A controversial return
In the Barcelona paddock the most debated ‘off-track’ topic was certainly that of return within a team, with an operational role, of Flavio Briatore. The former Benetton and Renault team principal has in fact agreed to take on a consultant position within the Alpine team. Called by his friend Luca De Meo, Briatore immediately began to tackle some situations head on, from the lack of competitiveness of the single-seater to the delicate topic of the 2025 driver line-up.
Attack and response
Many of the professionals have decided to erase Briatore’s controversial past with one stroke of the sponge, who in 2008 was banned from Formula 1 due to the Singapore Crashgate, only to be subsequently rehabilitated also due to formal defects in the disqualification sentence issued by the FIA. However, it was the 1996 world champion who remembered this stormy past Damon Hillwhich he expressed very critical and worried words regarding Briatore’s return to the Circus as a protagonist.
Questioned by Sky Sports F1Briatore has responded caustically to Hill and to all his critics with a “fuck off” easy to translate. Also speaking to the British broadcaster, Briatore also ruled out that his entry into the team is a prelude to a future future return to the role of team principal: “We already have a team principal, we have Bruno [Famin], there are no problems – declared the Cuneo manager, who will however report directly to Luca de Meo – It’s my job, I tell him what I notice and then we guarantee the best performance of the team. I have no intention of changing tires or even driving the car – he added jokingly – I just want to be competitive. We will be ready in two years”.
