Crunch time for Renault

The Renault team will present its side of the argument to the FIA court of appeal in Paris on Monday with a hope of racing at the European Grand Prix this weekend. The French squad is currently out of the Valencia event after a post-Hungarian Grand Prix investigation resulted in a one-race suspension.

With Fernando Alonso's loose wheel having resulted in the loss of the Spaniard's right-front during the race at the Hungaroring, F1 governing body the FIA elected to ban the team from entering the European Grand Prix for causing what it described as a dangerous and avoidable situation after claiming that evidence - such as pit-to-car radio traffic - proved that the team was aware of the post-pit-stop problem despite releasing the former double World Champion from his pit box.

Key members of the team will explain its side of events to the FIA on Monday; in the event of Renault losing its appeal and the ban therefore being confirmed, both Alonso and team-mate Nelsinho Piquet will be thrown out of this weekend's race and ticket sales at the Spanish venue would very likely plummet due to the absence of the country's leading native driver.

The verdict from Monday's hearing will be released on Tuesday.

Source: GP Update