THE Renault F1 team has confirmed it will remain in the sport, allaying fears of more than 500 workers at its Enstone headquarters who feared for their jobs in the wake of the Singapore race-fix scandal.

The commitment came in documents submitted by Renault to the World Motor Sport Council during the hearing in Paris, where it received a two-year suspended disqualification from Formula One.

The written submission read: “Renault F1 and its parent company have given serious consideration as to whether it should remain in the sport following the prejudice caused to its corporate image by the conspiracy, in addition to the existing background of financial pressures that have caused car manufacturers to withdraw. But it has concluded that it would like to remain in Formula One and continue to make an important contribution to the sport.”

Team principal Flavio Briatore and executive director of engineering Pat Symonds ordered Nelson Piquet to cause a crash in last year's Singapore Grand Prix, allowing team-mate Fernando Alonso to win.

After Piquet Jnr, who lives in Oxford, was axed by the team earlier this season, he reported the incident to the sport’s governing body, the FIA.

Mr Briatore and Mr Symonds resigned before the hearing and Renault announced it would not contest the allegations.

Mr Briatore was banned from the sport for life and is not allowed to manage any drivers with Mr Symonds told he cannot work in the sport for five years.

Despite admitting the offence merited permanent disqualification, the World Motorsport Council said it had taken into consideration the steps taken by Renault “to identify and address the failings within its team and condemn the actions of the individuals involved”.

After the hearing, a Renault F1 spokesperson said: “We fully accept the decision of the council. We apologise unreservedly to the F1 community in relation to this unacceptable behaviour.

“We sincerely hope we can soon put this matter behind us and focus constructively on the future.”

Geoff Goddard, professor of motorsport engineering design at Oxford Brookes University, said: “Sense has prevailed and the court has dealt with it in the fashion I had hoped for.”

West Oxfordshire District Council leader Barry Norton welcomed the fact that Renault F1 would be staying in the sport.

He said: “It is good for the local economy as well as the Oxfordshire motorsport hub in general.”