A heated dispute has erupted ahead of the Italian Grand Prix between Flavio Briatore, the executive adviser and de facto team principal of Alpine, and Andrea Stella, the principal of McLaren. The tension follows Briatore's extraordinary allegations regarding McLaren's alleged influence over the FIA court of appeal decision that favored McLaren and Red Bull in their appeals against the results of the Monaco Grand Prix.

On Friday, the court ruled in favor of McLaren and Red Bull, overturning a previous decision that awarded Pierre Gasly of Alpine a third-place finish due to incorrect pit lane speeding penalties. After the appeal, Gasly was demoted to seventh place, while Red Bull's Isack Hadjar reclaimed third and McLaren's Oscar Piastri moved to fourth.

Briatore, armed with a document during a press conference in Monza, accused the court's panel of bias, claiming one judge had ties to McLaren. He stated, "One of the judges act like a prosecutor... He’s linked with the McLaren company."

In response, Stella found Briatore's comments offensive, asserting that such serious allegations require accountability. He defended the integrity of the FIA's judicial process and cited relevant articles from the international sporting code.

Briatore countered, specifically naming judge Filippo Marchino and claiming he was unfairly biased against Alpine. The FIA later clarified its procedures for appointing judges and stated that the panel's composition was disclosed six weeks prior, allowing for potential objections.

On the track, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton topped the first practice session, while George Russell led the second session, indicating a competitive atmosphere as the teams gear up for the race.