Alpine F1 Team has just announced the recruitment of Flavio Briatore as Executive Advisor. The charismatic former boss of Benetton and Renault returns to the fold of the French team with a clear mission: to raise the bar of a team in difficulty.
An unexpected return for the 74-year-old Italian
Flavio Briatore, emblematic figure of Formula 1 in the 90s and 2000s, is making his comeback in the paddock. The 74-year-old Italian joins Alpine F1 Team, heir to the Benetton and Renault teams that he managed in the past. Its functions, announced in a brief press release before the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix, are clearly defined:
Ambitious objectives to turn around the team
Briatore's role within Alpine will be multidimensional:
Recruitment of key talents: both at the level of the technical team and the driversProposal of structural changes to optimize the organization of the teamStrategic advice on all aspects linked to the team's performance
A difficult context for Alpine
This recruitment comes in a delicate context for Alpine F1 Team:
The arrival of Briatore is part of a desire for renewal, alongside the new technical director David Sanchez, recently recruited.
The challenges that await Briatore
Among the priority projects for the Italian:
Choosing Pierre Gasly's teammate for 2025: Jack Doohan, current reserve driver, or a more experienced name? Prepare the team for the new 2026 regulations: a crucial deadline for Alpine's future in F1. Restore the team's competitiveness: regain the level of performance that allowed Alpine to finish 4th in the manufacturers' championship in 2022
A bold bet for Alpine
By calling on Flavio Briatore, Alpine is banking on the experience and charisma of a man who has had great success in F1, notably with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. This recruitment demonstrates the ambition of Luca de Meo and Groupe Renault to place Alpine among the best teams in the field.
The return of Flavio Briatore to Formula 1 is undeniably one of the notable events of this 2024 season. It remains to be seen whether the Italian will be able to breathe new life into Alpine and bring the French team back to the forefront. The next few months will be crucial to judge the impact of this recruitment on the team's performance.
Flavio Briatore makes his comeback in F1 at Alpine: a strategic recruitment to relaunch the team
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