French court overturns former Renault F1 boss Flavio Briatore’s lifetime suspension

French court overturns Briatore’s suspension

PARIS — Former Renault Formula One team boss Flavio Briatore had his lifetime suspension from motor sports overturned by a French court Tuesday.

F1’s governing body, the FIA, banned Briatore in September after it ruled that he had ordered Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash his car to help teammate Fernando Alonso win the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008.

Briatore denied a role in the scheme and took legal action to be reinstated.

The Paris court said Briatore was not given the right to properly defend himself during the FIA inquiry. It pointed out that the decision to ban him indefinitely had been taken on the basis of an anonymous testimony, while the Italian’s lawyer had not been allowed to question the witness.

The court ordered the FIA to pay him $21,500 — far short of the $1.4 million he had sought in damages.

Briatore’s lawyer, Philippe Ouakrat, said it was “almost an exceptional outcome” for his client.

“We are in a situation in which Mr. Briatore is reinstated in all his capacities to act in Formula One or motor sports,” he said. “It’s just great news.”

The Paris court also overturned a five-year FIA ban imposed on former Renault chief engineer Pat Symonds. He was awarded $7,200, also far short of the $722,000 he had sought.

FIA lawyer Jean-Francois Prat said the motor sports governing body was likely to appeal, preventing Briatore from returning to the sport until the appeals process runs its course.

Ouakrat had argued that Briatore was suspended because of his tense relationship with then-FIA president Max Mosley, and that the FIA exceeded its authority by imposing a sanction on individuals.

In a deposition given to FIA investigators in exchange for his immunity, Piquet Jr. said Briatore and Symonds ordered him to crash into the wall at turn 14 during the 2008 race, where it would take the most time to clear the damaged car and result in the longest possible delay.

Renault escaped severe punishment in the case, receiving only a suspended ban from Formula One.

Earlier Tuesday, Renault confirmed Eric Boullier as Briatore’s replacement as F1 team principal.

The 36-year-old Frenchman had the same role for Team France in the A1GP Series from 2007-09.

Boullier said morale has been low at Renault since he arrived, adding that “the last few weeks had been quite challenging.”