The FIA’s highest court has hit back hard at Flavio Briatore, rejecting his claim that a judge involved in Alpine’s failed appeal over Pierre Gasly’s Monaco penalty had improper links to McLaren.
In a sharply worded statement, the FIA Court of Appeal said Briatore’s comments “question the independence and impartiality of the judges” and moved quickly to defend both its procedures and its people.
FIA closes ranks around its judges
Briatore had alleged on Friday that one of the judges who ruled against Alpine – reinstating Gasly’s pit-lane speeding penalties from Monaco – was “very linked with the McLaren company”, and that the same judge had behaved “like a prosecutor” during the hearing.
The court did not name the judge, but laid out the framework that governs all of its members. It stressed that Court of Appeal judges are bound by “independence and confidentiality requirements” set out in FIA judicial and disciplinary rules, must file annual declarations of interest with the FIA compliance officer, and sign a specific declaration of independence for every case they hear.
The message was clear: the system, the FIA insists, is built to prevent exactly the kind of conflict of interest Briatore suggested.
The court also revealed that all parties were given the chance to object to the line-up of judges both before and after the hearing. “None did so,” the statement said. No concerns were raised about how the court questioned witnesses or ran the proceedings either.
A key passage underlined the governing body’s stance. A court decision, it said, can always be debated “as for its legal merits; that is fair and accepted by all the judges”. But on process, it would not budge: “The court is confident in the soundness of the proceedings and the integrity of the judges. The FIA courts remain committed to the independence and impartiality of their judges and to the integrity of the judicial process.”
The FIA also reiterated that the Court of Appeal “operates independently” of the wider organisation.
Briatore points to charity event, FIA pushes back
Briatore’s accusation rested on a charity auction in California in 2018 which the judge in question attended. The 76-year-old Italian said that “McLaren gave two, three McLaren cars” to that event, and argued this amounted to an unfair link between the judge and one of the teams protesting Alpine.
“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 any objection during the appeal itself, Briatore said 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.”
Briatore made no mention of Red Bull, even though the case was brought jointly by McLaren and Red Bull against the decision to drop Gasly’s two pit-lane speeding penalties in Monaco.
The Court of Appeal ultimately sided with the protesting teams, reinstating the penalties and reshaping the result. Gasly slipped back to seventh, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar restored to third, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri promoted to fourth, and Racing Bulls duo Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad moving up to fifth and sixth.
McLaren bristle at public attack
If Briatore’s words were designed to sting, McLaren’s response showed they had landed.
Inside the team, the reaction has been one of anger. They dismiss the claims outright and are frustrated that, in their view, unfounded allegations about their integrity and that of the court were aired on a public stage.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella sat alongside Briatore in the same news conference where the Alpine advisor launched his attack. Stella did not let it slide.
“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,” he 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.”
So the lines are drawn. On one side, Briatore, furious at a ruling that cost Alpine places and points, questioning the neutrality of the process. On the other, the FIA’s top court and McLaren, standing squarely behind the integrity of the system and demanding accountability for every word spoken.
