Alpine appoints Flavio Briatore as Executive Advisor

14 years after being dismissed for his involvement in the 2008 ‘crashgate’ scandal, Flavio Briatore will return to the Formula 1 paddock with Alpine as the team’s Executive Advisor.

In a short statement released on social media, Alpine announced the news, saying:

“BWT Alpine F1 Team can confirm that Flavio Briatore has been appointed by Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo as his Executive Advisor for the Formula One Division.

“Briatore will predominantly focus on top level areas of the team including: scouting top talents and providing insight on the driver market, challenging the existing project by assessing the current structure and advising on some strategic matters within the sport.”

Known for his controversial role in the Singapore ‘crashgate’ saga which earned him a now-overturned ban from the sport, the former Renault Team Principal will find himself working in an advisory capacity with the Enstone-based team.

Briatore has shared many successes in the sport with the Benetton and Renault teams, guiding the likes of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso to world championship glory before initially being handed a lifetime ban from the FIA.

The lifetime ban handed to the Italian for manipulating Nelson Piquet Jr.’s crash which caused a Safety Car and allowed Alonso to win the Singapore Grand Prix was overturned in 2010, with Briatore staying close to the sport as Alonso’s manager and notably playing a key role in orchestrating the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Alpine, a team lacking in success as it stands, will lean on Briatore as driver decisions and the question of whether to remain an engine manufacturer or become a customer team in 2026 are thrown around.

Image: Michael Potts / LAT Images

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