(Motorsport-Total.com) – In the months since the Monaco Grand Prix, the dispute over the penalty against Alpine driver Pierre Gasly for speeding in the pit lane has taken on the characteristics of Franz Kafka’s “The Trial” – a procedure that drags on so wearisomely that the original reason has long become a side issue.
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The same applies to the Monaco case: Did anyone still care at that point? Hardly anyone – except those who wanted to score points out of self-interest (at Alpine’s expense), or those who wanted to make an example (at the expense of those responsible for the farce around the pit lane speed limit).
In short: Gasly, one of several drivers penalized in Monaco for speeding in the pit lane, did not serve his two separate time penalties during the race because the team was convinced of their illegality.
As a result, he gained track positions and crossed the finish line in third place. However, after adding the two five-second penalties to his race time, he dropped back to seventh place.
In the first instance, Gasly’s third place was reinstated because Alpine apparently successfully proved that the measurements of the timing loops in the pit lane were faulty.
However, the hearing before the FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA) on Friday overturned this decision: It is inadmissible to apply a certain measurement value to the rest of the field but retroactively apply a different standard to the participant entering.
Alpine acknowledged the ruling in an official statement but expressed disappointment. However, what no one on the team had expected: Executive advisor Flavio Briatore launched into an angry and largely incomprehensible tirade during the FIA press conference on Friday.
He accused one of the four ICA judges of being biased in favor of McLaren due to previous business connections.
The also present McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was visibly upset. For a few moments, the usually composed group threatened to descend to the level of one of those 90s talk shows – including image inserts like “I know you’re cheating – don’t blame the dog!” – where security has to intervene to prevent guests from attacking each other.
“It is unfair that this judge had connections to McLaren,” Briatore continued. “That is unfair. Normally, such a judge is completely independent, and this judge is named Filippo Marchino.”
“Filippo Marchino was extremely malicious during the hearing and acted like a prosecutor. Later we found out why this guy was so malicious: He has close ties to McLaren.”
What connections are there to McLaren?
Without access to the hearing transcript, it is hardly possible to judge whether Marchino’s behavior was actually “malicious,” but his connections to McLaren seem very tenuous.
Marchino is a US-Italian lawyer and rally driver who has served as CEO of the One Drop Foundation since 2018 – a charity founded by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte.
Briatore claims McLaren donated “two or three cars” to the foundation. This is essentially true, but these were personal gifts from the late Mansour Ojjeh – an important McLaren shareholder who died in 2021 – to Laliberte to generate donations through auctions.
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Furthermore, Briatore referred to a photo from 2018 showing Marchino as a speaker at a McLaren Special Operations event in Beverly Hills. MSO is, however, a division of McLaren Automotive and thus a company separate from the racing team. As with the vehicle donations, the connection is therefore rather loose.
What happens next?
Immediately after the press conference, a curious game of hide and seek began: FIA insiders hinted that this was a matter between McLaren and Alpine; McLaren insisted it had nothing to do with it; and Alpine said it had nothing to add to its initial statement after the ruling.
In an official clarification, the FIA explained the selection process for the judges: “The suitability of candidates for the International Tribunal and the International Court of Appeal (ICA) is assessed according to the FIA statutes by the suitability review committee,” it said.
“The FIA judicial and disciplinary code provides that for each case before the ICA, a panel of at least three judges is formed. The appointment of the members is made by the president of the ICA.”
The panel of judges has reportedly been fixed for six weeks. Within this period, the parties involved could have raised concerns about the composition.
It is possible that the FIA will follow up on Briatore’s statements. President Mohammed Ben Sulayem is known to be very careful to protect volunteers and officials. His predecessor Max Mosley consistently condemned violations of Article 151[C] of the International Sporting Code – the general clause against conduct detrimental to the sport.
Marchino himself could also consider legal action.
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Defamation law is often misunderstood; the misconception that the word “allegedly” automatically protects against lawsuits persists stubbornly. This is not the case.
In most Western legal systems, defamation is situated in civil law and not criminal law. The latter has largely been abolished as it was once used by states as a tool to suppress dissenting opinions.
Civil laws vary by country but consistently try to balance freedom of expression with protecting individuals or organizations from damage to reputation and assets.
In the UK, for example – once a center of so-called “libel tourism” – the Defamation Act of 2013 established a clear protection clause for “public interest” and requires plaintiffs to prove that a statement caused significant financial or non-material damage.
A key commonality of civil defamation proceedings is: once the hurdle of proven damage is overcome and the case goes to trial, the burden of proof lies with the person who made the statement. It is not the defendant’s task to prove their innocence.
Against this background, Briatore may have overstepped somewhat.
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