29/05/2024
NEWS STORY
Reports in the Italian and French media suggest that Flavio Briatore is in talks to take charge of struggling Alpine team.
Corriere dello Sport and L'Equipe both claim that the former Renault boss has had preliminary talks with Renault with a view to taking charge of the F1 project which at present appears to head from one disaster to another.
Briatore was appointed to run the Benetton F1 team by the clothing empire's founder, Luciano Benetton, in 1990, and continued to run the Enstone outfit when it was bought by Renault in 2002.
A controversial, flamboyant figure he guided the team to world championship titles with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso - whom he still manages - until he was fired for his involvement in 2008's Crashgate saga.
Initially banned from all FIA-sanctioned motorsport the ban was subsequently overturned.
Away from F1 his business empire includes the Billionaire brand along with beach clubs in Tuscany and Kenya and a restaurant in London. Between 2007 and 2007 he was also co-owner of a pharmaceutical company.
Earlier this year he had heart surgery to remove a benign tumour, which he subsequently revealed to have been "perfectly successful".
Almost from the moment Renault repackaged as Alpine at the start of 2021 the Enstone-based outfit has struggled, what with losing the likes of Alonso and an upcoming young driver by the name of Oscar Piastri, not to mention almost constant reshuffling of its management and senior technical staff.
The original five-year plan a distant memory, the French outfit only recently opened its 2024 points account, and still sits tenth in the standings with just 2 points to its name.
Just as one might think things couldn't get much worse, on Sunday Esteban Ocon collided with his teammate and is now heading to Canada with a 5-place grid penalty and the threat of being dropped by the French team which is already set to lose Pierre Gasly at season end also.
Other than a poor car, the French team suffers from an under-powered Renault engine, which has been shunned by those teams reliant on customer deals.
According to Corriere, Renault feels that nothing short of a complete overhaul is needed at Enstone, though some feel that the team is already at the stage where it needs - what Mohammed ben Sulayem might refer to as - "refreshing".
While the return of the Flav would bring some much needed colour to the paddock one cannot help but feel that Alpine is already past saving and even if it were possible would require Renault dipping deep into its pockets.
Then again... if the French manufacturer were to be willing to splash the cash, how's about Flav in charge, Fernando and Carlos Sainz driving and Adrian Newey doing the designing?
Mind you, they can forget Coca-Cola as a sponsor!