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Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One commercial rights-holder, spoke yesterday of his sorrow for his friend, Flavio Briatore, the former managing director of the Renault Formula One team, and said that he felt the Italian had been overly punished by the FIA.
Briatore was handed an indefinite ban from all FIA-sanctioned motor sport on Monday as part of the FIA’s adjudication in the Crashgate” scandal, a decision that has left the Italian multi-millionaire reportedly “devastated” and considering legal action against motor sport’s governing body.
Ecclestone was part of the 26-member FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) that made the decision in Paris and he also broke the news of the ban to Briatore. “I spoke to him and gave him the results,” Ecclestone said. “I feel very sorry for him. I thought the punishment was probably a bit harsh but I don’t know how it can be changed. I don’t think he deserved it. I think he should have had his hand slapped.”
Ecclestone would have preferred a limited ban of something like 18 months but he also said that Briatore, who Ecclestone is satisfied knew about the conspiracy to have Nelson Piquet Jr crash his car on purpose at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix to help the team’s other driver, Fernando Alonso, to win the race, could have helped his own cause. “I tell you one thing, an apology from him might have helped,” Ecclestone said. “I think it was pretty well established that he knew what was going on.” Times Online
Briatore had already indicated he may challenge the legality of the ban on the grounds of disproportionality, although some legal experts believe his case might have been weakened when he declined the invitation to appear before the WMSC to defend himself.
Speculation continues regarding the identity of the mysterious “Witness X”, the team member the FIA has revealed provided testimony supporting claims by Piquet Jr that the crash was staged with Briatore’s approval. Independent
“Firstly he [Flavio] was invited to appear [in front of the World Motor Sport Council] and his lawyers wrote and said the FIA have no jurisdiction as far as he is concerned, which was probably right,” said Ecclestone “But it was not the right thing to say. It would have been just as easy to say: ‘I was caught with my hand in the till, it seemed a good idea at the time, and I am sorry.’ There is an organisation that works very, very well on that idea – where the people go to a box and confess.
“Honestly, I am a friend of Flavio’s. He has just handled the whole thing badly. He could have handled it in a completely different way, and they would have said, ‘you were a naughty boy’ and that would have been the end of it,” he added.
“It would be stupid of Flavio to do that. He should ask to be heard by the court of appeal,” he said. “He should appeal to the FIA. If he goes to a civil court I don’t think he would win. Because the FIA would have to defend and somebody will say that he sent a young guy out to what could have been to his death. So it wouldn’t go down too well.” Guardian.co.uk
