FIA Defends Judges Against Briatore's Allegations

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 was compromised by links to McLaren.

In an unusually forthright 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 process and its people.

FIA closes ranks around its judges

Briatore had alleged on Friday that one of the Court of Appeal judges in the Gasly case had “links” with McLaren and had “acted like a prosecutor” during the hearing. The case ended with Alpine losing its bid to overturn two pit-lane speeding penalties for Gasly at the Monaco Grand Prix, a ruling that reshuffled the points and directly benefited McLaren and Red Bull.

The court’s response was pointed. It stressed that its judges are bound by “independence and confidentiality requirements” under FIA judicial and disciplinary rules, must file annual disclosures of interests with the FIA compliance officer, and sign a specific declaration of independence for every case they hear.

Crucially, the court said both sides had been given the chance to challenge the panel.

The parties, it stated, were invited before and after the hearing “to raise any issues concerning the proceedings or the composition of the court. None did so.” No objection was raised during the session about “the manner in which the court questioned the witness or conducted the proceedings”.

From the FIA’s perspective, that silence in the room matters more than the noise that came later.

Briatore’s allegation and the McLaren link

Briatore, 76, based his accusation on a charity auction held in California in 2018, which the judge in question attended and at which, he claimed, “McLaren gave two, three McLaren cars”.

“One of the judges was linked with a team that was protesting us,” he said. “This was quite unfair.”

He argued Alpine only discovered the alleged link after the hearing. Asked why no concern had been raised at the time, he replied: “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, despite the fact that both Red Bull and McLaren jointly brought the case against the decision to drop Gasly’s penalties.

The Court of Appeal, for its part, stood firm. It said it remained “confident in the soundness of the proceedings and the integrity of the judges”, adding that while any verdict can be debated on its legal merits, the integrity of the process itself should not be in doubt.

“The FIA courts remain committed to the independence and impartiality of their judges and to the integrity of the judicial process,” the statement concluded, stressing again that the Court of Appeal “operates independently” of the wider FIA organisation.

McLaren fury at public accusations

If the FIA’s response was measured, McLaren’s reaction was anything but calm behind the scenes.

The team is understood to be furious that what it sees as baseless insinuations about its influence over the court have been aired in public. Privately, McLaren rejects Briatore’s claims outright and is angry they surfaced in a formal news conference.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, who sat just a few seats away from Briatore as the Italian made his remarks, did not hide his frustration.

“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,” Stella 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.”

The sporting fallout

Behind the political storm sits the original sporting flashpoint: Gasly’s penalty in Monaco.

Alpine had successfully argued at the time to have two pit-lane speeding penalties dropped, only for McLaren and Red Bull to challenge that outcome. The Court of Appeal sided with the protestors, reinstating the sanctions and reshaping the final classification.

• Gasly was pushed back to seventh.
• Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar reclaimed third place.
• McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moved up to fourth.
• Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad climbed to fifth and sixth.

A handful of positions, a handful of points – but in a tight championship fight, those details can sting. Alpine left aggrieved by the sporting impact. Briatore has now turned that frustration into a political fight over judicial integrity.

The FIA and McLaren have drawn their lines in the sand. The verdict stands. The question now is whether Alpine and Briatore let the matter rest, or whether this dispute spills deeper into a season already brimming with tension.