Briatore overturns life ban

It looks like Flavio Briatore has won his court case against the FIA and overturned his life ban. Both Jon Noble from Autosport and James Allen have reported it on Twitter, and there are a few news stories starting to spread.

It will be interesting to find out some more details about the judgement, but even so, I don't think he will be employed in F1 for a while yet. Its also quite ironic that Renault have announced his effective replacement on the same day as this announcement.

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X (@ed24f1)

Here's the Formula1.com article on it. [www.formula1.com]

Well, could be interesting for Symonds to see if he could get HIS ban overturned, even if no-one would really hire Briatore any time soon, Symonds, with all his expertise, would be snapped up in an instant.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2010 04:39PM by Team CLR.

Symonds has had his ban overturned already as a result of this.

I don't think this will end here. Surely the FIA will appeal, I'm sure they will be able to. The implications are considerable not only for motorsport but for all sporting administrative bodies. The IOC or FIFA would'nt much like such interference and it clearly undermines their (the FIAs) authority. Whether that is a good thing is an entirely different debate, I imagine a lot of people would welcome it.

Oh crap.

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@#$%& me! 5 days in 2010 and already politics.............. getting tired of this......
i hope it ends here

Slash Schreef:
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> @#$%& me! 5 days in 2010 and already
> politics.............. getting tired of
> this......
> i hope it ends here


Nope...
2010 also goes up to 31 December.
Just like most other years.

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I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy

It transpires that the FIA did not follow the correct procedures for gathering and presenting evidence to allow them to make a legitimate conviction, which formed the basis of Flavio's appeal.

What a surprise, the FIA ignored due process.

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K*bots UK, specialist providers of 'fun science' Curriculum Enhancement days for Primary and Secondary schools in Britain.
Please find us on [en.wikipedia.org] for more information.

I'd welcome Pat back but id be glad if I never saw Flav in the paddock again.

FIA's statement is interesting... This is the final bit...

"In addition, the FIA intends to consider appropriate actions to ensure that no persons who would engage, or who have engaged, in such dangerous activities or acts of intentional cheating will be allowed to participate in Formula One in the future."

Does that mean we will never see Piquet in an FIA sanctioned sport? It would seem that way by reading that.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

I guess not, he was given immunity. The FIA would be screwing Piquet over bigtime if they'd ban him anyway

FIA: Thanks for your cooperation Nelson, it has helped us greatly. But we'll ban you anyway.
NP: But you said..!
FIA: Well, yes, we hadn't expected you to fall for it either...I mean come on, immunity...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/2010 12:36PM by Nickv.

Well I think they got off because why should they be punished and not Piquet, Piquet decided not to say anything about what happened to the FIA until he got sacked which makes me question what really was said and who said what. The FIA is treating Piquet like he is a hero when in fact he is just a punk.

And now he wants to sue Piquet...

Flavio Briatore plans to take legal action against the Piquet family after his indefinite ban from motorsport was overturned by a French court.

Ex-Renault boss Briatore was punished by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) for conspiring with driver Nelson Piquet Jnr and director of engineering Pat Symonds to cause an accident at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Piquet Jnr leaked the scandal to the FIA after he was sacked from Renault. A vicious feud between the two began and Briatore said he planned to sue Piquet Jnr and his father Nelson, who initially made the allegations.

On Tuesday a Paris court decided the WMSC ruling had been "irregular". While Briatore has not been cleared of the accusations, the ban, subject to an FIA appeal, will be dropped. He has now confirmed that he still intends to pursue legal action against the Piquets.

"The bad that has been done to me won't be forgotten in one day," Briatore told the Gazzetta dello Sport. He went on to reiterate his belief that the ban was a result of his bitter relationship with ex-FIA president Max Mosley.

"It was a case of vengeance from Mosley, who has always managed the FIA and the World Council as if it was private property," he said. "He had reassured me, telling me they understood I didn't have anything to do with the issue. Then came that verdict. It was an ignoble thing after 18 years of F1. First Mosley tried to make me lose titles, first with [Michael] Schumacher then with [Fernando] Alonso, and then to destroy me with this story."

On Tuesday he announced that he would continue to run his driver management programme, which he would have lost under the ban. He said he was considering his legal options over that part of his business too.

"Except for [Heikki] Kovalainen and [Lucas] di Grassi, my relationship with the other drivers has never changed," he said. "In fact, now we'll analyse the situation with the lawyers to see whether we should take legal action against anyone who has broken a contract with us."

Well, that is making this look pretty juicy again.
What if Piquet(s) ended up losing this, months after thinking he'd got it sewn up? They'd surely end up being the most disgraced family in motorsport...

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meh, it's not really an F1 related thing now anyway. briatore's out (at least this year) and mosely is gone, thank fxxk. so this time around i will just ignore the politics.

Good luck with that. I'll give it until April at the very latest before F1 politics are thrust in our faces again.

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K*bots UK, specialist providers of 'fun science' Curriculum Enhancement days for Primary and Secondary schools in Britain.
Please find us on [en.wikipedia.org] for more information.

Formula 1's governing body is to appeal against the French court decision that overturned former Renault boss Flavio Briatore's lifetime motorsport ban.

The ban was overturned after a ruling that the sanction, for Briatore's role in fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, was illegal.

FIA president Jean Todt plans to develop new disciplinary procedures to "address the issues in the judgement".

But he and the FIA Senate felt than an appeal was still "merited".

A statement issued by the FIA added: "It was unanimously agreed that an appeal would be prepared.

"The FIA will take whatever measures are necessary to ensure the continuing integrity and safety of the sport."

Briatore's original ban from all FIA-sanctioned events has been reinstated while the appeal is active.

The court case has distracted attention from the central issue here - there is still no definitive answer as to what exactly went on in one of the most shameful incidents in F1 history

The five-year ban imposed on Renault's former engineering director Pat Symonds has also been reactivated.

However, the FIA added that drivers managed by Briatore would be granted 2010 F1 licences, which will be a relief to Red Bull's Mark Webber, a two-time race-winner in 2009.

Briatore was banned for his role in the "crash-gate" scandal which shook F1 last year.

Following Nelson Piquet Jr's dismissal by the team, the Brazilian revealed he had been asked to deliberately crash to help his then Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso win the race.

Renault were subsequently given a two-year suspended ban for their role in the race-fixing scandal at an FIA hearing in September, while Briatore and Symonds were handed longer punishments.

Briatore launched his legal case in October, claiming his right to a free and fair defence to the charges was flouted.

The Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris ruled last week that the FIA's decision was procedurally incorrect but did not exonerate Briatore or Symonds of conspiring to cause the crash.

For that reason, Briatore, who had been seeking 1m euros (£675,000) in compensation was only awarded 15,000 euros (£13,500).

After winning his appeal last week, Briatore told the BBC he had "no involvement at all" in Piquet's deliberate crash and expressed his delight at having his "dignity and freedom back".

The FIA's decision to appeal means Briatore, who is also co-owner of QPR Football Club, may have to wait a little longer to find out if he still has a route back to F1




LS's Tip of the week
ESSENTIAL OILS aren't essential unless you're an engine, a gearbox or a twat

Locke Cole Wrote:
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> Good luck with that. I'll give it until April at
> the very latest before F1 politics are thrust in
> our faces again.


at least F1 politics make it a bit more exciting, because sadly unless it rains on track or there are incidents it is boring as fu*k!