Briatore rules out F1 return

(GMM) Flavio Briatore on Friday ruled out returning to formula one.

The 59-year-old Italian said the FIA is pushing ahead with appealing a French court's overturning of his lifetime motor racing ban, in the wake of the 'crashgate' scandal.

But when asked about possibly returning to F1 as a manager or a team owner, the former Renault team boss told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "I exclude it 100 per cent.

"I still have affection for F1 even if it would have been better to have left at the end of 2006 when Alonso won his second title."

Earlier this week, Briatore said he missed some aspects of his former involvement in the sport, but not F1 itself.

He also confirmed that he stepped down as chairman of the London football club Queens Park Rangers in order to spare the Football Association the "embarrassment" of being linked to the Singapore race-fixing story.