Report: Flav set to sue FIA over ban
October 18, 2009 by SJ Skid
Filed under People & Events, SJ Skid, Top Story
We all knew it was coming, but we figured it would come after Max Mosley was out of office.
Autosport is reporting this morning (and at this point seems to be the sole English source) that Flavio Briatore is set to sue the FIA over his lifetime ban that resulted from the race-fixing events at last season’s Singapore GP.
Autosport says it will all begin on Monday:
Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore will begin his fightback against a lifetime ban from motor racing on Monday when he takes the matter to the French courts.
Briatore is set to lodge papers at the Tribunal de Grand Instance in Paris to try and cancel the lifetime ban that was handed to him by the FIA as the result of his involvement in Renault’s race-fix controversy at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Briatore stated that he believes the FIA had acted incorrectly in the way it dealt with its hearing into the race-fix case, and the punishment handed down.
“In this case, the FIA has been used as a tool to exact vengeance on behalf of one man,” said Briatore in the statement. “This decision is a legal absurdity and I have every confidence that the French courts will resolve the matter justly and impartially.”
Briatore has stated that the grounds for his action were that there was a delay in the issue of the summons, a failure to state the charges in advance and a lack of access provided to prosecution document and to the key witness.
Briatore also stated that there had been a ‘breach of the natural rules of justice’ including a lack of impartiality of the body passing judgement, the secret negotiation of the decision before the hearing and the granting of selective immunities.
He also claims that the FIA has abused its power by imposing a penalty on a non-licensee of the FIA, the disproportionate and illegal nature of an indefinite ban and the threat to refuse to renew FIA licences to any driver or entity involved with Briatore.
As well as trying to overthrow his punishment, Briatore is also demanding compensation for the damage caused to his reputation – with a report in the Journal du Dimanche suggesting he is seeking as much as one million euros.
If the judges in Paris rule that there is a valid case, then the matter could go to trial in around one month’s time, with a decision possible before the end of the year.
Interesting move on Flavio’s part to start this during the last days leading into the FIA presidency vote. Coincidence? Yeah, and Piquet accidentally crashed in Singapore.
The timing makes me wonder two quick things:
1. How does it help Flav’s case? The trial and decision will be after the vote — has anyone figured out when the turnover of power officially happens? [I just checked the FIA site again and it is not something that is very apparent, if it is mentioned anywhere at all.] I assume Flavio has picked the best time or him, but what makes now that best time?
2. How will it affect the FIA election? From the FIA site, the vote is hard-and-fast on October 23rd [no absentee ballots here!]. So I expect the three big stories of this week to be the drivers championship (how close Rubens and Jenson are), the last nasty days of the campaign and Flav’s lawsuit. I wonder if any votes will be swayed?
And a bonus thought, if we haven’t beat this one into the tarmac: Do you think Flav ought to be allowed back in? Maybe the decision will just be about managing drivers or similar roles?
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Flav should be allowed back in and so should Pat. The decision was a Max Mosley personal vendetta. I doubt the timing was based at all on the election. I’m sure its just a matter of his legal team just now getting everything in order.