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Formula One
F1: Officials Ban Renault From Next GP
Renault has been banned from the upcoming European Grand Prix...
SPEED Staff / GMM  |  Posted July 26, 2009   GMM Newswire
Alonso started from the pole. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Alonso started from the pole. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Renault has been banned from the upcoming European Grand Prix.

Stewards summoned officials for the French team to race control following the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest because Fernando Alonso's right front wheel had fallen off in the wake of a pit stop.

Initially the wheel cover, and then subsequently the entire tire and wheel, fell off the Spaniard's R29, sparking fears of another similar incident in the wake of the Henry Surtees and Felipe Massa crashes.

Stewards said video and radio transmissions were studied, and found that Renault "knowingly" allowed the Spanish driver to rejoin the race with a loose wheel nut.

The FIA officials also charged Renault with failing to inform Alonso of the problem "even though the driver contacted the team by radio believing he had a puncture".

"This resulted in a heavy car part (the aerodynamic wheel cover) detaching ... and the wheel itself detaching at turn 9," the stewards' report added.

Renault has been suspended from the next Grand Prix at Valencia and "reminded of (its) right of appeal".

.Later Renault said it would appeal the penalty.

In a document signed by team manager Steve Nielsen and sent to the Budapest stewards, Renault said it "formally files notification of its intention to appeal" the ban.

Renault also paid the necessary 6,000 euros appeal fee.

The actual appeal must be lodged within 48 hours of the stewards' decision, and the grounds of appeal within 8 days.

Stewards, meanwhile, took no action against Kimi Raikkonen for colliding with both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel at the start, but reprimanded Mark Webber's Red Bull team for unsafely releasing the Australian driver after a pit stop.

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