Although the FIA have made several controversial decisions in the past, they have rarely lost in court appeals. But, former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan was an individual who even made the FIA bend their back in court by threatening to involve Scotland Yard.
Feeling that his driver Jarno Trulli was unjustly disqualified from the 2001 US Grand Prix at Indianapolis, Jordan took the matter up to the FIA International Court of Appeal. However, the reason that prompted the Irishman to appeal the FIA’s decision was nothing less than shocking.
On the Formula for Success podcast, the 76-year-old revealed that he received an anonymous tip that one of the three stewards whose signature appeared on the bulletin was never present during the race weekend.
As a result, Jordan decided to create a fake story of having to go to the forensic department to investigate the signatures himself. He then used this story to get a subpoena issued to a member of the FIA.
“He (former FIA president Max Mosley) said, ‘Jordan, you’re being silly. This is never going to work. Why you bringing this to Paris’,” Jordan explained his conversation with Mosley back then. “I said, ‘Listen Max, you will notice on your desk tomorrow morning from our lawyers a subpoena request for a certain person’.”
This was when Jordan came up with his ingenious story of approaching Scotland Yard to investigate the signatures. “I have had to go to the forensic department of Scotland Yard, which was an absolute lie, but he (Mosley) swallowed it,” Jordan added on the podcast.
Since Jordan was able to prove that a steward, who was not present for the race weekend in Indiana, had his signature on the bulletin, his team were able to win the case in court without presenting any other evidence that led to Trulli’s disqualification in the first place.
Since this was the first time that any team won a case against the FIA in court appeals, it is a fact Jordan is very proud of.
Why did Trulli get penalized though?
The stewards disqualified Trulli since the rear hole of the wooden plank attached to the underside of his car was deemed to be 1.5 mm thicker than what the regulations permitted. The resulting disqualification promoted Eddie Irvine to fourth with Nick Heidfeld moving to fifth.
However, after the FIA International Court of Appeal found that a steward whose signature appeared on the bulletin was not present at the venue, they deemed the filing to be “a breach of the right of defense” and a violation of the International Sporting Code.
As a result, Trulli was reinstated to fourth.
