According to Scottish Daily Express, Flavio Briatore said justice had been done but may not return to F1 life after a French court overturned his life ban from motorsport.
Briatore and the three judges agreed that former FIA president Max Mosley had indulged his long-running personal battle to have undue influence in having the flamboyant Italian thrown out of the sport for race-fixing.
Last September Briatore, the Renault F1 team principal, and Pat Symonds, his technical director, were summoned to an FIA court after sensational evidence that they had ordered a driver to crash.
Briatore was handed a lifetime ban by the governing body for F1, while Symonds was thrown out for five years.
“I would like to express my great joy,” said Briatore. “As a sports person and one passionately involved in car racing for more than 20 years, the decision to apply to the civil courts to contest a decision of the FIA was a difficult one for me to take.
“The fact that the World Automobile Sport Council had been utilised to deal with a personal agenda aimed at pushing me out of the world of competition left me no other choice.
“The decision handed down today restores to me the dignity and freedom that certain people had arbitrarily attempted to deprive me of.
“Let me take a little time to enjoy this moment of happiness after this difficult period. As concerns my possible return to F1, there is plenty of time to talk about this.”
While Briatore is free to restart his life as a team boss or driver manager, it seems he may now concentrate on other business ventures, including Queens Park Rangers FC.
The FIA notes the Decision of the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris in relation to Briatore and Symonds.
The Court has rejected the claims for damages made by Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds and their claim for an annulment of the FIA's decision. In particular, the Court did not examine the facts and has not reversed the FIA's finding that both Briatore and Symonds conspired to cause an intentional crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
However, the Court did question the FIA's authority to impose bans upon Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds for procedural reasons and because they are not FIA licence holders and, according to the Court, are therefore not subject to any FIA rules. The FIA's ability to exclude those who intentionally put others' lives at risk has never before been put into doubt and the FIA is carefully considering its appeal options on this point.
The Court’s decision is not enforceable until the FIA's appeal options have been exhausted. Until then, the World Motor Sport Council’s decision continues to apply.
In addition, the FIA intends to consider appropriate actions to ensure that no persons who would engage, or who have engaged, in such dangerous activities or acts of intentional cheating will be allowed to participate in Formula One in the future.
