"My conclusion is that he is there to sell Alpine": F1 pundit on why Flavio Briatore has joined the French squad

F1 pundit Joe Saward claimed that he believed Alpine F1 hired their former team principal, Flavio Briatore, as their 'executive advisor' to oversee the sale of the French team. There has been a lot of discourse over the return of the controversial Italian to the F1 paddock after he was banned from the sport for 15 years due to his involvement in the 'Crashgate' scandal in the 2008 Singapore GP.

The FIA imposed a lifetime ban on Briatore, who guided the Enstone-based team to multiple championships under his leadership in several guises. However, the ban was lifted by a French court in 2010.

Ahead of the 2024 Spanish GP last weekend, Alpine announced him as the executive advisor to the team hired by Renault CEO Luca de Meo to help improve the flaying performances of the team. But in his Green Notebook, Saward wrote that the Italian was hired for a different role:

"My conclusion is that he is there to sell Alpine (the whole car division) within a couple of years after he has tried to increase its value. Hopefully, he won’t be telling drivers to crash this time."

If this is the case, Saward also advised the team personnel to look for jobs in other teams that are hiring, adding:

"I am not sure I’d want to work there, but Renault boss Luca de Meo thinks Briatore will be a magnet for talent. Honestly, if I was an Alpine employee I’d be sending out my CV to Aston Martin, Williams, or Visa Cash App, all of which are in the F1 cluster and all of which are hiring."

Alpine advisor explains his role on his F1 return in Spain

Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore stated that he won't be taking over the role of team principal as that already belonged to Bruno Famin but his role was to make the team competitive in the coming years.

Speaking with Sky F1, the controversial Italian said:

“I’m working with Bruno, I’m working with everybody. For me, I’m working with Luca. This is my job, I report to him and we try together to get the best performance for the team. I’m not changing the tires yet. I don’t want to change the tires, I don’t want to drive the car.

“I just want to be competitive. In two years’ time, we will be there. I want to give my contribution. We have a team principal who is doing a very good job, we have an organization working together and I’m sure we’ll put everything together in a very short time.”

The French team had not made any official statement regarding their intention of selling the team or getting a new engine supplier for the 2026 season as they look to claw their way back into the midfield in the 2024 season after a dismal start.