The FIA International Court of Appeal has defended the integrity of its processes after Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore questioned the independence of one of its judges.
Briatore reignited the controversy during a press conference at the Italian Grand Prix on Friday, shortly after the FIA confirmed that its International Court of Appeal had reinstated the two five-second penalties handed to Pierre Gasly at the Monaco Grand Prix in June.
The decision saw Gasly lose his podium for a second time after initially crossing the finish line in third.
Although Briatore said he accepted the ruling, he questioned the impartiality of Filippo Marchino, one of the four judges who sat on the panel during the August hearing.
Reading from a piece of paper during the press conference, Briatore claimed Marchino had been “very nasty during the hearing” and was “acting as a prosecutor”.
Briatore also questioned Marchino’s alleged links to McLaren, one of the two teams, alongside Red Bull, that had appealed the earlier decision to reinstate Gasly to third place.
“I’m very surprised this guy has the link with McLaren,” Briatore said.
The FIA International Court of Appeal responded on Saturday morning, rejecting any suggestion that its judge-selection process had been influenced or lacked impartiality.
While the statement did not directly name Briatore, it referred to case ICA-2026-06-07-08-09, the hearing involving the appeals lodged by McLaren and Red Bull.
The latest development adds another chapter to the dispute surrounding Gasly’s Monaco result, with the FIA now publicly defending the independence of its judicial process following Briatore’s comments.
