12/03/2010
NEWS STORY
Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore has said he has no plans to return to F1, even though a lifetime ban from the sport imposed by the FIA last year was subsequently overturned by a Paris court.
The flamboyant Italian's ban came in the wake of 'Crashgate', the scandal that rocked the sport late last year when it was revealed that Nelson Piquet deliberately crashed his car during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in an attempt to fix the race result.
The FIA subsequently handed Briatore a lifetime ban from F1 for his role in the incident, though he successfully challenged this in court.
As the sport awaits the next move, with talk of the FIA challenging the ruling, Briatore says he has no plans to return to F1 no matter what the outcome.
"I exclude it 100 percent," he told Gazzetta dello Sport when asked if he thought he had a future in F1. "I still have affection for F1 even if it would have been better to have left at the end of 2006 when Alonso won his second title."
In the aftermath of the 'Crashgate' saga, Briatore, who stepped down as Renault boss ahead of last year's enquiry, also chose to step down as chairman of (football club) Queens Park Rangers, the team he co-owns with Bernie Ecclestone.
"I did it so I didn't create embarrassment for the (English) Football Association given the Singapore story," he said, admitting that he has no current plans to return to football either.