"Other people will tell you he's a bloody cheat" - F1 insider on how Alpine boss Flavio Briatore is perceived

Will Buxton explained on the latest season of Drive to Survive that while some people perceive Alpine boss Flavio Briatore as a legend, others will tell you a story of his fraudulent past. The Italian returned to the Renault group as an advisor for the Alpine F1 outfit in 2024.

While Flavio Briatore's official title at Alpine is executive advisor, he has essentially been put in place by the Renault bosses to call the shots, even outranking team principal Oliver Oakes. The hope within the team will be that the man who led Team Enstone to four Drivers' titles and three Constructors' titles in the past can help steer the team in the right direction once again.

While some people within the F1 paddock seemed to welcome the return of a somewhat charismatic figure, some were critical of allowing Briatore back into the sport. He was banned by the FIA after his involvement in the 2008 Crashgate Scandal, wherein the Renault team were accused of race fixing.

Briatore's ban was subsequently lifted in 2009, but he did not make his return to the sport until he was asked by F1 to work with them in an unofficial ambassador capacity in 2022. Now he has returned back to the sport officially, and F1 pundit Will Buxton explained the two opposing views within the paddock about the 74-year-old's comeback, in the latest season of Netflix's Drive to Survive. The YouTube channel NavF1 posted this clip from the show, in which the pundit said:

"Some people will tell you that he's one of the greatest team managers that sport's ever seen. Other people will tell you that he's a bloody cheat."

Briatore was the team principal who helped Michael Schumacher win his first two championships in 1994 and 1995 with the Team Enstone, which was then known as Benetton. He later led the rebranded Renault F1 team, still operating out of Enstone, guiding Fernando Alonso to his two drivers' championships in 2005 and 2006.

In the series, former Williams team principal Claire Williams even claimed that Briatore was the 'poster boy of F1', back when he was the Renault team principal.

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"I don't care" - What Alpine boss Flavio Briatore said about people questioning his return to F1

Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore having a conversation with his former driver Fernando Alonso - F1 Testing in Bahrain - Day 3 - Source: Getty

Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore was asked what he has to say to the people who do not want him to return to F1. The Italian simply replied by saying he is strong and rich enough to not care about what other people say about him.

In the aforementioned video posted by NavF1 on YouTube, there was also a clip from DTS, wherein Briatore gave a brutal response when asked to reply to his critics. He said:

"Me? I'm strong enough, I'm wealthy enough to tell everybody to stay away from me. I don't care."

Briatore led a controversial yet flamboyant lifestyle, especially when he was the team principal of Renault up until 2008. During that period, he was known as a flashy personality who even dated celebrities, including multiple supermodels.

The Italian's reign at Alpine is expected to be ruthless, which was already showcased in DTS when he tells new Alpine driver Jack Doohan that he will control every step of the young Aussie's career now. He even mentioned that his idea of leading an F1 team is through 'democractic dictatorship.'