Flavio Briatore says that he will challenge the lifetime ban imposed on him by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, in light of the race-fix scandal which dogged last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.
It has been reported that the former Renault Team Principal will present the Paris’ Tribunal de Grande Instance (French High Court) with papers tomorrow in an attempt to overturn the ruling issued on the 21st of September 2009.
In a statement first published by Autosport, Briatore attacked the FIA claiming that the governing body had conducted the hearing in an inappropriate manner.
“In this case, the FIA has been used as a tool to exact vengeance on behalf of one man,” said Briatore in the statement. “This decision is a legal absurdity and I have every confidence that the French courts will resolve the matter justly and impartially.”
According to the a report in the Journal du Dimanche, Briatore is also said to be seeking compensation for the damage that the ban has done to his reputation, with the article suggesting this to be as much as one million euros.
It is believed that Briatore’s lawyers will base their case on the principles of the European Court of Human Rights as well as European Union law.
Whether or not the court accepts Briatore’s appeal and overturn the FIA’s ruling, it would appear that the race-fix scandal is set to once again hit the headlines and further damage the integrity of Formula One.
