FIA launches appeal after court annuls Briatore’s ‘Crashgate’ ban
MOTORSPORT’S governing body the FIA has confirmed it will appeal the decision of a French civil court to overturn the lifetime ban handed to former Renault F1 team boss Flavio Briatore.
Italian Briatore, chairman of Championship football club QPR, was banned after being found guilty of helping to orchestrate a deliberate crash in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. The Tribunal de Grande Instance last week annulled the ban, ruling that the FIA did not have jurisdiction to suspend Briatore.
But FIA president Jean Todt said the organisation and its lawyers would appeal that decision, meaning Briatore remains banned for the time being. “It was unanimously agreed that an appeal would be prepared,” the FIA said in a statement.
Todt added that new disciplinary procedures were close to being finalised which would “address the issues in the court’s judgement”.