MONTE CARLO, Monaco — Renault was not penalized Thursday, despite being found guilty of having confidential information about Formula One rival McLaren.
In September McLaren was fined $100 million for using confidential data from Ferrari.
In the latest allegations in F1’s spy scandal the World Motor Sport Council summoned Renault team officials to face accusations that the team had unauthorized access to details on McLaren’s cars.
In a statement on its website the sport’s governing body said it “found Renault F1 to be in breach of article 151c of the International Sporting Code but imposed no penalty.”
Renault team boss Flavio Briatore welcomed the decision with relief.
“I would like to thank Renault our title sponsor ING and all our partners for their wholehearted support during this sensitive period” Briatore said in a statement. “I also wish to pay tribute to the team which has handled the matter with integrity and dignity. We are pleased that we can now focus fully on our preparations for the 2008 championship.”
Thursday’s decision could make it easier for Fernando Alonso to return to Renault after quitting McLaren in the offseason. The Spanish driver won the F1 world title with Renault in 2005 and 2006.
In this case McLaren said Renault gained an unfair advantage last season from information about its fueling system gear assembly oil cooling system hydraulic control system and suspension component.
Phil Mackereth a former McLaren engineer was alleged to have taken several CDs of data with him to Renault after he joined the team in September 2006. But the case was muddied when McLaren admitted to misinforming journalists about the scale of the allegations against Mackereth and Renault.
