Briatore: « In the end, I came back because I believe I can turn the team around »
Flavio Briatore, executive advisor to the Alpine F1 Team, is confident about the team's future: according to him, the team will be able to start winning races as early as 2026, and fight for the championship from 2027.
In an exclusive interview given to Autosport, Flavio Briatore shared his goals for the Alpine F1 Team, recalling that he has been involved with this team from the beginning, before it changed names several times.
Briatore, appointed as executive advisor, explains: « I came back because I believe I have the opportunity to turn the team around. »
Winning Grand Prix in 2026, aiming for the championship starting in 2027
The challenge does not scare him. He has already contributed to the team’s success when it was called Benetton, and no one believed in it outside the team.
In 2026, we will have the Mercedes engine and, by then, we need to integrate more experienced people into our team. It was the same at Benetton: people said it was a joke because we were a t-shirt manufacturer, but after we started winning races, everyone wanted to join the team, and people began to pay attention. It was the same with Renault.
« If everyone works together, I believe that in 2026 it will be possible to win races and, in 2027, to fight for the championship », he stated confidently.
The importance of choosing pilots
At the start of the season, Alpine F1 Team is counting on Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan, while Ryo Hirakawa, Paul Aron, and Franco Colapinto have been appointed as reserve drivers.
« We will start the year with Pierre and Jack, I can guarantee you that. After that, we will see how the season evolves », declared Briatore to Le Parisien. Nothing is set in stone, and the executive advisor reserves the right to reshuffle the lineup of main drivers to do what is best for the team’s success. The threat to Doohan has never seemed more tangible, especially after his early retirement from the Australian Grand Prix due to rain.
His vision of Alpine’s situation
All positions of responsibility are equal.
This is what Flavio Briatore suggests, explaining that for me, Formula 1 is like running a restaurant. It’s the same thing. It’s about managing people. And we have to make sure that 1,000 people work in the factory, and I have the responsibility for their salary.
He also assures that employee performance is not to blame for the team’s difficulties: « I still see the quality of the team, I can see it. The problem was the frustration related to how it was structured. Everyone needs to be under the same roof. »
One more victory to go after
The executive advisor of Alpine F1 Team insists that he has already succeeded in leading this team to victory: first under the name Benetton, then Benetton-Renault (in 2001), and finally Renault.
We did it with Benetton. We did it with Renault. If you look at what we accomplished with Benetton, Renault, it was the same film, we just changed the actor.
He continues the metaphor to specify the drivers associated with the team’s great victories:
« At Benetton, the actor was Michael Schumacher and at Renault, the actor was Fernando Alonso. Now, we have to make another film, but we do not yet know who the actor will be. »
For Flavio Briatore, leading Alpine to victory seems to be almost a formality. But while he seems to have little doubt about Alpine’s success, he admits that 2025 will be a complicated year that needs to be carefully handled to allow for winning Grand Prix starting in 2026. “This season is important because we need to prepare for 2026 when we will have to start winning races,” he says.
