Briatore furious when he realised Alpine crisis.
“And when I arrived at Alpine, many things made me furious”, he admits. "There was neither presence of mind nor motivation.”
16 Sep 2024
GrandPrix.com

The 74-year-old Italian guided the team to world championship glory no less than four times - twice with Michael Schumacher as Benetton in the mid-90s, and again with back-to-back glory with Fernando Alonso at the wheel of the works Renault a decade later.

Flavio Briatore says he was "furious" when he realised just a few months ago just how far Formula 1's Enstone based team had fallen. “Now I'm here I will keep everyone on their toes, even if it's impossible to do worse than this. We are in the process of restructuring”, said Briatore, who was instrumental in selecting 36-year-old Oliver Oakes, known for leading the Hitech F2 team, to be the new Alpine team boss.

Briatore has denied that he was behind the decision to probably scrap Renault's F1 engine program to save costs, but he emphasised: “I have always won world championships with 30 percent less budget than the competition and I have not forgotten the magic formula.”

‘Briatore furious’;

https://www.grandprix.com/news/briat...ne-crisis.html


Alpine reveal crucial F1 advantage with controversial Briatore hire
Hardly surprising that working with Flavio Briatore has been described as "intense".
14 Oct 2024
Ian Parkes
RacingNews365

New Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes has described working with Flavio Briatore as "intense" but has quickly realised why the former boss has been hired. Briatore, who was the managing director of Benetton in the 1990s and team principal of Renault from 2000 to 2009, returned to Enstone as executive advisor in June, shortly before Oakes' appointment.

As to what he feels Briatore has brought to the party over the past few years, Oakes was complimentary. "He was a winner in F1, he's successful with his businesses out of F1 so you very quickly know he's somebody who's committed, who's pushing, and I wouldn't say doesn't accept a compromise, but you've got to be on it," said Oakes, in an interview with RacingNews365.

"For me, I like that. At the end of the day, day-to-day working with him is intense, but it's good because I've got someone there who thinks the same, who challenges ideas. He brings a lot more than people realise, purely because he's got so much vested interest in Enstone, and it's great for me because you've always got someone by your side, helping you, I wouldn't say, fight battles, but just pushing things along with you, which I think is important.”

“Intense";

https://racingnews365.com/alpine-rev...-briatore-hire


‘Did not go well’: Flavio Briatore reveals what happened when he ‘tried to sign’ Adrian Newey and Carlos Sainz
19 Sep 2024
Rory Mitchell
F1 Oversteer

Alpine talks with Carlos Sainz and Adrian Newey ‘did not go well’. Briatore is known for being a businessman in the F1 paddock and is said to be one of the main instigators behind abandoning Alpine’s engine project at Viry Chatillon in favour of a switch to Mercedes power units for 2026.

Having successfully negotiated driver contracts before, including working alongside Fernando Alonso, it was slightly harder to convince both Newey and Sainz that Alpine would be a worthwhile gamble in the short term.

“We already have good and fast drivers, the problem is the car. I’m not one to buy drivers, I always like them to grow up at home. I did that with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso,” said Briatore. “I believe and hope that Doohan can give us guarantees in 2025. I tried to hire Carlos Sainz and Adrian Newey, but the negotiations did not go well.”

‘Did not go well’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/fla...-carlos-sainz/


Eddie Jordan reveals Flavio Briatore ‘promise’ for Alpine success in ‘magic wand’ verdict
26 Sep 2024
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com

Former F1 team principal Eddie Jordan revealed Flavio Briatore’s “promise” that Alpine will be back on the podium by the 2026 or 2027 season, having struggled in 2024 so far. “No doubt about Alpine,” Jordan told the Formula For Success podcast when asked about which teams could be in among the front-runners in the coming seasons.

“I could be having a meeting with one of my major sponsors, or my bank manager or whoever, and Flavio just burst in. That’s the way he was – but that was reciprocated, I would do the same, and that doesn’t happen now, but Flavio was a very special man in my time in Formula 1.”

“Some things I hated him for, and some things I loved him for, but you know what he will do, and he gave me his word: ‘I promise you, Eddie, by ’26 or ’27, Alpine will be on the podium.’ I’m not going to stand up and say I disagree, because I actually do agree. He has a magic wand that is able to make things happen.”

‘Flavio was a very special man’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/eddie-...uccess-promise


‘Band back together’: Ted Kravitz says Flavio Briatore has just signed a former key Bernie Ecclestone ally for Alpine
24 Sep 2024
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

Flavio Briatore recruits David Warren for Alpine. Speaking about the Alpine F1 team, Kravitz said: “Flavio Briatore is well and truly putting the band back together because David Warren, who if you’re a sort of lifer in or know about the commercial side of Formula 1 was a guy who was a key Bernie Ecclestone lieutenant. He was actually a Team GB athlete in the Moscow Olympics, friend of Frank Williams.”

“David Warren, a sort of long-time key commercial guy in F1 history is back and he’s back with Flav at Alpine. So, Flav is really getting some of the old big names back together.” Warren started life as a middle-distanced runner and as Kravitz alluded to, competed for Great Britain at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. He then went into sponsorship and worked for Camel and Canon – the latter being a principal partner of Williams – before being recruited by Benetton.

Warren went into the team as their new director of marketing and happened to be working with Briatore from 1997 onwards. Benetton were still a strong force within Formula 1 but had just lost world champion Michael Schumacher to Ferrari. It created a partnership between Briatore and Warren that the Italian is now calling upon once again. Alpine need all the help they can get both on the track and off it and if Warren can help bring in some extra cash to fund the necessary improvements to the car – and Alpine’s potential engine deal with Mercedes – then that would be very beneficial.

‘Band back together’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/ted...ly-for-alpine/


‘We’ll be there’: Flavio Briatore hints Alpine could axe Pierre Gasly or Jack Doohan if one driver is available for 2026
10 Oct 2024
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

Flavio Briatore says Alpine door remains open for Carlos Sainz. Briatore’s top target had been Carlos Sainz, who lost his Ferrari seat to Lewis Hamilton. Alpine were involved in a three-team battle with Williams and Sauber/Audi. It briefly looked like Alpine were set to sign Sainz, but Williams eventually prevailed. The Spaniard may have been put off by the instability at his former team.

But if the 21-year-old impresses, then he could leave Briatore and co. with a dilemma. Gasly is a proven performer but Doohan could have a higher ceiling. “We are very happy with Gasly,” Briatore said, as quoted by Motorsport-Magazin. “And now we have a young driver [in Doohan]. If Carlos wants to in 2026, we’ll be there.”

‘Alpine door remains open for Carlos Sainz’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/fla...able-for-2026/


Alpine sale and Briatore exit theory met with emphatic Renault response
8 Oct 2024
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com

The Alpine Formula 1 team is not for sale and reports claiming that former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore was brought back to facilitate a sale are “completely false”. That’s according to Renault chief executive Luca de Meo, who said the French manufacturer would be “stupid” to sell the Formula 1 team.

De Meo said reports of selling the team weren’t true in July, and they’re not true today either. “I read that he [Briatore] was supposed to repackage the project in order to sell the team in the end,” de Meo told L’Equipe. “It’s completely false. I didn’t bring him in to get out of Formula 1.”

“I see the advantages for us of being in Formula 1. Flavio is at the heart of this revitalisation of the project. We are reorganising the team and we are focusing on Enstone. Every fortnight I get calls from financiers, eccentrics, who want to enter F1. They know that after 2026 it will be much more expensive.”

‘Emphatic Renault response: ‘Non’!’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/alpine...theory-quashed