Andrea Stella did not let Flavio Briatore’s criticisms of the handling of the hearing that decided on the return of Pierre Gasly’s penalties at the Monaco GP, released this Friday (4), go unanswered. The McLaren boss described the accusations of lack of impartiality as offensive and stated that Alpine should respond to them publicly.
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The case ended this week with the FIA International Court of Appeal reinstating Gasly’s two five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane. The Frenchman had finished third but initially dropped to seventh. Later, Alpine managed to annul the penalties by questioning the measurement made in the pit lane.
McLaren and Red Bull contested the review, taking the process to a panel of four judges. One of them, Filippo Marchino, was targeted by Briatore, who claimed that the magistrate had ties to McLaren. Stella’s response was immediate:
“I consider that this conference, going in this direction, is quite offensive to McLaren. The hearing, the entire International Court of Appeal, was conducted to the highest standards, and we should not question this stage in the way it was done.”
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Although the decision favored McLaren with Oscar Piastri moving up to fourth place and gaining two points, Stella said that was not the main reason for the appeal: “It is a decision that we definitely welcome. It is important because, first of all, it brings clarity regarding the application of Article 1.1.1 of the International Sporting Code, which is fundamental. We appealed because we wanted to ensure that this clarity was achieved. We had concerns that went beyond the fact that we could lose two points in the championship.”
For Stella, the case could set a precedent for the entire category, as all teams were present at the hearing. “This is not only important for McLaren. Actually, not just for Red Bull, but all teams were present at the hearing because this was a very important moment to clarify how we apply the rules and how we ensure consistency.”
Regarding Briatore’s accusations, Stella emphasized that statements of this kind should not be made without responsibility: “For the reputation of a team that deserves a lot of respect, if someone makes this kind of accusation, which seems quite serious, they will have to take responsibility for what they are saying in a public forum,” he concluded.
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