The FIA have announced that they will will appeal the French court’s decision to overturn the bans they had placed on Renault’s former team boss Flavio Briatore and former executive director of engineering Pat Symonds. Briatore and Symonds were both banned from the sport for race fixing in the Singapore Grand Prix of September 2008.
The President of the FIA has consulted with the FIA Senate and the FIA’s lawyers about the decision of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris of 5 January and it was unanimously agreed that an appeal would be prepared.
During the FIA President Jean Todt’s electoral campaign last year his team announced new measures of change wold would included a reworked disciplinary procedure. Work on this new procudure has already started and will address the issue of the Court’s judgement once it is in place.
While the appeal is underway, the Word Motor Sport Council’s decision of 21 September 2009 remains in full effect. However, in view of the uncertainty that this may create for drivers who may be affected by this decision, the FIA President and FIA Senate have decided that, pending the outcome of the FIA’s appeal, Superlicences will continue to be issued to qualifying drivers in the usual way.
The FIA President, the FIA Senate, the World Motor Sport Council, and the FIA’s Member Clubs from all countries will take whatever measures are necessary to ensure the continuing integrity and safety of the sport.