Ex-Renault team boss Flavio Briatore is planning on launching legal action against the FIA, the Italian media has reported.
Reports suggest former Renault team boss considering legal action
Flavio Briatore is devastated after receiving a life ban for his part in the Renault race-fix scandal, the Italian media has reported.
The 59-year-old was handed the punishment by the FIA on Monday after it found that he had ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash in last year's Singapore Grand Prix in order to benefit team-mate Fernando Alonso.
"I am distraught," the 59-year-old was quoted as saying by
Gazzetta dello Sport.
Reports said he was planning on launching legal action against the FIA in the Paris courts to try to prove his innocence and win compensation for the damage to his image.
Briatore left his role as Renault team principal last week along with engineering head Pat Symonds, who received a five-year ban for his part in the scandal.
Renault did not contest the accusations and were handed a suspended permanent ban that will last until the end of the 2011 season.
Briatore, a leading figure in the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) who pushed for a breakaway series during the summer, did not attend Monday's Paris hearing.
He has been banned from all motor sport activities, including managing such drivers as Piquet, Alonso and Red Bull's Mark Webber.
Reports in Italy have also speculated that he might now consider setting up a rival series to Formula One.
