06/01/2010
NEWS STORY
Emboldened following a French court's ruling that his lifetime ban from motorsport be overturned, Flavio Briatore has admitted that he is considering legal action against former Renault driver Nelson Piquet and his father.
It was in late August, just two weeks after Piquet had been dropped in favour of Romain Grosjean, that Brazilian TV station Globo sensationally broke the story that the youngster had been ordered to crash during the inaugural Singapore GP in 2008.
Subsequently, it was revealed that his father had first reported the incident to the FIA's Race Director and Safety Delegate, Charlie Whiting at the 2008 Brazilian GP, just five weeks after it took place.
At the subsequent meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, in late September, Renault was handed a two-year suspended ban while Briatore, who was alleged to have ordered Piquet to crash, thereby handing the race victory to his teammate, Fernando Alonso, was given a lifetime ban from all FIA-sanctioned motorsport activity including his involvement as manager with a number of drivers.
Yesterday, the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris overturned the ban claiming that it was illegally imposed by the FIA. However, the sport's governing body subsequently announced that while it has yet to decide whether it will appeal the ban the court's ruling is not enforceable until all appeal options have been exhausted. Furthermore, it pointed out that the court had not reversed the original WMSC finding that Briatore had conspired to cause an intentional crash.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport however, Briatore is already looking ahead, not only at a possible return to the F1 pitlane but to hitting back at those who caused him so much "pain".
Asked if he will sue the Piquets, he said: "Very probably", adding, "I won't forget the pain I've suffered in a day."
He then said that he will continue to manage a number of F1 drivers, while threatening legal action against those who have since left him.
"Apart from Heikki Kovalainen and Lucas Di Grassi, my relationship with the other drivers has never changed," said the Italian. "Now we will look at the situation with lawyers to see if we can take legal action against those who have broken contracts with us."
In a clear dig at the former FIA president who, according to Briatore, was "blinded" by desire for "personal revenge", the Italian revealed that his wife is due to give birth to the couple's second baby in the coming weeks. "We still haven't agreed a name," he said. "But it certainly won't be called Max!"