Briatore snubs Mosley olive branch, insists he's in the past

Having been contacted by his former arch-nemesis and ex-FIA President Max Mosley on the birth of his first child, Flavio Briatore insists he has 'no place' for the man who tried to get him permanently banned from F1 over the explosive 'Singapore-gate' race-fixing scandal

22 Apr 2010

Flavio Briatore has revealed that former FIA President Max Mosley - the man who sought to see the Italian banned from F1 for life - sent him a text message to congratulate him on the birth of his new child recently, but he remains adamant that 'in my future there will be no place for him'.

Having resigned from his post as managing director of Renault F1, Briatore was subsequently barred indefinitely from involvement in any FIA-sanctioned form of motorsport by the governing body's World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) last September, for the leading role he was adjudged to have played in the explosive 'Singapore-gate' race-fixing scandal twelve months earlier.

However, that ruling was subsequently overturned by the French High Court at the beginning of this year, with the Paris hearing concluding that there had been 'irregularities' in the WMSC procedures and tending to agree with Briatore's contention that Mosley had been 'blinded by a desire for personal revenge' and as such had denied him the right to a fair trial by presiding over the equivalent of a kangaroo court.

The Englishman stepped down from his 16-year tenure in the most powerful position in international motor racing only a month after the WMSC reunion - to be replaced by ex-Ferrari team principal Jean Todt, under whose jurisdiction Briatore and co-conspirator Pat Symonds have been cleared to return to the grand prix paddock in 2013.

Mosley has since reportedly contacted his arch-nemesis to congratulate him and model wife Elisabetta on the birth of their newly-born son Falco - but Briatore has made it clear that he is in no mood for any reconciliations or bridge-building.

"He sent me a text message to congratulate us on the birth of Falco," the 60-year-old told Italian magazine Chi, "but Mosley is part of my former life. In my future there will be no place for him. I'm happy for Jean, my friend of 20 years. Thanks to him, the FIA can now quietly and serenely breathe new air."

Having repeatedly protested his innocence during the whole salacious episode - as Symonds and whistle-blower Nelsinho Piquet both conversely admitted under questioning to having been privy to the plot - Briatore added that whilst he might be able to forget, forgiveness for the damage done to his reputation will not be so easy.

"It was very bad for my story," he explained. "I suffered an injustice, but the truth, the power of truth, wins every time."