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F1: FIA To Act On Renault Driver Management
Written by: Adam Cooper   http://www.speedtv.com
09/16/2009
Balen (BEL)
 
Nelson Piquet Jr.’s (Left) evidence about he was treated by Flavio Briatore (Center), will have the FIA examine conflict of interest issues with Briatore’s drivers such as Fernando Alonso (Right). (Photo: LAT Photographic) » More Photos

The FIA is likely to use next week’s Renault World Motor Sport Council hearing to examine the issue of F1 team bosses who double up as driver managers.

Sources suggest that Nelson Piquet’s evidence about how he was treated by Flavio Briatore proved so compelling that the FIA intends to act to prevent the obvious conflicts of interest created when the team boss also holds the driver’s personal management contract.

The issue has to some extent resolved itself now that Briatore has stepped away from his team principal role at Renault, but the FIA could still make it clear that such a scenario will not be allowed to happen again.

And despite leaving the team Briatore could still receive a personal ban from any involvement in FIA-sanctioned motor sport, and that could lead to him being forced to relinquish his management deals.

Piquet gave a lengthy interview on July 30 to the FIA and its legal advisors, although the only content to have reached the public domain thus far was a short summary, written in heavy legal language.

Over the years Briatore has managed a whole string of drivers through his FFBB company, including current F1 stars Jarno Trulli, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Heikki Kovalainen and Romain Grosjean. Drivers in the Renault Driver Development program, such as current Renault reserve Lucas di Grassi, automatically become part of the FFBB
structure, committed to a long term future with Briatore.

Flavio has usually been a step away from day-to-day management of their careers, leaving that to his close associates the Michel brothers, Bruno and Mathieu, and has often only really got involved when the question of negotiating contracts came up.

Nearly every driver who has been at Benetton or Renault in recent years has had some form of arrangement with Briatore, and he is known to have put pressure on those who already had existing managerial contracts.

Observers have often wondered how he has managed to sit on both sides of the table at once, effectively deciding a driver’s salary and then having a percentage of it paid to his company.

There is no question that the support of Briatore has helped several drivers who might not have otherwise made it into F1, and who at critical stages of their careers have been willing to give up a significant proportion of their income for lengthy periods.

One current F1 star was reputedly offered a 15-year deal – with 50% of his income going to FFBB – when he was still in karts. He declined to take up the offer.

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