Flavio Briatore says ‘extraordinary’ F1 star is the closest driver he’s seen to Michael Schumacher

Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore has seen his fair share of top drivers during his time in Formula 1.

One of Flavio Briatore’s first acts when he arrived at Benetton was to sign Michael Schumacher from Jordan after his F1 debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix.

Eddie Jordan was incredibly excited about Schumacher before his first race, but Briatore immediately recognised his potential and brought him in at the expense of Roberto Moreno.

It was the first of many brutal driver decisions that Briatore has made, and in his new role at Alpine, he might be forced into making another tough call soon.

Jack Doohan is under pressure, having already had two big crashes during the first three race weekends.

Franco Colapinto came out on top in a recent Alpine test, and a swap is no longer off the cards with 21 race weekends still to go.

Briatore has achieved the majority of his success in Formula 1 with Schumacher and Fernando Alonso.

The Italian has admitted that there’s now another driver on the grid who reminds him of the seven-time world champion.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine’s F1 executive adviser Flavio Briatore? Everything to know

Flavio Briatore says ‘extraordinary’ Max Verstappen reminds him of Michael Schumacher

Briatore took part in an interview with La Stampa, and gave his view on plenty of different topics.

One of the questions he was asked was whether there are any current Formula 1 drivers who remind him of Schumacher.

Max Verstappen immediately came to mind for Briatore, who said: “Verstappen. He does extraordinary things.

“And Hamilton: the others are champions, maybe he is the only real star like Senna was.

“We all remember Ayrton: great communicator, handsome guy, spoke five languages.”

Verstappen’s result in Japan was reminiscent of one of Schumacher’s great victories in Formula 1 by winning against the odds.

Although Schumacher’s time at Ferrari saw him dominate in easily the fastest car, he didn’t always have that luxury, in the same way that Verstappen is discovering it’s going to take an incredible effort for him to win a fifth championship in this year’s Red Bull.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Flavio Briatore addresses the Franco Colapinto-Jack Doohan situation at Alpine

Although a driver swap has already taken place after two race weekends, no driver has lost their place on the grid altogether thus far.

Liam Lawson was demoted for Yuki Tsunoda after the Chinese Grand Prix, but he remains in the paddock with Racing Bulls, although his return didn’t go to plan with Isack Hadjar outclassing him at Suzuka.

However, Colapinto could end up racing for Alpine sooner rather than later, with Doohan currently sitting on more penalty points than championship points after three rounds.

Asked when he will put Colapinto in the second Alpine, Briatore explained: “Let’s see, now the priority is to have a top-notch single-seater, to keep up with the four monsters McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.”

He was then asked if Doohan was in F1 because of his father, with Lance Stroll also mentioned, and Briatore denied this and said: “Stroll has his own team and he’s a special case.

“As for Jack, you can be Mick’s son, but if you’re not competitive, you won’t go anywhere; they’re all fast. Of course, it’s not easy.”

Doohan will be all too aware of how much pressure he’s currently under, and he needs a strong performance in Bahrain to dispel some of the suggestions that his F1 career could be over as quickly as it began.