Already in the 90s Flavio Briatore defined Formula 1 as “a business, not a sport”, demonstrating that he had already understood the direction that Bernie Ecclestone would have imposed on the category. And the Englishman, patron of the circus during the years of the rise and then fall of the Briatore Team Principal, played an important role in the return to F1 of the Piedmontese manager.
the phone call
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The former director of Fom, who will turn 94 in October, said he was contacted by telephone by Luca De Meo, CEO of the Renault group. “We spoke for a long time. He was desperate,” Ecclestone explained to Blick, “then Briatore’s name came up. We immediately agreed that, in a confusing situation like the one the team is facing, a man of action would be needed, a bandit among the angels. After all,” jokes the Englishman, “there are already too many saints in Formula 1.”
the first decisions
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The Italian manager, already Team Principal in the years of success with the Renault-Alonso tandem, thus returns to the team in the role of executive advisor with the ambition of rebuilding a structure that is still very fragmented and with two drivers, Ocon and Gasly, who in the first seven races of the world championship have only managed to collect one point. And Briatore’s hand has already been seen in the choice of who will drive the French single-seater in 2025: Ocon and the team will separate at the end of the year while Gasly has signed a multi-year renewal while waiting for the arrival of Carlos Sainz Jr. Briatore has not hidden his desire to focus on the Spaniard for the future of the French team: “There is a lot of interest in him”, he confirmed in Austria, demonstrating that he has not lost his direct approach even in negotiations.
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the right man
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“Flavio’s great strength has always been not to drag out discussions too much, to do and think big,” Ecclestone confirms. “You don’t need friends in Formula 1, you just need success.” In addition to the Sainz Jr. front, Briatore is moving with Mercedes to obtain the supply of engines starting in 2026. A broad and long-term vision, perhaps exactly what the French team’s management has lacked so far. It’s hard to say whether Flavio will be able to revive the team’s fortunes, but what is certain is that if Alpine was looking for a man of action, it seems to have chosen the right profile.
