"I'm very disappointed": Alpine bringing Flavio Briatore infuriates 22x F1 race winner

Former F1 world champion and 22x race winner Damon Hill couldn't hide his frustration at Alpine bringing back Flavio Briatore. The Italian's tainted past has become the talk of the town ever since it became apparent that he was returning to the paddock.

For the uninitiated, Flavio Briatore was unceremoniously banned for life from the F1 paddock for his involvement in arguably the biggest scandal in the sport. In 2009, Briatore was the team principal of Renault(in its previous avatar in F1) when it became apparent that he was one of the masterminds of the Crashgate scandal.

Briatore was dropped from Renault as the French brand would take a step back as a constructor from F1. While Flavio's lifetime ban was revoked later and he was eligible to come back to the sport anytime, the fact that he's come back with Alpine, a Renault subsidiary, is all the more ironic, especially since it was the Italian who fast-tracked the brand's exit from the sport in the first place.

Alpine bringing back Flavio has certainly infuriated Damon Hill, as the British former champion questioned why the team principals were fine with him coming back and no one said a word. To add to this, he questioned what Flavio brought to the table at his advanced age. He told Sky F1,

“It’s extraordinary. I just don’t get it. It’s baffling to me. I’m very disappointed. I listened to the team principals’ [press conference] and they’re all saying: ‘Why are you so surprised? It’s Flavio. He knows the sport, he’s got an incredible history of bringing forward bright ideas into the sport.’

He added,

“And that’s all well and good, but really? What is he going to bring? It’s opaque to me, I don’t quite get [it]. Is this [what Alpine wants] going forward? He’s not young. It doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t be there, I’m sure he got lots of interesting ideas and perhaps he can encourage or give confidence to the team to make decisions that are a little braver than they would otherwise do.”

Alpine's Flavio Briatore is good at playing 'fast and loose'

Alpine's new signing also has a history with Damon Hill, as the Italian was the team principal of Benetton when Michael Schumacher took the two world titles battling against the Brit.

Even during that time, Flavio's team had been allegedly using traction control in 1994 (which was banned at the time). Damon Hill also hinted at that when he said that one of the things Alpine needs at this stage is maybe having someone who operates in the 'fast and loose' and does not get bothered by the convention of rules. He said,

“[Alpine are] hidebound in a way, aren’t they, as they are? Maybe they need someone else, like Flavio, who can make that decision for them and then they can wash their hands of the whole tricky subject of whether they’re a works Renault team or what they are."

He added,

"But what he’s been good at [what] I would say [is] playing fast and loose. And I’m using that term quite pointedly because that’s what Flavio [does]. He’s not bothered by the conventions of the rules, obviously – that’s why he got into trouble."

Alpine is a team in disarray at this stage. The brand is looking for a power unit supplier and doesn't have even a single driver tied down for 2024. Flavio Briatore is certainly a signing that has turned heads. Will this signing bring results? We'll have to wait and see.