Todt Insists Briatore Is Still Guilty

While Flavio Briatore insisted that he holds nothing against the FIA or its new president Jean Todt for the penalty he received after the crash-gate, the former Ferrari boss that now runs business within the ruling body did not return the favor. Talking to the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Todt insisted that Briatore is as guilty of the crash-gate as ever.

In early January, the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance overturned the FIA ban in Flavio Briatore's case, but the ruling was obviously based on procedural basis. To be more precise, it did not refer to the Italian manager's innocence or guilt in the race-fixing scandal, but to the FIA's right to revoke his license in all motorsport activities.

“The facts were so obvious that someone (Pat Symonds) apologized,” said the 63-year old Frenchman in the aforementioned interview. “At the World Council, there was only one vote against the penalty,” added Todt. He was probably referring to Bernie Ecclestone.

“We shall return to the issue, especially on the matter of licenses, so that all teams managers have to hold them,” further confirmed the FIA president, referring to the loophole in the rulebook Briatore's lawyers used before the Paris' judges.

The French tribunal argued their overturning the ban by the fact that senior members of the teams involved in the sport do not necessarily have to hold a FIA license for that role. Consequently, the FIA has no right to impose penalties on them.

Shortly after the verdict was issued in the Briatore case, the FIA announced it will consider launching a counter action (legal one, of course) in order to reverse the decision. However, no news about a FIA procedure of this kind surfaced in the media ever since.