Former director of the Renault F1 Team, Flavio Briatore returns to the world of Formula 1 as executive advisor for Alpine. Once banned from the paddocks following the Singapore “crashgate”, the former director of Renault and Benetton intends to bring back the “culture of winning” to the French team.
Absent from the paddocks since 2009, Flavio Briatore is making his big comeback in the world of F1. The former director of Benetton and Renault was appointed “executive advisor” by Alpine on Friday June 21, just before the Spanish Grand Prix. A good omen appointment for the French team which has struggled to score points since the start of the 2024 season. Alpine is in 7th place in the constructor’s championship, with only 8 small units acquired in the last 5 GPs. Briatore intends to bring back the “ culture of winning » in the French team, as he confided to our microphone during the Barcelona GP.
In a particular climate at Alpine, particularly after the clash between Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon in Monaco, Briatore’s mission will be “ searching for top talent and analyzing the driver market “. Ocon will leave the French team at the end of the year and the name of his replacement remains unknown. The Italian director will therefore have a lot to do to bring Alpine back to the forefront.
A great career as a team director…
Arriving in the world of Formula 1 at the end of the 1980s, Flavio Briatore became director of a brand new team: Benetton. To launch this project, the Italian wishes to secure the services of major pilots. His sights set on Nelson Piquet, then triple world champion, but the performances were not there. Briatore will then recruit a promising young driver, author of a beautiful Belgian GP in 1991 (as a replacement) with the Jordan team, a certain Michael Schumacher. With the Kaiser, Benetton and Briatore won their first drivers’ world title in 1994. The following year, Schumacher allowed his team to win a new drivers’ title, but also success in the constructors’ championship. The German’s departure for Ferrari in 1996 led to the decline of the Benetton team and therefore of Briatore. The latter will relaunch very quickly a few years later.
After starting a career in driver management, Briatore founded the Supertec brand, supplier of Renault V10 engines to Williams, Bar, Arrows and… Benetton. Never really far from the world of F1, the Piedmontese found a position in a team in 2000, with the Renault F1 Team. After purchasing Benetton, Renault appointed Briatore as head of Renault Sport UK, then the French branch. Under his leadership, Renault won two F1 world championships (driver and constructor), in 2005 and 2006, with its star driver: Fernando Alonso.
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…Marked by Singapore’s “crashgate”
A one-year stint at McLaren later, Alonso returned to Renault in 2008. His season with Briatore’s team did not go well, with a series of disappointing results. The Spanish driver made up for it at the end of the season, winning the Singapore Grand Prix, then the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks later. Finally, Renault would finish the season in 4th place in the constructors’ championship, while Alonso would be in 5th place in the drivers’ table.
But, in 2009, a revelation about this passage of the season of Fernando Alonso and Flavio Briatore will cause an earthquake in the world of F1. Alonso’s victory at the Singapore GP in 2008 was greatly favored by the accident on the 13th lap of Nelson Piquet Jr, the Spaniard’s teammate at Renault. This off-track incident had actually been planned by Briatore and the Renault engineer at the time, Pat Symonds. This allowed Alonso to benefit from the release of the Safety Car, just after his pit stop.
Briatore’s conclusion on this matter is “disbarred for life” of Formula 1, preventing him from exercising any profession governed by the FIA. The Italian, however, contested his conviction, and after an amicable agreement with the F1 regulatory body, the Piedmontese can resume his services in F1 from 2012. Something he will not do before June 21, 2024, by accepting this position of executive advisor at Alpine, owned by the Renault group. Flavio Briatore thus returns to the world of F1 and. Renault with great fanfare, with the main mission: “ Have Alpine in the top 4 » within 2 years.
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