Briatore claims possible ties between FIA judge and McLaren
Alpine chief Flavio Briatore has claimed possible ties between one of the judges of the FIA International Court of Appeal and McLaren. This came after the court’s decision that deprived Alpine driver Pierre Gasly of third place at the Monaco Grand Prix. The court ruled that Gasly’s two five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane should remain in force and that the corresponding changes should be made to the standings.
Review of the results in Monaco
Gasly finished third in the race on June 7, but dropped to seventh after the application of two five-second penalties. Isack Hadjar then took third position.
On June 12, the stewards granted Alpine’s request to review the decision, accepting the team’s evidence of a timing error. McLaren and Red Bull appealed this verdict. The FIA International Court of Appeal heard the case in Paris on August 25, and the decision was published during the Italian Grand Prix, TimesLIVE reports.
In its 26-page decision, the court stated that both of Gasly’s penalties must be reinstated. As a result, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri returned to fourth place, Liam Lawson to fifth, and Arvid Lindblad to sixth.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Briatore’s statement and McLaren’s response
At an FIA-organized press conference, Briatore said that one of the four judges acted like a prosecutor during the hearings. He also claimed that the judge allegedly had ties to McLaren. According to Briatore, Alpine has photographs showing the judge speaking at a McLaren event in Beverly Hills in 2018, as well as information about a charitable foundation to which McLaren provided cars.
McLaren chief Andrea Stella called the tone of the press conference insulting to the team and its reputation. He said that people who publicly make such serious accusations should be held accountable for their words.
Arguments of the parties
Formula 1 timekeepers acknowledged a discrepancy in measurements that arose after changes to the pit lane. The only witness at the closed hearing was Formula One Management’s director of engineering and innovation, Arby Karapetyan, who explained how the timing and measurement system works.
McLaren and Red Bull believed that cancelling Gasly’s penalties violated the principle of equal treatment and sporting fairness, since other teams had already served penalties during the race. FIA and Alpine insisted that the inability to reverse penalties served during the event should not prevent the annulment of an unlawful sanction.
