After a long absence from the Paddock, Flavio Briatore, returns to F1, now also as Team Principal of the French team Alpine, replacing Oliver Oakes. Briatore is an integral part of the history of many F1 teams such as Benetton and Renault and now Alpine. But who is he today? And why can he still be in F1?
The Benetton Years and Schumacher's First World Championships
In 1988, thanks to Benetton, we witness Briatore's first appearance in the world of Formula 1. In the role of executive director during the Australian Grand PrixThe first years at Benetton were tough for everyone, the team was not yet fully established, and internal policies were faltering.
In 1991, Briatore wisely hired a very young Michael Schumacher to support the then first driver of the team, Nelson Piquet. The years in which the Italian actively participates in the history of the team are years of growth and development for the team itself, which with many difficulties in '94 and a retirement of Nelson Piquet, the team wins the Constructors' Championship and Schumacher his first drivers' world championship. This feat will be repeated in 1995.
The golden years of the Team ended very soon, however. In 1996, the two-time world champion Schumacher, and some technical members, left the team to join Ferrari. This meant, for Briatore and the Benetton team, the end of the years of massive splendor.
The Renault Experience and Crash-gate
The collapse of the Benetton team brings us to a few years later, in 2001, Renault buys the Benetton team, from which the team will take its name. In this new context, Briatore manages the team as Team Principal. Even with this big change, the team takes a few years before getting back on track, until 2003, when it arrives Fernando AlonsoThe Spaniard had until then only been a test driver, but after his first pole and a victory in Hungary, things began to change.
2005 and 2006 were the years in which Alonso won his two world titles and the Renault Constructors. A bit of panic when the silly season made public in the middle of the 2006 season the move of Fernando Alonso to McLaren for 2007, where he would remain for just one year. Until his return in 2008. The year of his farewell.
During the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Renault's second driver Nelson Piquet Jr. was involved in a disastrous accident. This event made the number 14's victory possible, but Briatore will be investigated for the accident. On August 30, 2009, the FIA opened an investigation against the Team Manager, at the end of which he will be accused of having expressly asked the young Brazilian driver to crash with his own car to allow his teammate to win.
On September 16, 2009, the FIA decided to ban Briatore for life from motorsports and to ban the Renault team for 2 years, conditionally. His name was later cleared following his appeal.
And today? The return to F1 with Alpine
So what is Briatore doing in an F1 team today? After the crash-gate, probably no one expected to see him again in the Paddock, and yet on May 21, 2024 the official announcement arrives: the Italian will be Executive Advisor. And these days… also in the role of Team Principal.
Since his return, the team has undergone numerous shocks. In fact, already during the 2024 season, there was talk of a major turning point involving Alpine: starting from 2026, the cars will no longer have the historic engine, but rather a new engine Mercedes brand new. It seems that the French team has started to recover with the arrival of the Italian, accumulating precious points during the previous season, and also conquering a podium with both its drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. When it came time to choose, however, the team had no doubts, and kept Gasly as its lead driver, who this year is proving to be fast in qualifying and efficient in the race, albeit with some difficulty.
The reasons that pushed the former Team Principal, Oliver Oakes, to leave his role, are not entirely clear to date, except for some indiscretions that give wings ... What we know is that Briatore, in his new role, has wasted no time in changing the cards on the table. So today the team finds itself saying goodbye to the driver Jack Doohan, to welcome franc Colapinto as the new driver for the team. The next races will be crucial to understand whether Briatore's was a farsighted decision or a bad oversight.
Will Flavio Briatore be able to revive the fortunes of the Alpine F1 team as he did with Benetton and Renault? And above all, what will the paddock think of seeing him back in the role of Team Principal after the events in which he was the protagonist in 2008?
