Briatore Accuses FIA Judge of McLaren Bias in Monaco Appeal
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 4, 2026
Briatore bias claim
Flavio Briatore accused one of the judges in the Monaco Grand Prix appeal case of bias toward McLaren, sharpening the fallout from a dispute that has already reshaped the result. Briatore made the claim at Monza during a press conference after Friday’s opening practice for the Italian Grand Prix. He identified the judge as Filippo Marchino and said Marchino had ties to McLaren through a 2018 speech in Beverly Hills and work connected to the One Drop Foundation. Briatore also said Marchino had acted like a prosecutor.
Briatore said Alpine accepted the court’s decision but believed the hearing was unfair. He said Alpine had not known about the alleged link before the hearing and was still weighing its next legal steps. The comments added another layer to a case that began with Pierre Gasly’s original third-place finish in Monaco in June. Gasly was then dropped to seventh after two time penalties for pit lane speeding. Those penalties were briefly overturned before McLaren and Red Bull appealed the decision, sending the case back before the court ruled on Friday.
Monaco appeal ruling
The court’s ruling on Friday restored Isack Hadjar to third place, moved Oscar Piastri up to fourth and pushed Gasly back to seventh. That outcome closed the loop on a chain of appeals that started after Gasly’s penalties changed the top positions in Monaco. The case centered on the review process itself, and the decision settled the standings after McLaren and Red Bull appealed.
The appeal also put Alpine in the middle of a dispute over how the hearing was handled. Briatore’s remarks made clear that the team viewed the process as flawed even after the ruling went against it. He said Alpine had accepted the decision, but his criticism of Marchino suggested the team remained concerned about the fairness of the process. The matter now sits at the intersection of race results and procedural trust, with the original track order from Monaco replaced by the court’s version of events.
McLaren response, FIA review
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella pushed back strongly, calling Briatore’s remarks “quite insulting.” Stella said anyone making public allegations of that kind would have to take responsibility for them. He also said McLaren and Red Bull pursued the appeal to seek clarity and consistency in FIA sporting rules, not only to recover points. Stella added that the court process met the highest standards.
The FIA said it would review judicial procedures, including the right of review system. That move points to broader questions that go beyond one race result. The case has now touched the result in Monaco, the conduct of the hearing and the structure of the review process itself. Briatore framed the issue as one of fairness and impartiality. Stella defended the appeal and the process behind it. The FIA’s review suggests the governing body sees room to examine how such disputes are handled in the future. For now, the outcome stands, the arguments continue and the Monaco appeal has become a wider test of trust in how Formula One settles protests and reviews.
