The F1 media make him out to be a villain, but he’s actually an ‘amazing’ person behind the scenes

Formula 1 has its fair share of strong personalities in the paddock. Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko is by far the most notorious.

The Austrian has been pivotal in the success of the Milton Keynes-based outfit, winning eight drivers’ titles with the team, courtesy of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. But Marko is better known for his brutal handling of multiple drivers.

Several drivers have been dropped from Red Bull under the 81-year-old’s tenure, most notably Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo and Nyck de Vries. Marko has already made a driver swap in 2025, as Liam Lawson was demoted to Racing Bulls after just two races.

The New Zealander failed to extract any performance out of the RB21, getting knocked out in Q1 in every session. Marko even wanted him gone after the season opener in Melbourne, but Christian Horner saved Lawson and gave him a second chance in Shanghai – he qualified last twice that weekend.

This alone highlights how Marko can be what many in the media perceive as a ‘villain’ in F1 with his often outspoken personality and cutthroat decisions. Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore also comes under that category.

Oliver Oakes says Flavio Briatore is ‘amazing’ at Alpine despite ‘villain’ perception in the media

The Italian returned to the sport last year, having previously worked in Enstone when the team was known as Benetton and Renault. Briatore was banned from F1 for the Crashgate scandal at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, but F1 reversed the decision.

The 75-year-old is also notorious for making brutal decisions with drivers. He could follow in Marko’s footsteps in 2025 as Briatore puts pressure on Jack Doohan to keep himself in F1.

Despite how the media perceives him, Alpine boss Oliver Oakes says Briatore is ‘amazing’ behind the scenes. Alongside the team principal and Renault CEO Luca de Meo, he has given the team the support that was ‘missing.’

He said via F1 Explains: “I often see that in F1, certain people are made out to be the villains, sort of in the media or externally. Helmut, who I’ve worked closely with over the years, is the same.

“And I think both of them, probably because they’re older and they’ve had to make some tough calls, get quite a bit of stick.

“But actually, they’re amazing and if people really saw how they care about the team, the drivers and how invested they are, they’re great to have around.

“And from my point of view, I’m really enjoying it with Flavio, and with Luca too. There’s a trio there.

“There’s a lot of support from the team and I think it’s something, yeah it was definitely missing before and you can feel that within the team now.”

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

Alpine’s driver line-up is still uncertain ahead of the Miami Grand Prix

Briatore has, and will, be key for Alpine’s recovery from the back of the grid. The Enstone outfit started 2024 with arguably the slowest car, but managed to salvage sixth in the constructors’ championship.

It has been a difficult start to 2025 for Alpine, with Pierre Gasly scoring just six points thus far. Teammate Doohan has been struggling, with two huge accidents in Melbourne and Suzuka hindering his season.

The Aussie has been close to Gasly’s pace, however, with Alpine engineers saying Doohan is ‘nearly there.’ He is set to be given until the summer break to save his seat, but that may not be for definite.

Alpine are still in crisis over the driver line-up for the Miami GP, with Franco Colapinto being linked with the 22-year-old’s seat. Doohan has an alleged six-race contract, which is up after the Saudi Arabian GP.

Colapinto does not currently know if he will be in the car in Miami. Both drivers will want to know Alpine’s decision sooner rather than later as they look to recover a poor start to the season.