Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds quit Renault F1 team

In a statement released by the French carmaker on Wednesday, Renault said that Briatore and Symonds "have left the team", and added that the team, which is based in Enstone, England, will "not dispute the recent allegations" that it had intentionally caused a crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

The announcement marks a dramatic U-turn for the team, who had previously denied claims made by their former driver, Nelson Piquet Jr., that it had ordered the Brazilian to crash deliberately in order to give Renault’s other driver, Fernando Alonso, an advantage en route to winning the race.

Symonds has claimed, however, to the FIA that the crash was Piquet’s idea, and that the idea was discussed prior to the inaugural Formula One night race. Briatore had also released a statement that he has started criminal proceedings against Piquet for "false allegations" and "blackmail".

Both Briatore and Symonds have been associated with the team for decades, with Briatore’s involvement starting almost 20 years ago when the team was known as Benetton, and Symonds’ association stretching back even longer, way back to the 1980s when the team was known as Toleman.