FIA defends handling of 'crashgate'
The FIA responded to Briatore's decision to launch legal proceedings against it
Also In The News
|
By Adam Leveridge
The aerodynamic engineering firm Aerolab has confirmed a new partnership with the Lotus formula one team. |  |
Friday, 13, Nov 2009 10:02
By Adam Leveridge
The FIA has defended its handling of the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) hearing into the 'crashgate' race-fixing controversy, which led to former Renault team principal Flavio Briatore being handed an indefinite ban from all FIA-run motorsport series.
This comes after Briatore's decision to launch legal proceedings against the governing body, seeking damages of one million Euros according to the Guardian newspaper and to overturn his lifetime ban.
However, the FIA defended the way it dealt with the race-fixing case and the implicated parties.
"The FIA condemns the selective leaking of extracts from Mr Briatore's pleadings to the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris," the FIA said in a statement.
"The FIA rejects the allegations made in these leaks and confirms that the decision to impose a sanction against Mr Briatore was made by an overwhelming majority of the attending WMSC members."
Briatore resigned from his post as team principal of the Enstone-based team after it was revealed that former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr was instructed to deliberately crash out of the 2008 Singapore grand prix night race to assist his team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Piquet was granted immunity in the WMSC hearing in exchange for full co-operation with the FIA, while Renault's former director of engineering Pat Symonds was handed a five-year ban from all FIA-sanctioned motorsport.
Symonds is believed to be in support of Briatore's legal case against the governing body.