Bruno Famin defends the intake of Flavio Briatore by Renault/Alpine back in F1 after all these years, as rivals share their thoughts on it.
As expected, the announcement of Briatore returning to F1 has resulted in mixed reactions certainly. On top of that, the Italian has made his comeback with the team from where he was banned for the infamous ‘crashgate’ saga back in 2008/09.
He was at the helm of Renault then and returns to the French company with Alpine as Luca de Meo’s executive advisor. He will help the F1 team in various commercial matters which includes driver scouting as well as top level talents, to help the team move forward.
Having been banned by the FIA then which was overturned later, the general feeling was that no one would likely work with Briatore on moral grounds. But the Italian returning with the same team he had the controversy with, seemingly sends a wrong signal.
There were questions, naturally, put towards Alpine chief Famin. The Frenchman stressed on looking forward with Briatore rather than dwell in the past. That was the general feeling with his F1 rivals too. On the fan side, there is some disappointment certainly.
Briatore hiring –
Famin: “Flavio is going to bring his experience for sure. He’s a 40 years’ experienced guy in Formula 1. He knows how to operate a winning team. He has a very good record and quite a number of world titles. And he will bring this experience, this fighting spirit to the team. He’s going to advise the team. We will work together, of course. He’s the advisor to the group CEO, but he will advise the team, and we are going to work and to talk permanently together, for sure.”
Gasly: “I spoke with him couple of times in Canada in the hospitality. Obviously it’s quite busy so it’s not like we had very long conversations but it was interesting. Obviously he’s got a lot of ambitions which is similar on my side. We both want to be seeing the team fighting for top positions, very motivated so I’m excited and looking forward to work with him over the next couple of months.”
Reputation, past issues –
Famin: “I already answered questions about the past and I don’t really mind about the past. I’m always looking about future and trying what we can get and to get our team better. And that’s really our goal. And what I see with having Flavio as an advisor of the team is the opportunity to have his experience and to help us. He has a very high-level knowledge of Formula 1. He knows a lot of people. And I’m sure he will support us in developing the team faster and better. That’s all. I’m looking ahead, not backward.
“There is a very clear goal to improve the competitiveness of the team as soon as possible and as fast as possible. And we are looking for strong support. We are very happy to have received, again, David Sanchez, technical director. Very good opportunity. We have been able to seize it very quickly. And same thing for Flavio, I think the target is to make the team better as soon as possible and counting on the knowledge, the network, the influence of Flavio with us, it’s an asset and we are using all available assets and we will still look for new assets to make the team stronger.”
F1 team bosses speak up –
Toto Wolff: “I think we need to give the chance to recover from these situations. I have known Flavio as an extremely smart businessman. He has a lot of know-how in Formula 1. Every input that I got over the last 10-plus years that I’ve been in much more contact – and I have a friendly relationship with him – was in a way helpful. There is a lot of experience and expertise that, like Bruno said, 40 years of Formula 1 do. And I think everybody deserves the opportunity to come back. And for me, for sure, having another clever mind in Alpine, someone that is able to simplify things and apply common sense, is in any case, where Alpine is today, is a benefit.”
Frederic Vasseur: “First, I don’t want to make any comment on what’s happened in another team. I have enough to do with mine. But overall, I think it’s probably, as Bruno said, a step forward for Alpine. And it’s good for F1 at the end if Alpine is coming back into the fight. We know the story and I think he paid the price of this and if now he’s allowed to come back, he can come back.”
Alessandro Alunni Bravi: “I agree, of course, with what Toto and Fred said. I never judge anyone if I don’t know him personally and I didn’t experience a relationship with him, so I’m not in the position to judge Flavio. I can just look at the track records he had in Formula 1 and also the inputs on the commercial side that he has given to Formula 1 in the last years, bringing sponsors, bringing new venues that have been important for the development of Formula 1. I think that, you know, if he’s able to join the team it means that the ban is expired. So I think that, as Fred said, you know, we need to look at the future and give the people a chance, you know, to give a contribution. We need, you know, clever people in Formula 1. And I think that Flavio, we can say that he’s a clever one.”
Here’s news on Flavio Briatore returning
Here’s Alpine pair on confusing Spanish GP performance
Here’s link to a F1 Discord channel, join in to interact
