He has a foundation, it's called One Drop Foundation, and McLaren gave two or three McLaren cars.
I think it was quite unfair that one of the judges was linked with a team protesting us.
He's very linked with McLaren."
McLaren team principal Stella was sat on the same sofa as Briatore as he made the allegation, which he said was "quite insulting for McLaren, for the reputation of a team that deserves a lot of respect".
McLaren declined to comment further on the matter, a spokesperson telling Express Sport that Stella "said what needed to be said in the press conference".
McLaren boss Andrea Stella objected to the public allegation made by Flavio Briatore
An extraordinary press conference saw Andrea Stella threaten consequences for fellow Italian Flavio Briatore after the Alpine chief suggested one of the International Court of Appeal judges which ruled against his team was affiliated with McLaren. The allegation was made after it was announced that McLaren and Red Bull had been successful in their appeal against the result of the Monaco Grand Prix.
The F1 stewards overturned their own penalties for pit lane speeding given to Pierre Gasly in the days after the Monaco race, which took place in early June. But that decision was appealled and the case was heard at the ICA in Paris last month, before the panel's verdict was communicated on Friday. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
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In a team statement, Alpine said they were "disappointed and frustrated" with the verdict, but boss Briatore took things further a few hours later when he made his scheduled appearance in the team representatives' press conference, which took place between the two practice sessions held at Monza on Friday.
Reading from a sheet of folded paper, he name-checked one of the panel of judges who he then accused of being linked with McLaren, claiming that he had behaved "nastily" towards Alpine during the case. He said: "This is very unfair, firstly, but we accept the decision. But what was very strange was, [there were] four judges on the panel, and one of the judges acted like a prosecutor. For this, not a big problem. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
"The problem is he is very linked with the McLaren company – we have a nice picture of this guy at a speech for McLaren in 2018 in MSO Beverly Hills. He has a foundation, it's called One Drop Foundation, and McLaren gave two or three McLaren cars. I think it was quite unfair that one of the judges was linked with a team protesting us. This is unfair. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
"The judges normally are independent completely and this judge, he has kind of an Italian name but he's American, Filippo Marchino. Filippo Marchino, as a judge, was very nasty during the hearing and was acting as a prosecutor. And, after we found out, what is the reason why he was so nasty, this guy? He's very linked with McLaren."
McLaren team principal Stella was sat on the same sofa as Briatore as he made the allegation, which he said was "quite insulting for McLaren, for the reputation of a team that deserves a lot of respect".
The Italian went on to threaten consequences for Briatore, adding: "If anybody makes these kind of allegations, which seem quite serious, they are going to have to take the responsibility for what they are saying in a public forum. The hearing, the whole International Court of Appeal, was conducted to the highest standards and we should not question this phase like it has been done."
McLaren declined to comment further on the matter, a spokesperson telling Express Sport that Stella "said what needed to be said in the press conference". Both Alpine and the FIA also declined to comment further.
