21/06/2024
NEWS STORY
Alpine has confirmed that Flavio Briatore has been appointed Executive Advisor to the Formula One Division.
With little or no fanfare - not even a press release - the French outfit confirmed the controversial Italian's return in a 38 word social media post.
"BWT Alpine F1 Team announces Flavio Briatore as Executive Advisor," it read. "BWT Alpine F1 Team can confirm that Flavio Briatore has been appointed by Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo as his Executive Advisor for the Formula One Division."
Currently eighth in the standings with 5 points, the man who guided Enstone teams to titles with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso will certainly have his work cut out, though precisely what his work will entail remains to be seen.
A flamboyant, controversial figure, Briatore is unlikely to remain in the background, indeed one only has to look at Red Bull, where Helmut Marko, also a 'consultant', is a powerful figure, not least as the company's Lord High Executioner.
Though Briatore's first job will be to settle the team and hopefully bring to an end the unrest it has suffered for the last few seasons, he is also likely to need to find an alternative engine supply what with Renault looking to pull the plug.
However, the Italian could also be charged with finding a buyer for the struggling French outfit, though with F1's Greg Maffei and Stefano Domenicali insisting that potential buyers a queuing around the block this shouldn't be a problem.
Before a wheel had turned this season, we at Pitpass have been convinced that Renault/Alpine was looking for a way out, and nothing we have seen since has convinced us otherwise, far from it.
For whatever reason - and much of it has to be down to poor management - the French team has lost its way, and whereas the previous successes of the F1 team reflected well on Renault, the current saga is fast becoming an embarrassment.
Esteban Ocon has already announced his intention to leave at season end, while Pierre Gasly will be out of contract, and while Briatore will be eyeing the driver market, we can expect plenty of (wealthy) young 'development drivers' to be signed up.