Ecclestone voted against Briatore ban – Mosley

(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone actively voted against Flavio Briatore receiving his lifetime ban from involvement in motor sport at the recent crash-gate hearing of the World Motor Sport Council.

When the F1 chief subsequently arrived in Singapore from the Paris meeting, he suggested that "on reflection" he believed the FIA sanction against his friend and business partner had been too harsh.

"I was on the commission so I am probably just as guilty as anyone else. On reflection it wasn't necessary," said the Briton, whose stance was interpreted as condoning cheating and slammed by the F1 owner CVC's director Sir Martin Sorrell.

During an interview with London's Evening Standard newspaper, FIA president Max Mosley revealed that the 78-year-old billionaire actually voted against Briatore's lifetime ban.

"The council did not vote unanimously," he said. "A substantial majority were in favor of punishing Briatore but Bernie was in a minority."

[Editor's Note: Why would Bernie not vote to ban Flavio after such blatant cheating? Perhaps Flavio fell on his sword for Bernie to generate all the free PR F1 got for yet another controversy. What will be the next controversy?]