By Duncan Mackay
January 5 – Former Renault Formula One boss Flavio Briatore (pictured) will be able to continue to try to guide Queens Park Rangers attempt to get promotion to the Premier League after he overturned a lifetime ban from motor racing.
The Italian had been handed an indefinite suspension by the FIA, the world governing body of motor sport, for his part in Nelson Piquet’s deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
But French High Court today overturned the ban, describing it as illegal, and awarded Briatore $21,5000 (£13,500) in compensation, which was a long short of the $1.4 million (£875,000) he was seeking.
The FIA says it is likely to appeal the ruling, but as things stand now, there can be no challenge to Briatore’s involvement as chairman at Loftus Road under the Football League’s fit and proper person test, which included being able to ban owners who have been banned from another sporting organisation.
Briatore is the co-owner of the London club with Bernie Ecclestone, the former head of Formula One, and billionaire Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
They brought QPR in 2007 and immediately set a four-year plan to get the club into the Premier League.
The club are currently lying in tenth place in the Coca-Cola Championship, four points off the playoff positions.
Brazilian Piquet (Pictured) had admitted he was told to crash to help Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso win the Singapore race to further his championship ambitions.
Briatore resigned from Renault when the scandal broke.
But the Paris court said Briatore was not given the right to properly defend himself during the FIA inquiry.
It pointed out that the decision to ban him indefinitely had been taken on the basis of an anonymous testimony, while the Italian’s lawyer had not been allowed to question the witness.
Briatore’s lawyer, Philippe Ouakrat, said it was “almost an exceptional outcome” for his client.
He said: ”We are in a situation in which Mr. Briatore is reinstated in all his capacities to act in Formula One or motor sports.
“It’s just great news.”
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