Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore has had his life ban from motorsport overturned by a French court.
French court rules in favour of former Renault boss
Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore has had his life ban from motorsport overturned by a French court.
Briatore, 59, was banned by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in September for his role in a plot to rig the outcome of the 2008 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix.
"The court ruled the sanction was illegal," the judge told the Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI) in Paris.
Briatore was awarded 15,000 euros (£13,500) in compensation.
The TGI also overturned the five-year ban imposed by the FIA on Renault's former engineering head Pat Symonds and awarded him compensation of 5,000 euros (£4,500).
The FIA have 15 days to pay the duo otherwise they will be liable to a penalty of 10,000 euros (£9,000) per day, although their legal team are considering launching an appeal.
Crash
Briatore was involved in a conspiracy which saw Nelson Piquet Jnr deliberately crash his car at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in order to help team-mate Fernando Alonso take the win.
Although Briatore threatened legal action against Piquet Jnr and father, Nelson Piquet Snr, that was soon dropped.
Then just five days before the World Motor Sport Council sat in judgment on Renault on September 21, Briatore and Symonds vacated their positions at the team.
After the FIA handed out the sentences, Briatore later claimed former FIA president Max Mosley was "blinded by an excessive desire for personal revenge" in pursuing the case.
In a statement in November, Briatore added: "The decisions to carry out an investigation and to submit it to the World Council were taken by the same person, Max Mosley, the FIA president."
Briatore further asserted Mosley "assumed the roles of complainant, investigator, prosecutor and judge," claiming the case against him was a breach of the "most basic rules of procedure and the rights to a fair trial."
Briatore's claim the FIA World Council, chaired by Mosley, was out for "personal revenge" stemmed from his involvement in plans for a breakaway series.
Issue
It was an issue which rumbled on through much of last season before an agreement was reached for manufacturers to stay in Formula One.
A further knock-on effect for Briatore is that he is also clear to continuing his ownership of Coca-Cola Championship club QPR.
If the TGI had upheld the ban, the Football League would have had a case against Briatore, potentially citing him as not fit and proper to run one of their clubs.
