F1 is left damaged by Renault's let-off

The race-fixing scandal continues to roll on. If Renault's actions in Singapore last year brought the sport into disrepute, this week's judgement by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) threatens to further undermine the credibility of Formula One. Renault has been handed a two-year suspended ban after refusing to defend itself against charges of conspiring to fix the result of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

The decision brings into question the FIA's ability to effectively govern and - when necessary - deliver sanctions within its premier motorsport series. By comparison, McLaren's penalty for the 'spygate' affair in 2007 - a fine of $100m and the removal of all constructors' championship points for the season - now appears even more out of proportion. How Renault can escape with what is essentially no more than a warning, for an offence that has been described by the FIA as being of 'unparalleled severity', is therefore hard to fathom.

Renault will only be disqualified from the championship if they are found to have committed an offence of similar magnitude in the next two years - something which seems very unlikely to happen. As a consequence the sentence of suspended disqualification is no punishment at all. The message sent out by the WMSC is entirely wrong: the lesson seems to be that even offences as severe as race-fixing are tolerable, as long as the team responsible is later willing to admit guilt and apologise.

Moreover, to pin the blame solely on the individual conspirators is to ignore the principle of collective responsibility. The parent company was responsible for placing Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds in positions of authority, and - as the chosen representatives of Renault F1 - they in turn were responsible to and for the team. The decisions Briatore and Symonds made in Singapore 2008 were made on behalf of the team, and it was the team as a whole, not just the individuals, which benefited unlawfully - rescuing, as it did, a disastrous season, and indeed helping to prolong the carmaker's involvement in F1 into 2009.

It is worth mentioning also that - as Andrew Benson points out in his BBC blog - it is not clear whether the bans handed to Briatore and Symonds are even enforceable in law. If both were to go to court and prove successful in overturning their respective judgements, they could escape with only their reputations tarnished. As regards Nelson Piquet Jr, who it now appears may have even been the originator of the plan to crash his car, it is difficult to see how any team will trust him enough to give him a racing seat in Formula One. That perhaps is justice. However, the complete lack of any action against him - in contrast to his co-conspirators Briatore and Symonds - means that he escapes formal punishment, a situation which defies explanation.

To many outside observers, the leniency of the WMSC judgement will appear to be the product of political self-interest rather than purely sporting considerations. 1996 world champion Damon Hill agrees: "We cannot dissociate this from the power play going on behind the scenes for control of Formula One." One can only assume that the FIA was wary of losing such a big manufacturer from the sport, even though, as previously argued on this blog, F1 would easily have continued in Renault's absence.

That modern F1 is all about money and politics, not racing, has become an all-too-familiar refrain in the last few years. Indeed 2009 has been a vintage year for controversy, from the 'liegate' scandal that erupted following Melbourne, to the questioned legality of the double diffusers, to the row over budget capping and the eventual FIA-FOTA split, and now this saga involving Renault. Sadly all this has served to detract from the on-track action, and no doubt alienated a great many fans along the way. Whether this scandal will have repercussions in the longer term remains to be seen, although FIA president Max Mosley was keen to downplay its significance. “We have problems from time to time," he said. "As long as we solve them and deal with them properly, that’s fine."

What is clear is that F1 is a sport on the edge, rapidly losing its credibility and the faith of its fans. The damage wrought by this season's politicking will prove very hard - perhaps even impossible - to repair.