• Crashgate Fallout

Briatore to sue FIA for loss of income

ESPNF1 Staff
January 18, 2010 « Button supports motorsport club for disabled | »
Flavio Briatore said he lost Fernando Alonso from his driver-management business after he was banned © Sutton Images
Enlarge

Flavio Briatore has vowed to sue the FIA for loss of income to his driver-management business, now that his ban from motorsport has been overturned in court.

Last September he was banned from attending FIA events and managing FIA licensed drivers, after he was found guilty of being involved in a conspiracy to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. He has now revealed that he lost some of his biggest clients in his management business as a result of the punishment.

"We lost Alonso, we lost Kovalainen, we lost several drivers," Briatore told the Daily Telegraph. "We will sue the FIA for the money we lost."

Since the decision to overturn the ban, Briatore has been allowed to return to his driver-management business, although his ban from attending events will be upheld until the FIA explores its options to appeal the French court's verdict.

He has recently said that he is in no rush to return to Formula One as a team manager.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
ESPN Staff Close