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A French court has overturned former Renault Formula 1 boss Flavio Briatore’s lifetime ban from motorsport.

The Italian was banned by governing body the FIA in September for his part in the Nelson Piquet Jr race fixing scandal at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

But the judge told the Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI) in Paris yesterday (Jan 5): “The court ruled the sanction was illegal.” Briatore was awarded 15,000 Euros in compensation.

The TGI also overturned the five-year ban imposed by the FIA on Renault’s former engineering head Pat Symonds and awarded him compensation of 5,000 Euros.

The FIA has 15 days to pay the compensation or it will have to pay a penalty of 10,000 Euros per day, although its legal team is considering launching an appeal.

Briatore had claimed that former FIA president Max Mosley was “blinded by an excessive desire for personal revenge” in pursuing the case. Briatore also announced in November that he would be seeking one million Euros compensation.

Briatore will now be free to return to F1 and to continue his ownership of Championship football club Queens Park Rangers.

He said he will enjoy his “moment of happiness” before deciding whether to re-enter the world of motorsport: “I would like to express my great joy with the decision handed down by the Tribunal de Grande Instance.

“I believe it important for the FIA to play the active role it deserves in automobile competition.

“As a sports person and one passionately involved in car racing for more than 20 years, the decision to apply to the civil courts to contest a decision of the FIA was a difficult one for me to take.

“The fact the World Motor Sport Council had been utilised to deal with a personal agenda aimed at pushing me out of the world of competition left me no other choice.

“The decision handed down today [Jan 5] restores to me the dignity and freedom certain people had arbitrarily attempted to deprive me of. I believe justice has been done.”

However, the FIA pointed out in a statement that the court did not exonerate Briatore or Symonds of conspiring to cause Piquet’s crash in Singapore which helped team-mate Fernando Alonso win the race.

“The court has rejected the claims for damages made by Mr Briatore and Mr Symonds and their claim for an annulment of the FIA’s decision,” the FIA statement read.

“In particular, the court did not examine the facts and has not reversed the FIA’s finding that both Briatore and Symonds conspired to cause an intentional crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

“The FIA’s ability to exclude those who intentionally put others’ lives at risk has never before been put into doubt and the FIA is carefully considering its appeal options on this point.

“The court’s decision is not enforceable until the FIA’s appeal options have been exhausted. Until then, the World Motor Sport Council’s decision continues to apply.”