International Court of Appeal upholds Corberi’s 15-year kart ban
Luca Corberi’s appeal against the FIA’s decision to ban him from racing for 15 years following his controversial behaviour in a world karting championship event has been rejected by the International Court of Appeal.


Corberi was condemned by the motorsport community after a video of the 2020 world karting finals at Lonato went viral on social media, where the 23-year-old was seen throwing a bumper at fellow karter Paolo Ippolito after being involved in a collision with him the previous lap.
In another video that emerged later, Corberi appeared to be attacking Ippolito in the parc ferme, with the incident turning into a full-on brawl.
Both the Italian authorities and the FIA launched an investigation into the matter, with the governing body announcing a 15-year-ban on Corberi from competing in professional motorsport at the end of April following a meeting of the International Tribunal.
Read Also:
The Tribunal said it considered a lifetime ban but deemed he should be given the chance to eventually make a return to motorsport upon serving an initial suspension.
Corberi’s defence had previously argued that as the Italian authorities had already taken action against him for the two incidents, the FIA was precluded from issuing further sanctions on the same grounds. They also argued that Corberi’s actions were “in a state of anger, determined by the unjust fact of others” after a collision with Ippolito caused him to retire from the race.
An example of skiing was also given as reference, where an athlete was banned for only a single event after being found assaulting another competitor.
During the previous hearing, the FIA Tribunal had rejected Corberi’s defence, saying that the FIA has independent jurisdiction on the case and the Italian authorities were anyway yet to take action on his behaviour.

Luca Corberi
Photo by: FIA Karting World Championship
Full statement
On 4 October 2020, at the South Garda Karting circuit in Lonato, in the framework of the 2020 FIA KZ Karting World Championship Final, the driver Mr Luca Corberi was involved in the following incidents:
(i) he threw the front fairing of his kart to the track while other drivers were still competing;
(ii) he physically attacked another driver.
On 1 February 2021, the President of the FIA decided to submit this case to the International Tribunal pursuant to Article 4.2 a) of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules.
On 19 April 2021, the International Tribunal, after having heard the parties and examined their submissions, decided to:
- Confirm the disqualification of Mr Luca Corberi from the competition of Lonato, Italy (2020 FIA Karting World Championship-KZ);
Impose to Mr Luca Corberi a suspension (Article 12.3.1.n of the FIA International Sporting Code (1) and a ban (Articles 5.2.2.b (2) and 5.2.2.d (3) of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules) for a period of 15 years starting on the date of coming into force of the decision of the International Tribunal.
(1) The Suspension deprives, for a specified period of time, the person subject to it of the right to take part, directly or indirectly and in any capacity whatsoever, in (i) any Competition organised or regulated by the FIA or the ASNs (or placed under their authority), and (ii) any preparatory testing and training organised or regulated by the FIA or the ASNs (or placed under their authority) or organised by their members or licence‐holders. (Article 12.4.1.n of the 2021 FIA International Sporting Code)
(2) Ban on taking part or exercising a role, directly or indirectly, in competitions, events or championships organised directly or indirectly on behalf of or by the FIA, or subject to the regulations and decisions of the FIA
(3) Ban on exercising within the FIA any duties whatsoever as an executive officer, a member of a commission, or a president of a commission, or any duties of any nature whatsoever on behalf of the FIA and/or within a body of the FIA
On 23 April 2021, Mr Luca Corberi decided to appeal the decision of the International Tribunal.
Decision of the International Court of Appeal
The Court, after having heard the parties and examined their submissions, decided:
Reject the appeal;
Uphold the decision of the International Tribunal (i.e. a suspension and a ban for a period of 15 years).
The International Court of Appeal was presided over by Mr Harry DUIJM (Netherlands), and included Mr Michael GRECH (Malta), Mr Philippe NARMINO (Monaco) and Mr Erich SEDELMAYER (Austria).

Ben Sulayem on what he would do as FIA president
Presenter Will Buxton joins Motorsport.tv

Latest news
20 years on: Porsche’s 911 GT Daytona 24 Hours giant-killing relived
IMSA’s new GTP class for LMDh cars had a more auspicious debut last weekend than the Daytona Prototypes that arrived in 2003. Back then, they were humbled by a GT Porsche 911, which won the Floridian sportscar classic by nine laps.
Entries open for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award story
Entries have opened for the 2023 Williams Autosport Engineer of the Future Award, with budding motorsport engineers invited to apply for the revamped prize.
What really happened when F1 drivers went on strike?
Being a Formula 1 driver is one of those dream jobs, but that doesn't mean everything always runs smoothly.
Lack of job security could hold Vasseur back at Ferrari, says Montoya
A lack of job security is a big negative that could hurt new Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur's ability to do his job, reckons former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya.
The 2022 Autosport Awards winner using Esports as a launchpad
A trail blazed in Esports has inspired a revamp of the annual prize that aims to discover the best young engineering talent. Autosport met Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future winner Michael Preston
The plug in and play stand-ins who got their timing just right
Nyck de Vries’s Italian GP exploits weren’t the first post-eleventh-hour call-up in motorsport history, and won’t be the last either. Here are some offbeat tales from the past
Porsche’s hopeful Le Mans future meets its illustrious past
Rising sportscar star Adam Smalley had to pinch himself when offered the chance to drive the car that won the world’s most famous enduro in 1987
Why romanticism isn't the key factor in Lola’s racing return
The iconic Lola name is being relaunched after it was taken over by new ownership. Part of that reboot is a planned return to racing, though the exact details of this are still to be finalised - though its new owner does have a desire to bring the brand back to the Le Mans 24 Hours. But romanticism doesn't appear to be the driving force behind this renewed project...
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.