UAE Representative Says He Wanted to Keep Renault Racing to Benefit Abu Dhabi's Inaugural Grand Prix

As Flavio Briatore today considered taking legal action over his de facto life ban from motor sport, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the United Arab Emirates' automobile club president and FIA vice-president for sport, gave some insight into the World Motor Sport Council's controversial decision to give Renault nothing more than a suspended ban.

Speaking to his local newspaper, The National, Ben Sulayem said: "We did our negotiations before and everybody is happy with the result. The verdict is fair and everyone is a winner."

Apart from appearing to suggest the matter had been settled before the court sat in session yesterday, Ben Sulayem also hints there were wider considerations than Briatore's role in fixing last year's Singapore grand prix by ordering Nelson Piquet Jr to crash.

"I had to be loyal to my country as well as motor sport," said Ben Sulayem, whose nation hosts its first grand prix on 1 November. "Protecting the investments Abu Dhabi has made into Formula One is my duty; it is a big show and it needs teams. We all want to see Renault [in Formula One]. This is the result everyone wanted."

Ben Sulayem caused great personal embarrassment in April when he crashed a Renault F1 car during a demonstration at the Dubai Autodrome. The multiple Middle East rally champion had not driven a current F1 car before and, six seconds from the start, he gave it too many revs, the rear tyres gripped and he spun into the pit wall. The impact damaged the front of the car and ripped off the left rear wheel, bringing Renault's road show to a halt.

Briatore, meanwhile, has said he wants to prove his innocence and win compensation for damage to his image. "I am distraught," the 59-year-old Italian was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.

Carlos Gracia, head of the Spanish motor sport federation and a member of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council, was also shocked by the punishment. "It seems to me excessive. There was no clear proof against him and he was not able to defend himself either," he told the Spanish sports newspaper AS. "Moreover, I wouldn't rule out him going to ordinary justice because he has been left without his means of earning a living."

Sports lawyers believe Briatore could have a case for arguing that the FIA's ruling is disproportionate. "All lifetime bans in sport are difficult," said Stephen Hornsby, a partner at Davenport Lyons, who has acted in numerous sports regulatory inquiries. "However, it's a different situation from an athlete because you're basically taking away their livelihood. Briatore is a businessman, he can go and do something else. He's got a chance of getting it down to 10 years. Under EU law, bans have to be proportionate. He will argue that a lifetime ban is not."