(Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

When Nelson Piquet was sacked by Renault's Formula One team last month, many predicted that it would not be the end of the story, a bitter saga that had rumbled on almost since the Brazilian arrived in F1 at the beginning of 2008.

Immediately it was evident that Piquet was not on the pace of his teammate, double world champion Fernando Alonso, and rumours were rife as early as April that his seat could be in danger. In the end it took until July of this year for Piquet to finally be dropped, after ten races in which he had scored not a single point.

Piquet's retention for 2009 was a surprise to some, after a year in which he had almost consistently failed to impress. He lucked into a podium at the German Grand Prix, but other than that had little to show for what was a disappointing season for the French team as a whole.

Come the Singapore Grand Prix, however, all that changed. Alonso looked set for an excellent grid position until a mechanical failure in qualifying confined him to 15th on the grid.

On a street circuit such as Singapore, with limited overtaking opportunity, it was perhaps expected that Renault would fill Alonso's car to the brim with fuel, in the hope that a long pit strategy would gain him a few positions. Instead, technical director Pat Symonds tried something radical—fuelling Alonso light for a three-stop strategy, in the hope that his nimbler car could make up places on track rather than in the pits.

After the first 12 laps of F1's inaugural night race, it looked as though the strategy had failed. Alonso had made up a few places on the first lap, but was set to lose them all as he approached the pit lane.

Two laps after Alonso stopped, however, teammate Piquet spun and crashed into the wall, bringing out the safety car. The instant closure of the pit lane meant that everyone had to circulate slowly for a few laps before being allowed to refuel, and brought Alonso right into contention as he rose to the head of the field.

In the end the Spaniard won the Singapore Grand Prix, ahead of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Some questions were asked about the convenient timing of Piquet's crash, but most credible sources were willing to give Renault the benefit of the doubt. As the eminent F1 journalist Joe Saward said, it was hardly a stretch of the imagination to conclude that Piquet had made a genuine error, such was his reputation.

Piquet bounced back from his disappointing—though ultimately fortunate—Singapore exit to score fourth place in the next race in Japan, Alonso winning again, this time without the help of the safety car. And despite lacklustre showings in the last two races of the season—not making it beyond the first lap in his home race in Brazil—Piquet was retained for 2009.

However, this year was far from a fairytale for Piquet and he fell out of favour at Renault. After his exit from the team he began almost immediately to criticise his handling by top Renault figures, describing team principal Flavio Briatore as his "executioner."

Now, during the broadcast of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, Brazilian TV network Globo reported that evidence had come to light suggesting that Piquet was ordered by Renault to crash in Singapore, thus helping Alonso to win the race. It is not hard to imagine where this evidence has come from.

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