Flavio Briatore has accused a "nasty" FIA judge of having a "working relationship" with McLaren in an extraordinary outburst against the British team on the eve of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.
The controversial Briatore -- who had a lifetime Formula 1 ban overturned for fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix -- arrived for Friday's team representative news conference armed with an A4 piece of paper.
He proceeded to take aim at McLaren, just hours after it had been confirmed that Alpine driver Pierre Gasly had been stripped of his podium from June's Monaco Grand Prix.
Gasly finished third at the round in Monte Carlo only to be hit with two five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane.
The sanctions dropped him to seventh -- elevating Red Bull's Isack Hadjar to third. Alpine appealed against the post-race punishment and Gasly was reinstated. However, that decision was undone following a protest by McLaren and Red Bull at an FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA) hearing last month. Hadjar reclaimed third and McLaren's Oscar Piastri moved up one place to fourth.
Filippo Marchino was among one of four judges overseeing the case. But Briatore suggested the American-Italian lawyer was in cahoots with McLaren.
He alleged the British team has previously provided an international non-profit organisation, One Drop Foundation, of which Marchino serves as a director, with "two or three McLaren cars."
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McLaren team principal Andrea Stella described Briatore's accusations as "insulting," "disrespectful," and warned he will have to "take responsibility" for his remarks.
"It is very unfair, but we accept the decision," said Alpine chief Briatore. "But what is very strange was the fourth judge in the panel. One of the judges acted like a prosecutor.
"This is not a big problem. The problem is that it is very linked with the McLaren company. We have a nice picture of this guy [Marchino] at a speech for McLaren in 2018 in Beverly Hills.
"He made a foundation. It's called One Drop Foundation. And McLaren gave two or three McLaren cars. So, what is unfair is that some judge was linked with one of the teams that is fighting us.
"The judge normally needs to be independent completely. Filippo Marchino is a judge and he was very nasty during the hearing. And afterwards we found out why this guy was so nasty, he is linked with McLaren.
"The judge has to be independent and not somebody doing a speech for McLaren, and somebody using the McLaren car in the charity. To find out the judge had a very good relationship -- a working relationship -- with McLaren was very disappointing."
In response, Stella, sitting to Briatore's left, fired back: "I find that this conference going in this direction is quite insulting for McLaren, for the reputation of a team that deserves a lot of respect.
"And if anybody makes these kinds 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 space like it's been done."
An FIA spokesperson said: "The eligibility of candidates for membership of the International Tribunal and International Court of Appeal is checked by the eligibility assessment committee (EAC), in accordance with the FIA statutes.
"The FIA judicial and disciplinary rules (JDR) provide that for each case before the ICA, a judging panel is constituted comprising at least three judges. The members of the judging panel are appointed by the president of the ICA. Candidates who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in the FIA statutes and who are deemed eligible by the EAC are then put forward for election by the FIA general assembly (GA)."
