Flavio Briatore did not hide his anger after the decision of the FIA International Court of Appeal to reinstate the penalties imposed on Pierre Gasly and the loss of his podium at the Monaco Grand Prix.
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The Alpine executive advisor considers the decision “very unfair” and especially questions the independence of one of the four judges, Filippo Marchino, due to links he claims exist with McLaren.
The FIA International Court of Appeal delivered its verdict on Friday in the case concerning the penalties of Pierre Gasly in Monaco.
The sanctions initially imposed on the Alpine driver were ultimately reinstated, once again changing the final classification of the event.
Briatore targets judge Marchino
Present at a press conference in Monza, Flavio Briatore assured that Alpine accepted the verdict, while expressing serious reservations about how the procedure was conducted: “I think it’s very unfair, first of all, but we accept the decision”, said the Italian.
Briatore’s criticisms focus mainly on one of the four panel members, Filippo Marchino. The Alpine executive claims that he adopted a particularly hostile attitude towards his team during the hearing: “What was very strange was the fourth judge on the panel. One of the judges acted like a prosecutor. That’s not the main problem. The problem is that he is very connected to the McLaren company.”
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Briatore notably relies on Marchino’s presence at a McLaren Special Operations event in Beverly Hills in 2018. He also mentions the “One Drop Foundation,” with which Marchino was allegedly involved and which, according to him, benefited from cars provided by McLaren.
“We have a nice photo of this man during a speech for McLaren in 2018 at MSO in Beverly Hills. He created a foundation called One Drop Foundation and McLaren gave him two or three cars, he accuses. I think it was quite unfair that one of the judges had links with a team that was protesting against us. “
No evidence of bias
Briatore then renewed his criticisms, believing that a judge involved in such a procedure should be completely independent from the different parties: ” What is unfair is that a judge had links with McLaren. It’s unfair because a judge should normally be completely independent. This judge, Filippo Marchino, was very unpleasant during the hearing. He acted like a prosecutor. Then, we wondered why he was so hostile. He is very connected to McLaren.”
However, Briatore’s statements are accusations on his part. The elements he cites — presence at a McLaren event and supposed links between McLaren and a foundation — do not alone prove that Marchino favored the British team or that the Court’s decision was influenced.
Moreover, Briatore did not question Alpine’s obligation to respect the verdict. His intervention mainly targets the conditions under which the decision was made and what he considers a potential independence issue within the panel. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella expressed offense at what he considers insults and threatens to take legal action against his compatriot for his false statements… Atmosphere!
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