Adrian Newey to Alpine? After rumors of Flávio Briatore joining Alpine, reports emerge of Briatore being in talks with Newey

In what would be a monumental move in F1, Alpine's new consultant, Flavio Briatore, has already set the wheels in motion for Adrian Newey to join the team. So far, there is no official confirmation from the French brand that Flavio would be joining the team, but according to Italian publication Corriere Dela Serra, he has already accepted the offer.

Flavio is rumored to join Alpine as a consultant/advisor role. As part of the role, he appears to be going after Adrian Newey and as reported by the Italian publication, there have already been talks held between the two parties.

On Adrian Newey's side, it does appear that the options for him to come back to F1 are still on the table, but there's nothing meaningful yet that has made him take the plunge and sign anything. Ferrari as his next destination was supposed to be a done deal but that did not seem to materialize, with AMuS reporting that the Italian squad is not interested anymore.

PlanetF1 reached out to an Alpine spokesperson to confirm the development but nothing was revealed as such. They said,

”As a team, we are in frequent contact with a number of industry experts in pursuit of improving overall performance. We consider all relevant inputs and, when appropriate, seek advice from people with experience and previous success. We cannot comment on any individual matters.”

Adrian Newey's future options alongside Alpine

For Adrian Newey, Alpine will not be the only option at this stage. The former Red Bull ace designer has been approached by multiple teams, including Williams, McLaren, and Aston Martin.

Adrian Newey had not shown an inclination to join Aston Martin because of uncertainty around the team's future. At the same time, Williams acknowledged that it had reached out to Adrian to rekindle what would be an almost 30-year-old partnership.

In all of this, Alpine makes a lot of sense, as signing Flavio is certainly a sign of intent toward making progress and reaching the front of the grid. Adrian Newey's future has captured the attention of everyone in the paddock, and it will be interesting to see where he does end up ultimately.

Flavio Briatore also has a long history of success and controversy in F1. The Italian was the man who took Renault in its previous guise to the top of the sport in 2005-06. The team won two consecutive world titles with Fernando Alonso and beat Michael Schumacher in Ferrari.

Flavio was also, unfortunately, part of the crash gate saga that saw the Italian order his driver to crash at a particular moment in the F1 Singapore GP 2008. The order was given to help Fernando Alonso (the second Renault driver) win the race. The partnership, if it does go through, is certainly going to be interesting between the two of them.