As reported on PlanetF1.com...more to follow
Not that much of a surprise. Further repudiation of Max and his dictatorial decrees. Now will Renault have him back?
If there aren't any new facts that we were previously unaware of, it's utterly disappointing. After Coughlan was allowed back in, it seems that the FIA punishments are only a big charade. Or wasn't it a FIA court who ruled in this case now?
If Flavio's ban really is overturned... one has to wonder what sort of action actually warrants a permanent exclusion for Formula1. It also raises the question: if he was less talented, would the ban have remained 'permanent'? All the best, Andrew.
Well, from what I read of the original process, it was hardly a judicial one. There was no prosecution and no defence. Just Max taking Piquet Jr's testimony as 100% truthful. Don't get me wrong, I think these guys are guilty, but the only way to really reach that conclusion is to have a trial with an impartial judge/jury, and I suspect that's the core of the French court's ruling. However, Max doesn't like those kinds of arrangements. He never calls a WMSC meeting without already knowing the outcome. The FIA is appealing, and I wonder what grounds they have. Perhaps Todt should move the FIA to a 3rd world country where there isn't a justice system. Mark
I don't think any reasonable court would uphold a "permanent" ban from anything. Simply not right, regardless of the circumstances. IMO, it would be great to have Flavio back in F1.
can someone refresh my memory? Piquet had an orchestrated crash, which allowed Alonso to win the race. but what I don't understand is why they bothered, as this did nothing towards Renault or Alonso being in the hunt for either championship, correct?
Alonso was short fueled and needed a pace car session early to make the strategy work. He got it based on NP jr's crash and went on to win the race to the shock of many.
They weren't in the hunt, but even a single race win is *huge* in terms of $ and coverage etc - Particularly when your BOD is (almost?) looking for you to fail and thence pull the plug on your operation..... "But sir, we did at least win a race last year! - We'll do better next year!".... Cheers, Ian
Wasn't Briatore looking for renumeration of €1MM? So from the court, he's being told, "Congratulations Flav, here is €15,000 for your trouble". Good enough to cover one or two of his attorney's phone calls at least. RM
This sporting organization licenses drivers and approves teams and can suspend drivers or punish teams, but does not have any jurisdiction of individuals within those organizations. Add to that the vindictive nature of MM and his ongoing battles with FB and he had a clear conflict. The court had little choice but to overturn the ban. I am not a FB fan, but it seemed he was given the death sentence, while others got away scot free. He exploited the rules and got caught. Others have done it and will do so in the future.
I'm surprised some of you guys have an issue with this. The ends don't justify the means. There was no judicial process, just a penalty. There are still laws in the EU just like there are in the USA. Their laws regarding business and commerce are more restrictive than ours are. And even here we have a law on restraint of trade that states that any contractual obligation not to trade with a party are illegal. The same doctrine exists in the EU. So when the FIA told those they have contracts with (drivers, teams, etc) that they were obligated to refrain from doing business with Briatore, how is it anything but illegal? The court was right. And if the FIA appeals, they will lose. It is pretty cut and dry - you cannot contractually obligate someone not to do business with someone else. It is against the law for the FIA to say they will not grant superlicenses to drivers represented by Briatore, and it is likewise illegal for the FIA to refuse entry to a team that has Briatore on it's staff. Not only am I glad Briatore won, but I hope we will see him again in the pit lane. I think we're kidding ourselves if we think that this sort of stuff doesn't go on all the time. Not that we should accept it, but to say we're aghast and demand permanent expulsion is too extreme. Also, it would be a perfectly wonderful little F U to Mosley to have Flavio back in the game, when he himself has been excluded. If Todt has a brain, he will accept this decision of the court and move on.
+1 This is where I have a "problem"..... They all cheat and lie, but he instructed one of his drivers to (potentially) put many lives at risk - What *is* an appropriate punishment? +1,000 - Anything that ****s Mad Max has got to be good! [Any over-under on how long before Steve posts? ] Cheers, Ian
I hear what you're saying and maybe I am heartless or naive but I just can't get all that worked up about the safety angle. Some folks are likening it to cutting the brake lines on a competitors car to win... I think it's much less serious. We could extrapolate the danger aspect and say that any driver who causes a collision that was avoidable has engangered spectators and other drivers' lives and should be heavily penalized. Webber cuts people off and runs into them so often he'd be facing a 100-year jail sentence by now I would say an appropriate punishment is one that makes it very un-worth-while to do it again. Banning Flav forever was a nuclear response to a poke in the ribs. IMO they should have done something like fine them heavily, or ban the team from two races (like they did to Honda during the fuel tank issue). Part of the problem is that the FIA (under Max) was always trying to juggle conflicting purposes. They want to punish Renault but not push them out of the sport, so they instead go after Flav. But since when is ability to withstand a punishment relevant? They don't fine rich people more for speeding than poor people... and if a team's participation is tenuous, then they risk (and stand to gain) more by cheating. But if Max didn't make things that way to start with, it would never have happened. He made a backstabbing atmosphere in the sport that made it much less attractive for teams to stay, and IMO this is what you get.
This sort of thing must be expected when, from time to time, the surreal world of F1 briefly intersects with the actual world.
Flav started mouthing off in his role in FOTA, IMO Max dealt his ace up his sleeve. Good bye Ron Dennis Good bye Flav, Max was on the up till he took on the (vatican) Ferrari. Think about it 100mil fine for Mclaren, Renault slapped wrist for the same thing in possession of other teams data, what signal did that send out to Flav he could get away with murder, till he upset MAXXX !! that is..
I'm with Ian: For the sake of the integrity of the sport, the continued faith and passion of the fans, and the many industries that rely upon the sport's health, there needs to be a line drawn whereby an individual has been deemed to have committed an offence so great as to warrant permanent expulsion. In my view, Briatore crossed the line: team orders are illegal, let alone ones that deliberately instruct a driver to cause a crash and endanger both racers and fans alike. And if you think Briatore didn't cross the line warranted permanent exclusion, then where have you drawn the line - what would it take for you to permanently exclude someone? All the best, Andrew.
