E-Paper
Paris court overturns Briatore’s ban
A Paris court on Tuesday ruled in favour of former Renault boss Flavio Briatore, overturning a lifetime suspension from motor sports imposed by Formula One's governing body FIA.
A Paris court on Tuesday ruled in favour of former Renault boss Flavio Briatore, overturning a lifetime suspension from motor sports imposed by Formula One's governing body FIA.
The high court “ruled the sanction illegal,” citing “irregularities” in FIA's decision in September to ban Briatore for allegedly ordering Nelson Piquet junior to crash at the 2008 Singapore GP.
Briatore had fiercely denied any involvement in the scheme, dubbed “Crashgate”.
The court said it judged “irregular the September 21, 2009 decision of the world council of the FIA regarding its rulings concerning Messrs Briatore and Symonds.”
The court awarded Briatore, who had been seeking a million euros in damages from the FIA, a mere 15,000 euros while former Renault technical director Pat Symonds, who had been handed a five-year ban, also had the suspension overturned.
