Flavio Briatore was missing. Since Liberty Media completed the process of acquiring the exploitation rights of the Formula 1 World Championship, the entertainment giant has given the championship a thousand thoughts to make it more attractive. Many initiatives proposed by the promoter have worked, such as the change in weekend format, the proliferation of events at sprint or the bet on Show; a sensation supported by the peaks of popularity that the event has reached, which explodes audiences and attendance figures in most of its events. Other, more random elements have also contributed to increasing interest in a discipline with a unique magnetism, and in which unique characters coexist, across the entire spectrum of the adjective. The last to land is Briatore, who after weeks of rumors was confirmed this Friday as a new member of the leadership of Alpine, Renault’s F1 division, which he directed for 20 years (1999-2009), before being rudely expelled. manner. His role was key in Michael Schumacher’s two titles (1994 and 1995 when the team was owned by Benetton, and also in those won by Fernando Alonso, in 2005 and 2006).
“Flavio Briatore has been appointed by Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo as his F1 executive advisor. Essentially, Briatore will focus on the search for talent, on providing information on the driver market and on the evaluation of the current structure, as well as on some strategic matters of the sport,” explains the official statement, which, as EL PAÍS understands, has generated some concern within the ranks of the French team, whose members are very different from those who worked in it when the controversial leader was expelled, in 2009, as a result of the scandal of the 2008 Sinagapur Grand Prix. In that race, Alonso won after Nelsinho Piquet crashed into the wall, paving the way for the Asturian. The testimony of the Brazilian runner triggered an investigation that concluded that Briatore was responsible for that plan. Consequently, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) imposed a lifetime ban on him, which he later appealed, and won, before the Court of Grand Instance in Paris.
With that serial still unresolved – Felipe Massa fights a battle to have the result of that race annulled and be proclaimed champion instead of Lewis Hamilton – Briatore showed his head this Friday at the paddock of Montmeló. “I will do what I have to do to help the team win races again. I have won several titles, so that can be repeated,” declared this eccentric Italian born in Verzuolo 74 years ago, whose return does nothing more than project the bad moment that Alpine is going through, which went from the fourth place it occupied in 2022, in the table reserved for constructors, to sixth in 2023. With the tenth stop of the calendar underway, it appears eighth in the statistics, with only five points in its locker and without many prospects for a rebound in the short term.
Briatore faces an enormous challenge in the eyes of the majority, although probably less relevant in his own. Basically because we are talking about an individual who has been able to create an empire from the first step as a ski instructor. After several experiments as an insurance broker and stockbroker, he crossed paths with Luciano Benetton, founder of the clothing company that bears his name. As a result of that relationship, the team was born, Schumacher and Alonso appeared, whom he still advises. Despite always being under the scrutiny of the authorities for tax reasons, until now he has always found a way to come out on top. That is exactly what Alpine is pursuing.
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