard about this one. People who do follow the sport are, for the most part, engaged, intelligent, high-powered men who influence a lot of purchasing. Which means that now the Renault brand has been permanently linked to one of the worst scandals in the history of the sport, it will be a very, very long time before the brand recovers in the minds of those influentials.

In what has become known as "Crashgate," Renault was caught, and admitted to, fixing a race. Essentially, they instructed a driver to intentionally crash in a Singapore race. This earned the head of Renault a permanent ban from Formula 1, a punishment called by some: "...the harshest decision against an individual in the sport's history."

Because the scheme put all the other drivers in potential danger, the fine was perceived as well deserved. Other Renault employees, including the driver and the engineer, were banned for 2 to 5 years.

While Formula 1 management and Renault both want to put the crisis behind them as soon as possible, it's not likely. Crashgate has become to motorsports what Enron and AIG have become to financial firms. The symbol of all that is wrong with the industry.

* Image from TimesOnline