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Flavio Briatore accuses judge of McLaren bias
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- Flavio Briatore accuses judge of McLaren bias
Flavio Briatore is one of the most controversial figures in motorsport - Getty Images/Mark Sutton
Flavio Briatore, Alpine's executive adviser, has made explosive allegations about one of the judges on the International Court of Appeal (ICA) panel that ruled against his driver Pierre Gasly on Friday.
In an extraordinary press conference at Monza, Briatore alleged that the judge made a speech for McLaren at an event in Los Angeles a few years ago.
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He also alleged the carmaker gave a foundation for which the judge is a director "two or three McLaren cars".
Andrea Stella, the McLaren team principal, who was sitting alongside Briatore at the time, looked shocked by the allegations. Stella initially declined to respond, but later described the claims as "insulting".
Briatore with Andrea Stella, team principal of McLaren (right), and Frederic Vasseur, team principal of Ferrari (centre) - Getty Images/Mark Sutton
Briatore had been asked about the decision of the ICA to reinstate Pierre Gasly's two five-second penalties from this year's Monaco race for exceeding the pit-lane speed limit.
The ruling appeared to bring an end to a saga which has run all summer.
Alpine had initially been successful in appealing against the penalties after the FIA, the sport's governing body, and Formula One admitted to measurement issues in the Monaco pit lane.
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However, McLaren and Red Bull appealed against that decision, arguing that drivers such as McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who had also fallen foul of the measurement issue, did not have the opportunity to have their penalties rescinded as they had served them in the race.
The ICA's ruling lifts Red Bull's Isack Hadjar back into third and Piastri into fourth in the race classification.
In a team statement, Alpine expressed its "disappointment and frustration". But Briatore went considerably further in his press conference, suggesting the hearing had been "unfair" as one of the four judges, Italian-American Filippo Marchino, had a conflict of interest with regard to McLaren.
"We accept the decision," Briatore said, "but what is very strange was there were four judges on the panel and one of the judges acted like a prosecutor. It was four judges, and this one was really a prosecutor against the FIA, against us, against FOM [Formula One Management].
"Afterwards we found out what is the reason why this guy was so nasty. It's very linked with McLaren."
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"We have a nice picture of this guy [giving a] speech for McLaren in 2018 at MSO [McLaren Special Operations] Beverly Hills. He has a foundation, it's called One Drop Foundation and McLaren gave two or three McLaren cars, and this was quite unfair.
"We accept the decision, we accept everything, but it's quite strange to have one guy in the panel linked to the team. This is unfair. The judge normally needs to be independent completely."
Briatore offered no evidence to suggest that any cars were given, nor was there any evidence that Marchino's independence or impartiality was compromised during the tribunal.
Marchino, a founding partner of The X-Law Group, sits on the board of directors of One Drop, but it is not his foundation.
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Stella initially declined to respond to the allegations but later addressed them.
"I find that this conference is going in a direction that is quite insulting for McLaren, for the reputation of a team that deserves a lot of respect," Stella said. "And if anybody makes these kinds of allegations, which seem quite serious, they are going to have to take the responsibility for what they are saying in a public forum.
"The hearing, the whole International Court of Appeal was conducted to the highest standards, and we should not question this case like it's been done."
Briatore is one of Formula One's most colourful and controversial figures. The Italian had convictions for fraud and conspiracy in the 1980s. To avoid prison, Briatore took refuge in the Virgin Islands and the United States, setting up several Benetton franchises, paving the way for his role in the Benetton F1 team.
Briatore celebrates a win with Michael Schumacher at Benetton in 1998 - Getty Images/Pascal Ronedeau
Briatore was handed a lifetime ban from Formula One in 2009 for his role in the 2008 " Crashgate" race-fixing scandal .
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Although a French civil court later quashed the ban because of procedural "irregularities", the ruling was based on a technicality and did not legally clear or exonerate Briatore of the underlying race-fixing allegations. He returned to the sport with Alpine in 2024.
In response, the FIA released a statement: "The eligibility of candidates for membership of the International Tribunal and International Court of Appeal is checked by the Eligibility Assessment Committee, in accordance with the FIA Statutes.
"The FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules (JDR) provide that for each case before the ICA, a judging panel is constituted, comprising at least three judges. The members of the judging panel are appointed by the President of the ICA.
"As with any nomination for the position of judge, nominations proposed by at least five F1 teams are first subject to a due diligence process carried out by the FIA Compliance Officer.
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"They are then reviewed by an ad hoc panel in compliance with Article 25.1.2 of the FIA Statutes, which submits its recommendations to the Eligibility Assessment Committee (EAC).
"Candidates who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in the FIA Statutes and who are deemed eligible by the EAC are then put forward for election by the FIA General Assembly (GA)."
In second practice for this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, George Russell was fastest for Mercedes ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by 0.120sec. Kimi Antonelli, who leads Russell and Lewis Hamilton by 59 points, was third, though will take a significant grid penalty for Sunday's race.
Hamilton was fifth, 0.457sec off the pace, just behind Lando Norris, winner of the last two grands prix, for McLaren.
