FIA Courts issue statement over Flavio Briatore’s incendiary ICA judge claims

Following Flavio Briatore’s incendiary comments at the FIA press conference on Friday, the International Court of Appeal has issued a statement.

The executive advisor from the Renault Group, representing the Alpine F1 team, made comments regarding one of the judges on the panel overseeing the McLaren and Red Bull appeals over Pierre Gasly’s time penalties at the Monaco Grand Prix.

FIA Courts respond to Flavio Briatore’s claims about International Court of Appeal judge

On Friday morning at Monza, the decision of the International Court of Appeal was made public: the stewards’ decision to rescind Pierre Gasly’s time penalties from Monaco was overturned; the French driver was demoted back down to seventh, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar moved back into the podium place.

The decision was made at the ICA following McLaren and Red Bull opting to escalate the matter in the wake of the Monaco race, with the two teams seeking clarity on the topics of sporting fairness and judicial equality by taking it to the ICA, an independent body of the FIA.

Four judges oversaw the proceedings, with these being named on the official ICA documents, but one of these individuals was singled out for criticism by Briatore when the Italian appeared before the media for the FIA Press Conference later in the day.

Holding a sheet of paper, Briatore named the individual in question (PlanetF1.com has chosen not to reproduce) and insinuated that the judge had historic links with McLaren. These appeared to refer to a philanthropic organisation with which the individual is associated, having given a keynote speech in the United States in 2018 – Briatore suggested that the organisation had been gifted a few McLaren road cars at the time.

What did Flavio Briatore say?

Briatore did not hold fire, kicking off the press conference with immediacy as he was initially asked for his response to the ICA decision, suggesting that one of the four judges on the panel had acted with belligerence towards Alpine.

“This is very unfair,” he said.

“But you know, we accept the decision, but what is very strange was four judges in the panel. One of the judges act like a prosecutor.

“This is not a big problem. The problem is he’s very linked with the McLaren company, because we have a nice picture of this guy at a speech for McLaren in 2018 in MSO, Beverly Hills.

“He has a foundation, it’s called One Drop foundation (the individual lists themselves as a board member – editor), and McLaren gave two, three McLaren cars. This was quite unfair. One of the judges was linked with a team which was processing (sic) us.

“The judge normally needs to be independent, completely. And this judge, the name is, it’s kind of an Italian name, but he’s American, [redacted by PlanetF1.com].

[“Redacted] is a judge, he was very nasty during the hearing, was acting as a prosecutor. And after, we found out what is the reason why so nasty, this guy. He is very linked with McLaren. This I notice.

“Where you have the judgement, the judge needs to be independent. And not somebody doing the speech for McLaren and somebody using the McLaren car in the charity.

“This is the point. I care… I’m very surprised this guy have the link with McLaren.”

A clearly unimpressed Andrea Stella, sitting opposite Briatore in the press conference, was asked for his response to the Italian’s comments.

“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,” he 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 like it’s been done.”

It’s understood that Briatore’s comments were made independently of any influence from the F1 team’s management or communications department.

What has the ICA said in response?

The FIA’s rules for assembling the ICA judges’ pool from its ASN member clubs see eligible candidates for membership checked by the Eligibility Assessment Committee in a thorough vetting process before being elected by the FIA’s General Assembly.

Alpine did not flag any concerns about the individuals assembled for the panel, despite being afforded the opportunity to do so at the commencement of proceeding, but is understood to have examined the panel more closely as proceedings progressed, prompting the concerns later highlighted, in retrospect, by Briatore.

Briatore’s comments are now understood to have been flagged with the FIA’s legal department in the aftermath of the press conference.

PlanetF1.com understands that McLaren is unlikely to seek to escalate the matter, with the team’s position having been so strongly outlined by Stella in response.

It remains to be seen whether the individual named by Briatore, who boasts a strong legal background, will seek redress; PlanetF1.com has approached the person for comment but, at the time of writing, has yet to receive a response.

However, upon request for a statement from the ICA, an FIA spokesperson supplied the following comment on behalf of the ICA.

More on Briatore’s bombshell comments from PlanetF1.com

Flavio Briatore makes shocking McLaren accusation after Gasly FIA decision

Stella slams ‘insulting’ McLaren accusation after explosive Briatore comments

“The FIA Courts are aware of public comments questioning the independence and impartiality of the judges of the panel that decided Case ICA-2026-06-07-08-09,” it said.

“The FIA Courts wish to make clear that the appointment and participation of the judges in that case, like for any other case, were conducted in accordance with the applicable FIA judicial procedures and usual practice, which are inspired by the highest standards like the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration.

“All judges are elected by the FIA General Assemblies, some of them upon proposition of a group of at least five F1 teams in accordance with the FIA Statutes. They are all subject to the independence and confidentiality requirements contained in the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, make annual disclosures of interests to the FIA Compliance Officer, and sign a specific declaration of independence for each particular case in consideration of the issue at stake and the parties involved, which is served to the parties.

“At both the beginning and conclusion of the hearing, the parties were invited to raise any issue concerning the proceedings or the composition of the Court. None did so. No objection was raised during the hearing concerning the manner in which the Court questioned the witness or conducted the proceedings.

“The ICA emphasizes the importance of constituting panels with judges from different cultural and geographical backgrounds. This helps ensure that the deliberations and discussions reflect a diversity of legal traditions, perspectives and approaches, further strengthening the fairness, independence, credibility of the process and access to a fair trial.

“A Court’s decision can leave room for various interpretations and comments as for its legal merits; that is fair and accepted by all the judges. The Court is confident in the soundness of the proceedings and the integrity of the judges. The FIA Courts remain committed to the independence and impartiality of their judges and to the integrity of the judicial process.

The statement was signed off on by senior figures of the ICA, which did not include the individual named by Briatore.

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