F1: FIA Stunned As Briatore Wins Appeal In Paris

Formula 1

F1: FIA Stunned As Briatore Wins Appeal In Paris

Flavio Briatore has won his action in the French courts against the decision by the FIA to ban him for life...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted January 05, 2010 Balen (BEL)

Former Renault F1 team boss Flavio Briatore was banned for life by the FIA in 2009 for his role in the crashgate affair. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Flavio Briatore has won his action in the French courts against the decision by the FIA to ban him for life from any involvement in motor sport after the Piquet crash affair.

Pat Symonds (Right), Renault's former executive director of engineering, was banned by the FIA for five years, while team boss Flavio Briatore (Left) was banned for life for refusing to acknowledge their role in the crash-gate scandal. (Photo: LAT Photogr

Briatore was, but is not at present, a FIA license holder so the original World Motor Sport Council decision in essence banned any team, driver or event from having any involvement with him.

He launched an action late last year claiming that the outcome was not a fair one and that it resulted from a personal vendetta on the part of the FIA and its then president, Max Mosley.

The decision emerged Tuesday from the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris. Briatore was also awarded 15,000 Euros in compensation – a tiny sum compared to the sort of income level he has in theory lost.

The FIA is reported to be considering appealing the decision, and either way it is a momentous one for the sport as a ruling by the governing body has been overturned, creating a significant precedent.

Clearly Briatore has no way back into the Renault team, who Tuesday announced the identity of its new boss. In theory he is now free to pursue his driver management business, while his name has also been linked with the new Campos team.

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005.