Andrea Stella engaged in a tense war of words with Flavio Briatore in Friday’s press conference. Image: XPB Images
Pierre Gasly was stripped of third place for a second time on Friday after the FIA International Court of Appeal upheld challenges brought by McLaren and Red Bull against the removal of his two five-second penalties.
Gasly had originally dropped from third to seventh after being penalised for pitlane speeding in Monaco, before Alpine successfully used a right of review to have the sanctions overturned when an error was discovered in the pitlane measurement used by Formula One Management.
That reinstated Gasly to the podium, but created an issue for rivals who had served similar penalties during the race and therefore could not have them removed retrospectively.
McLaren and Red Bull subsequently appealed, with the court ruling in their favour and returning Gasly to seventh in the classification.
The decision restored Isack Hadjar to third and moved Oscar Piastri back into fourth, but the fallout took another dramatic turn when Briatore and Stella appeared alongside one another in Friday’s team representatives’ press conference at Monza.
Briatore accepted the ruling but questioned the independence of one member of the four-person panel, alleging judge Filippo Marchino had connections with McLaren.
“I think it’s very unfair. We accept the decision, but what is very strange was there were four judges on the panel and one of the judges acted like a prosecutor,” Briatore said.
“It was four judges, and this one was really a prosecutor against the FIA, against us, against FOM.
“Afterwards we found out what is the reason why this guy was so nasty. It’s very linked with McLaren.
“We have a nice picture of this guy [giving a] speech for McLaren in 2018 at MSO Beverly Hills.
“He has a foundation, it’s called One Drop Foundation and McLaren gave two or three McLaren cars, and this was quite unfair.”
Gasly stripped of Monaco podium again after appeal upheld
Briatore continued to question whether Marchino should have formed part of the panel given what he claimed were links with McLaren.
“We accept the decision, we accept everything, but it’s quite strange to have one guy in the panel linked to the team,” he said.
“This is unfair. The judge normally needs to be independent completely.”
Stella, sitting alongside Briatore during the exchange, initially attempted to steer the discussion towards the substance of the appeal before delivering a forceful response to the Alpine executive advisor’s claims.
“I find that this conference is going in a direction that is quite insulting for McLaren, for the reputation of a team that deserves a lot of respect,” Stella said.
“And if anybody makes these kinds of allegations, which seem quite serious, they are going to have to take the responsibility for what they are saying in a public forum.
“The hearing, the whole International Court of Appeal was conducted to the highest standards, and we should not question this case like it’s been done.”
Stella then turned his attention to why McLaren had pursued the appeal, insisting the issue extended well beyond the additional two championship points Piastri received by moving from fifth back to fourth.
“It’s a decision that definitely we welcome,” he said.
“It’s very important, because it adds clarity in relation to the application of Article 1.1.1 of the International Sporting Code of the FIA, which is foundational for anything that derives from there.
“We appealed because we wanted to make sure that this clarity was sought. We had concerns which were beyond the fact that we might have lost two championship points.
“Probably these two championship points are not going to make any difference. We were concerned about the application of sporting equality and fairness.
“This is important and this is not only important for McLaren.”
Alpine expressed its “disappointment and frustration” with the outcome in a statement and maintained Gasly did not exceed the pitlane speed limit, while acknowledging the decision reached by the court.
The team said it felt it had been “unjustly punished” by the ruling, but insisted the setback would not derail its focus as it continues to fight for position in the championship.
“This outcome will not deter the team’s efforts and motivation in achieving its objectives by the end of the season,” Alpine said.
The FIA has meanwhile confirmed it will review elements of its timing methodology and judicial procedures in the wake of the case, including the right of review and appeal processes.
The governing body said it would also examine the methodology and operation of Formula 1’s current timing system, along with the related regulatory matters.