F1: Flavio Briatore wants to make Alpine a champion team

The Italian seeks to put the French team at the top of the World Cup. “In 2026 it will be possible to win races and in 2027, fight for the championship,” he said.

Flavio Briatore is Alpine’s strong man. He arrived at the team in 2024 as Luca de Meo executive advisor, Renault’s World CEO to try to channel a team that wandered at the bottom of the construction table. It was the return of Italian to a world of which He was expelled from life after sending Nelsinho Piquet in Singapore 2008 to favor the strategy of his partner Fernando Alonso; Although the perpetual sentence lasted a year because it quickly received the pardon. Although he had no direct participation in the World Cup, he worked next to Stefano Domenicali, the CEO of F1. Meanwhile, he dedicated himself to administering his three brands of subtaruantes (Billionaire, Twiga and Crazy Pizza), plus the licenses of Cipriani Montecarlo and Cova Montecarlo). The chain includes stores in Mikonos, Marbella, Malindi, Dubai, Porto Cervo … until, in a talk with De Meo, his return to the world of formula 1 was raised.

“After 15 years outside Formula 1, I followed some races on television. One day I called Luca. I told him that I was very sad to see the team in these conditions, because it was my team. I created this team. I built the factory and there they won world championships. So I told Luca: ‘Let me see if possible, if I still have the same book I had before, to form this team.’ AND We started talking, but there was a condition, I wanted to be in command completely, “said Briatore in an interview he gave to Motorsport.com.

The Italian playboy statement only endorses something that was tacit: Oliver Oakes, the team director, is the one in the mud, in the meetings that Flavio is not interested in spending again as when he was Benetton director and, then, of Renault, the predecessor teams that led to the current alipne. “I needed a team director because I needed someone on the ground. The best possibility for us was Olly. It is young. It is ambitious. Know the business. He is a teammate. It is pleasant with the people and lives 20 minutes from the factory, “said Briatore.” Those were the foundations and then, little by little, we were building. We hired more people and the team began to have more credibility. It is a project. We found new sponsors and we started looking for pilots. In the end, I came back because I think I have the possibility of turning the team around, “he added.

The goal of the tycoon is to put the French Team in the fight for the crown in 2027. It seems ambitious, although it relies on the change of technical regulations that will enter into force in 2026 and there the deck will be distributed again. “This season is important because we have to prepare for 2026, when we have to start winning careers. In the 26th we will have the Mercedes engine and, meanwhile, we need to incorporate more people with experience to our team. It is the same as in Benetton, people said it was a joke because we were a shirt manufacturer, but after we started winning some races, everyone wanted to come to the team, people began to pay attention. The same as in Renault. If everyone works together, I believe that in 2026 it will be possible to win races and in 2027, fight for the championship. “

Alpine has a titular formation composed of Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan. The pilot squad is completed with three reservations: Franco Colapinto, Paul Aron and Ryo Hirkawa. Asked about the reason for having such a large squad, Briatore was clear: “I prefer to do what is better for the team. If you have two pilots, the choice is between two pilots. If you have five, the choice is between five. For me, Formula 1 is how to manage a restaurant. People are managed. And we have to make sure that 1,000 people work in the factory and I have the responsibility of their salary. We did it with Benetton. We did it with Renault. If you see what we did in Benetton, Renault was the same movie, we just changed the actor. In Benetton, the actor was Michael Schumacher and in Renault, was Fernando Alonso. Now we have to make another movie, but we still don’t know who the actor will be. ”