Flavio Briatore is officially back in Formula 1 as a team principal, nearly 20 years on from the Crashgate scandal.
Strangely enough, he resumes effectively the same position he resigned from back in 2009 following Oliver Oakes’ Alpine resignation.
Briatore is a leader who rules with an iron fist. He won multiple titles with Benetton and Renault between 1994 and 2006, and is well clued in on the politics of Formula 1.
It now becomes his job to lead the Enstone-based outfit from ninth in the constructors’ championship, back up to where they should be.
After promoting a new driver to the team this week, Franco Colapinto sent a one-word message to Briatore to share his excitement over the move.
After a difficult Miami Grand Prix, Briatore refused to accept that Jack Doohan was under pressure. His poor performance would cost him his seat after just six races.
READ MORE: Oliver Oakes and Flavio Briatore now disagree about Jack Doohan’s F1 future amid Franco Colapinto rumours
Flavio Briatore’s two-word response to Formula 1 return with Alpine
For those unaware of why Briatore left Formula 1 in the first place, he was involved in the 2008 Crashgate scandal, where Nelson Piquet Jr crashed on purpose at the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix.
It helped teammate Fernando Alonso win the race, but was cheating, of course. The new boss left the team at the time to protect them.
Now that he’s back, he has issued a two-word response to doubters who say that he shouldn’t be allowed to return to the sport while speaking with Sky Sports F1’s Craig Slater.
“I remember putting it to Flavio himself,” he said. “What do you say to those that say you shouldn’t be back in F1 after Crashgate and all that happened?
“He had a two-word response, one of which I can’t repeat, the other word was off. You speak to a lot of people who were at Endstone in that period, and they would have run through brick walls for Flavio Briatore.
“He has immense charisma and he gets things done. He’s old school F1 in that sense, you can’t help thinking that Mercedes engine deal could put them in the top bracket or there or thereabouts next season,” Slater continued.
“So, let’s see how they go, these are convulsions, but they might lead to a better, a more effective team at the end of the day.”
READ MORE: Flavio Briatore made life ‘extremely hard’ for Esteban Ocon with one decision before he left Alpine
Can Flavio Briatore lead Alpine back to the front of the Formula 1 field
Ever since Braitore returned to Alpine in a role last season, it appeared that it may only be a matter of time before he ended up in the hot seat again.
He’s in a position with complete authority over their lineup heading into the 2026 F1 regulations, as they become a customer team for the first time since they were Lotus in 2015.
Stangely enough, they used a Mercedes power unit for just one season that year too, before they returned to being a works Renault team.
With yet another leadership structure in place, Braitore is their sixth different team principal since the end of 2020.
However, he’s a unique hire in the sense that he knows the sport very well. It’s hard to find someone with more experience and knowledge of winning on the market. He will be ambitious.
