The FIA court of appeal has refuted a claim by Alpine boss Flavio Briatore which it says “questions the independence and impartiality of the judges” in a case brought by McLaren and Red Bull against the French team.
Briatore claimed on Friday that one of the court of appeal judges in the case that ended with the court re-instating a penalty on Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in the Monaco Grand Prix had “links” with McLaren.
The statement by the highest legal authority of motorsport’s governing body said that court of appeal judges are “subject to the independence and confidentiality requirements contained in the FIA judicial and disciplinary rules, make annual disclosures of interests to the FIA compliance officer, and sign a specific declaration of independence for each particular case in consideration of the issue at stake and the parties involved”.
It added that the parties to the dispute were invited both before and after the hearing “to raise any issues concerning the proceedings or the composition of the court. None did so”.
It added: “No objection was raised during the hearing concerning the manner in which the court questioned the witness or conducted the proceedings.
“A court’s decision can leave room for various interpretations and comments as for its legal merits; that is fair and accepted by all the judges.
“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 says the court of appeal “operates independently” of the wider organisation.
On Friday Briatore had said: “One of the judges act like a prosecutor. This is not a big problem. The problem is he’s very linked with the McLaren company.”
The 76-year-old Italian’s claims were based on a charity auction held in California in 2018 which the judge in question had attended and to which he claimed “McLaren gave two, three McLaren cars”.
“This was quite unfair,” Briatore said. “One of the judges was linked with a team that was protesting us.”
Asked why Alpine had not raised objections at the hearing, Briatore said: “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 provided no evidence to back up his claims and Alpine declined to offer further information.
The case against the decision to drop two pit-lane speeding penalties on Gasly in Monaco was brought by both McLaren and Red Bull.
The court of appeal decision demoted Gasly back to seventh place, and promoted three Red Bull drivers and one McLaren driver higher in the points.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was put back into third place, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to fourth and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad to fifth and sixth.
Briatore made no reference to Red Bull in his comments.
McLaren have responded angrily to Briatore’s comments.
Privately, they reject them out of hand and are angry that what they believe are unfounded claims have been given a public airing in a news conference.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella attended the same news conference in which Briatore made his remarks.
Stella said: “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.
“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.”
