Renault reject 'brake-test' allegations

Sunday 6th April 2008

Renault have rejected claims that Fernando Alonso caused Lewis Hamilton to run into the back of his Renault by 'brake-testing' his former McLaren team-mate during the Bahrain GP.

The accusation was made immediately after the collision in which Hamilton's McLaren suddenly hit the rear of Alonso's car as they exited turn three on lap two of the race. The difference in speed between the two vehicles prompted the ITV commentary team - among others - to suggest that Alonso had either lifted off the throttle or brake-tested Hamilton.

Hamilton had previously been penalised by race stewards for brake-testing during the Hungarian GP of 2006.

However, Pat Symonds, Renault's executive director of engineering, responded: "Fernando was coming out of the turn and accelerating down the straight," explained Symonds. "He reached fifth gear, at 227km/h, on full throttle, no touching of the brakes or anything like that. And you can see on the accelerometer the impact. He got hit from behind.

"I think all I can say from our side is that there is no blame attributable to Fernando, which is what some of the speculation might be. But it does say we are not getting onto the straights very well, we are suffering a bit with traction, engine speed and engine torque."

Asked specifically by Autosport about the 'brake-test' allegations made by various pundits, Symonds commented: "Well, they are not as expert as they think then. We have the data and there is nothing untoward there. You don't need to be an expert to see that."

Alonso, too, insists that he did nothing wrong. "The McLaren was just a lot faster than my car and he crashed into me," he maintained. "I think we were running too close and for sure maybe he didn't realise how close we were."

He dismissed claims of 'dirty tricks' as "total rubbish".

For his part, Hamilton had no complaints with the driving of his former team-mate. "I was behind him, and I moved to the right, and he moved to the right and that was it - a racing incident I guess," he commented.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis, meanwhile, also saw nothing wrong with Alonso's actions and instead implicitly criticised Hamilton's. "He tried to second-guess Fernando and vice-versa and damaged the car quite extensively and that was really it," he told reporters.

Related Stories:
ITV Commentary Team Accuse Alonso
Hamilton Admits: 'I Messed Up'

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