F1 Stands By Its Briatore Ban

[QPR Report]

Guardian/Alan Henry

FIA stands by its decision over Flavio Briatore's lifetime ban• Governing body believes decision was properly considered
• 'Overwhelming majority' voted for Briatore ban says FIA

Motor racing's international governing body has robustly defended its handling of the World Motor Sport Council meeting which led to Flavio Briatore, the former Renault Formula One team principal, being handed a lifetime ban from involvement in any FIA-sanctioned competition.

The FIA was responding to Briatore's decision to pursue a legal action against the sport's governing body after the Guardian revealed he would be seeking damages close to €1m (£900,000) and the overturning of his suspension. The FIA believes that the decision to suspend Briatore was properly considered and carried out by the appropriate authorities.

Briatore resigned from his job after it was revealed that the Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr was pressured into deliberately crashing out of the 2008 Singapore grand prix, a move which gave an advantage to his team-mate Fernando Alonso, who went on to win the race.

"The FIA condemns the selective leaking of extracts from Mr Briatore's pleadings to the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris," said a statement issued from the governing body's Place de la Concorde headquarters. "The FIA rejects the allegations made in these leaks and confirms that the decision to impose a sanction against Mr Briatore was made by an overwhelming majority of the attending WMSC members."

www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/nov/12/fia-flavio-briatore-ban-f1

[QPR Report]

And reposting from yesterday (which was in response to this Guardian report - qprreport.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=8098 ]

Reuters - Alan Baldwin
Motor racing-FIA condemns Briatore over leaked appeal documents

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Formula One's governing body hit back at former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore on Thursday after he accused them of abusing their powers in handing him a life ban from the sport.

Italian Briatore was cast out in September after the International Automobile Federation (FIA) found his Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet had been ordered to crash deliberately at last year's Singapore Grand Prix.

Renault were given a suspended permanent ban for their part in the race-fixing scandal while the team's engineering head Pat Symonds, who had been Briatore's effective number two, was barred for five years.

The Guardian newspaper reported on Thursday that Briatore would be seeking at least 1 million euros ($1.50 million) in compensation as well as annulment of the penalty against him when his appeal is heard in a Paris court on Nov. 24.

The Italian accused the FIA's World Motor Sport Council, led at the time by former FIA president Max Mosley, of being "clearly blinded by an excessive desire for personal revenge in the case".

He said the FIA had breached his rights to a fair trial and also referred to the "excessive and abusive power clearly exercised by both the World Council, in particular, and the FIA, in general".

In a statement, the FIA condemned the "selective leaking of extracts from Mr Briatore's pleadings to the Tribunal de Grande Instance.

"The FIA rejects the allegations made in these leaks and confirms that the decision to impose a sanction against Mr Briatore was made by an overwhelming majority of the attending World Motor Sport Council members," it added.

Briatore had been a prominent figure in the Formula One Teams Association, who threatened earlier in the year to establish their own breakaway series after clashing with Mosley on cost-cutting measures.

The Guardian said Briatore's statement to the Paris court said there had been "some extremely violent disputes" between Briatore and Mosley.

Mosley stood down as FIA president last month after a final year overshadowed by 2008 tabloid newspaper revelations of the Briton's involvement in sado-masochistic sex sessions with P*******s.

The Paris appeal is being closely watched outside Formula One, with Briatore a co-owner of English Championship (second division) soccer club Queens Park Rangers.

If the ban is upheld, the Italian could be forced out of the club under the league's fit-and-proper persons rule.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Justin Palmer; To query or comment on this story [e-mail]

www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSLC53267820091112