Briatore's departure upsets F1 supremo; MOTOR RACING.

Byline: IAN PARKES

F1 SUPREMO Bernie Ecclestone has expressed his sadness at close friend Flavio Briatore's sensational exit from the sport yesterday.

Ecclestone's comments are unsurprising given the bond forged over the years between himself and Briatore, who first stepped into F1 in 1988.

Twenty-one years later and Briatore's relationship with the sport is at an end as he left his position as team principal with Renault, along with his number two, Pat Symonds, their executive director of engineering.

The announcement was made by Renault, who also confirmed in a statement they "will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix."

Briatore asserted on Friday, during the course of the Italian Grand Prix weekend, there was no wrongdoing, and that he, the lawyers and Renault were confident of success in their case.

But the subsequent departure of Briatore and Symonds now raises new questions regarding the incidents that unfolded on September 28 last year.

Ecclestone, a longtime ally of Briatore and who is a co-owner of Coca-Cola Championship side QPR with the 59-yearold, admitted his surprise at the events of 'crashgate'.

Asked for his thoughts on Briatore's demise, Ecclestone replied: "Well, I feel sorry for him actually.

"Obviously, I'm surprised at what has happened, and I'm taken by surprise that they've decided to walk away."

Despite this latest twist in the scandal, the extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council scheduled for Monday at the FIA's headquarters in Paris will still go ahead.

As Briatore and Symonds are no longer with the team it is almost certain that will be taken into account when the WMSC decide on what sanctions to impose.