Briatore critical of FIA, wants reforms after Singapore

Former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore has been critical of the way the FIA behaved in Singapore. Speaking to the Italian Lapresse he gave the organisation an insufficient mark.

The race in Singapore was not officially over until several hours after the chequered flag fell. Because Sergio Perez had not kept the right distance from the safety car, it had yet to be seen whether a penalty would be applied. In the end, the FIA decided to give the Red Bull driver a five-second time penalty, which did not change the result.

Briatore, who in the past had been active in Formula 1 as a manager and team boss for over 25 years, thinks the FIA should improve their approach. "It's not Formula 1's fault, it's FIA's fault, and we absolutely have to change. This can ruin a race and affect the championship. If there had been a foul, why wait hours when you can decide in a minute with all the technical means to exhaust?"

Treat it like a business

According to Briatore, the FIA should be set up more like a business. More use of technical expertise, in other words, and capable managers running the organisation. According to Briatore, that knowledge and expertise used to be there but are not being used enough now.

Briatore was himself team boss of Benetton and Renault in the past, with which he managed to win a total of four championships. In 2009, the FIA suspended Briatore from Formula 1 for the rest of his life after controversy surrounding the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, an incident later known as 'crashgate'.