In August 2009, after Piquet left the Renault F1 team, allegations surfaced that Piquet had deliberately crashed his car at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, to benefit his teammate Fernando Alonso, who went on to win the race. At the time, Piquet characterized the crash as a simple mistake. Later, he recanted, making statements to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) that it was deliberate, and that he had been asked by Renault team principal Flavio Briatore and engineer Pat Symonds to stage the crash. In return for his evidence, Piquet was granted blanket immunity by the FIA. On 4 September 2009, Renault F1 principals were charged with conspiracy and race rigging, and were called to face the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on 21 September 2009.