Flavio Briatore accused a Formula One appeal judge of bias toward McLaren on Friday, hours after a court ruling demoted Alpine's Pierre Gasly from third to seventh place at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Briatore, the 76-year-old Alpine advisor, arrived at a press conference ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza carrying a piece of A4 paper to argue his case. He said Filippo Marchino, an American-Italian lawyer who sat on the FIA's International Court of Appeal panel, had "a working relationship with McLaren" and had favoured the team.
"Filippo Marchino is a judge," Briatore said. "He was very nasty during the hearing. He was acting as a prosecutor. And afterwards we found out what is the reason why he is so nasty. He is very linked with McLaren. This I notice."
He said that whatever McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had argued, "the judge needs to be independent. And not somebody doing the speech for McLaren and somebody using the McLaren car in his One Drop Foundation charity. This is the point."
The Monaco Penalty Case
The dispute stems from the Monaco Grand Prix in June. Alpine lodged a right of review to overturn two five-second time penalties handed to Gasly for speeding in the pit lane, after it emerged that officials had measured the pit lane incorrectly. Other drivers were also affected by the error.
A court adjudicated by Marchino heard that review in August. Marchino was one of four panel members who ultimately decided to reinstate the original penalties, a judgment published only hours before Friday's press conference. As Gasly was relegated down the order as a result, McLaren's Oscar Piastri moved up to fourth place.
"After that, the [terminology of the regulations], point one, one, three, two, four, five, I don't care," Briatore said. "I'm very surprised this guy has the link with McLaren. We accept the result of the hearing. But the panel should be completely independent, and you don't need somebody linked with some team, especially the team involved with us in this situation. Only that. Nothing. Now we see. We think about what we can do next."
Briatore's History in F1
Briatore is a flamboyant and controversial figure in the sport. He was banned for life from Formula One by the FIA over his role in orchestrating the outcome of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, a conspiracy that became known as "Crashgate" and kept him out of the paddock for a period. A French court later overturned that ban.
Friday's accusations came at Monza, in Briatore's home country of Italy, ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.
McLaren Hits Back
Andrea Stella, who shared the stage with Briatore during strained exchanges at the press conference, rejected the claims.
"I find that this conference going in this direction is quite insulting to McLaren, for the reputation of a team that deserves a lot of respect," Stella said. "And if anybody makes these kinds of allegations, which seem quite serious, they are going to have to take the responsibility for what they are saying in a public forum."
Stella added that "the hearing, and the whole International Court of Appeal, was conducted to the highest standards and we should not question this as has been the case."
FIA Responds
The FIA, motorsport's world governing body, also responded to Briatore's allegations. It said in a statement: "The eligibility of candidates for the International Court of Appeal is checked by the Eligibility Assessment Committee (EAC) in accordance with FIA Statutes. Candidates who meet the eligibility criteria and who are deemed eligible by the EAC are then put forward for election by the FIA General Assembly."
On Track at Monza
Away from the row, George Russell was fastest in Friday practice as he looks to narrow his championship deficit to Mercedes teammate and standings leader Kimi Antonelli, currently 59 points behind.
Russell's task is aided by Antonelli having to start the Italian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after taking on a new engine. Russell was one-tenth of a second ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the opening practice session of a weekend during which he needs a win to keep his championship hopes alive.
