'I WON'T FORGET THE PAIN I'VE SUFFERED'

+ Click to Enlarge HITTING BACK AT HIS ACCUSER: Flavio Briatore and his wife, model Elisabetta Gregoraci, at a film festival. Briatore has threatened legal action against Nelson Piquet after a French court overturned his lifetime ban from F1. Image: AFP

January 7, 2010

Former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore says it's very probable he'll take legal action against Nelson Piquet since his life ban from Formula 1 has been overturned.

Briatore was banned in September 2009 by the International Automobile Federation after former Renault driver Piquet told the ruling body he had been ordered to crash at the 2008 Singapore GP to help his team mate Fernando Alonso win the race.

A French court ruled on Tuesday that the punishment was illegally imposed by the sport's governing body.

Asked about suing Piquet, Briatore told Wednesday's Gazzetta dello Sport: "Very probably. I won't forget the pain I've suffered in a day."

The IAF's lawyer said it would "very likely" appeal the decision to overturn the ban. He added that the decision was not enforceable until all appeal options had been exhausted and noted the court had not reversed the finding that Briatore had conspired to cause an intentional crash.

Despite this, Briatore said he would continue to manage F1 drivers "like always" and threatened to go to court against those who had left him.

He said: "Apart from Heikki Kovalainen and Lucas Di Grassi, my relationship with the other drivers has never changed.

"Now we will look at the situation to see if we can take legal action against those who have broken contracts with us."

The flamboyant multi-millionaire said he would take his time deciding on his general future in F1 and heavily criticised former IAF president and long-time enemy Max Mosley, saying his health had suffered.

"Champagne? No, I opened a Coca Cola because I'm on a diet. I've been eating rubbish for three months," said the 59-year-old, who will become a father again soon.

"We still haven't agreed a name. It certainly won't be called Max!" - Reuters