FIA Court Defends Integrity Against Briatore's Claims
The FIA’s highest court has hit back hard at Flavio Briatore, rejecting claims from the Alpine executive that strike at the heart of Formula 1’s judicial system.
In a rare and pointed statement, the FIA Court of Appeal dismissed Briatore’s suggestion that one of its judges held “links” with McLaren and behaved “like a prosecutor” during the hearing that ultimately reinstated Pierre Gasly’s penalties from the Monaco Grand Prix.
FIA closes ranks around its judges
Briatore’s comments, made on Friday in a news conference, went beyond a routine complaint about a verdict. He implied that the integrity of the process itself had been compromised.
The Court of Appeal answered in kind.
It stressed that its judges are bound by strict independence and confidentiality rules laid out in the FIA’s judicial and disciplinary framework, are required to make annual disclosures of interests to the FIA compliance officer, and must sign a specific declaration of independence for every case they hear, tailored to the issues and the parties involved.
Crucially, the court underlined that all parties – including Alpine – had been invited both before and after the hearing to raise any concerns about the conduct of the proceedings or the composition of the panel. “None did so,” the statement said.
No objections were raised during the hearing about how the judges questioned witnesses or handled the case. Only after the verdict did the accusations surface.
The court acknowledged that any decision is open to debate on legal grounds, but drew a sharp line at attacks on integrity. It reaffirmed its confidence in “the soundness of the proceedings and the integrity of the judges” and insisted that the FIA courts “remain committed to the independence and impartiality of their judges and to the integrity of the judicial process.”
The governing body also reiterated that the Court of Appeal “operates independently” from the rest of the FIA structure.
Briatore’s allegation – and the charity link
Briatore, 76, had claimed that one of the judges on the panel was “very linked with the McLaren company” and had acted more like a prosecutor than an impartial arbiter.
His allegation rested on a charity auction held in California in 2018, which the judge in question attended. According to Briatore, “McLaren gave two, three McLaren cars” to that event, and this, in his view, created an unacceptable connection.
“This was quite unfair,” Briatore said. “One of the judges was linked with a team that was protesting us.”
Pressed on why Alpine had not raised the issue during the hearing itself, Briatore replied that they only discovered the supposed link afterwards. “We found out, after the meeting, logically, not before, we found out this guy was linked with the McLaren team. This is what I think.”
Notably, Briatore did not mention Red Bull at all, despite the fact that Red Bull joined McLaren in bringing the original case.
The Monaco fallout
The dispute stems from the Monaco Grand Prix, where stewards had dropped two pit-lane speeding penalties for Gasly. McLaren and Red Bull challenged that decision at the Court of Appeal.
The court sided with the appellants and reinstated the penalties, a move that reshuffled the finishing order and Gasly’s points.
Gasly was pushed back to seventh place, while four drivers benefitted. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar moved back up to third, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri climbed to fourth, and Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad were elevated to fifth and sixth.
For Alpine, already under pressure on track, the ruling cut deeper than a simple loss of points. It triggered a public war of words over the legitimacy of the process itself.
McLaren bristle at “insulting” claims
Inside McLaren, the reaction to Briatore’s remarks has been furious. The team privately rejects the accusations outright and is incensed that what it sees as baseless claims were aired in a formal media setting.
Team principal Andrea Stella, who sat alongside Briatore in the same news conference, did not hide his anger.
“I find that this conference going in this direction is quite insulting for McLaren, for the reputation of a team that deserves a lot of respect,” Stella said. “And if anybody makes these kind 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 phase as has been done.”
The lines are now clearly drawn. On one side, an FIA court adamant that its judges are beyond reproach. On the other, an Alpine powerbroker openly questioning the neutrality of the system after a ruling that cost his team.
In a championship where every point matters and every legal nuance can swing a result, the next time a verdict goes against a team, the question will linger: will they accept the judgment – or follow Alpine’s path and turn the spotlight back on the court itself?
