Flavio Briatore and the
FIA, that is not a good combination. After the flamboyant Italian was once banned from the sport by the motorsport federation (which has since been reversed), the relationship between the two parties is anything but pleasant.
A week after Briatore took a swipe at the
FIA for its performance in Singapore, he is already angry about the next incident. Seven days earlier, there was the anger that the FIA had thought far too long about a possible penalty for
Sergio Perez. This time there was anger over the penalty for
Charles Leclerc at Suzuka. One reason for the outburst? According to Briatore, the FIA had imposed a penalty on him far too quickly, after barely three minutes of deliberation.
Briatore is particularly annoyed that Leclerc received a penalty - for cutting the chicane - when it was not worth a five-second penalty at all.
"He returned to the track with the same lead as Red Bull. At most a reprimand," Briatore found on his
Instagram. Briatore would have preferred Leclerc to have been given a final warning.
The Italian says he was surprised by the way the penalty was accepted. On his account, he says no one is saying anything about it, no newspaper is writing about it. It surprises the former Benneton team boss, who also points out that
Max Verstappen's world title was fully deserved.