Formula 1 Advisor Flavio Briatore Identifies Weak Leadership as Alpine’s Major Setback

In a candid interview, Flavio Briatore, the influential advisor to the Alpine Formula 1 team, attributed the team’s recent struggles to poor management. Briatore believes that weak leadership has hindered the team’s performance, resulting in a decline in their fortunes.

Lack of Strong Management Cited as the Primary Issue

Pointing to the lack of strong management as the primary reason for Alpine’s woes, Briatore acknowledged the importance of overhauling the top position at the squad. This ultimately led to the appointment of Oliver Oakes as the new team principal before the summer break.

“There was no management,” Briatore emphasized. “I believe the problem of Alpine was this one. At one point, I believe they chose a few wrong managers. I think the list of the wrong ones was quite long. We have no list of the good ones.”

Briatore highlighted the challenges of managing a team like Alpine from a remote location, stressing the need for daily presence at the Enstone facility.

“You need the presence, daily presence. It’s very difficult to manage one team like Alpine from Paris or from another place.”

A Tumultuous Period for Alpine and Renault

The Alpine and Renault teams have faced a tumultuous period, with three team bosses in just over 12 months. Briatore is optimistic that Oakes, 36, will bring a much-needed injection of youthful enthusiasm and passion to the team.

“Ollie is enthusiastic, young, ambitious: that’s what we need in the team,” said Briatore. “To turn around this team, you need the young people, you need the people with a lot of passion for the job.”

Oakes, who takes over from Bruno Famin, has identified huge untapped potential at the squad based on his initial impressions.

“I think first, Enstone has something which money can’t buy: it has a racing spirit, it has a history,” he said.

Revitalizing the System and Realistic Expectations

Briatore, who has spent months evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of Alpine’s operation, believes a shake-up is necessary.

“You need to revitalise the system. We need doing the electric shock.”

Oakes added: “I call it the Flavio tornado…” While optimistic about Alpine’s future, Briatore cautions against setting overly ambitious targets, advocating for a realistic approach.

“I tell you to be realistic. We want to look for some podiums in 2027. The situation we have is not ideal.”

With the intense competition in Formula 1, Briatore acknowledges the challenges ahead.

“We need to be ready to beat this competition. But to beat this competition, we need [to be] working hard. We need the right driver, the right team, the right technical director, the right manager. The right everything needs to be working.”

Read Also: Who is new Alpine F1 team principal Oliver Oakes?

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