Renault’s Formula 1 approach has always been confusing. Sometimes lacking commitment, occasionally achieving less success than expected, and always unstable, the decision to appoint Flavio Briatore as an “executive advisor” is incredibly surprising. What does this say about the culture of Renault Group, CEO Luca de Meo, and Alpine F1? The fact that they have brought in the mastermind behind the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix scandal as their savior is baffling.
Briatore has every right to work in motorsport and has been involved in various capacities. It’s not an issue that he has worked with F1 itself, and there’s no reason why he couldn’t take on a role with one of the other nine teams. It was perfectly acceptable for Pat Symonds, another key figure in the Singapore 2008 incident, to work for Marussia, Williams, and F1. However, Renault’s willingness to appoint Briatore to a position within their F1 team is absurd. Yes, it has been 15 years since the fallout from Singapore 2008 led to Renault selling the team, but it’s still the same team with the same majority ownership.
Make no mistake, this decision was made by De Meo himself. The press release from Alpine made it clear that he personally appointed Briatore. The advisory role is described as involving the driver market, assessing the current structure, and providing advice on strategic matters.
The issue is not Briatore’s abilities. He played a crucial role in the team’s success in the past, and we should not ignore his positive contributions. In fact, when the team faced leadership turmoil 11 months ago, I argued that they needed someone like Briatore. However, I always emphasized that it could never actually be Briatore.
Interestingly, the current structure that needs to be assessed was put in place by Briatore. A fair evaluation might shift the focus away from Enstone and Viry, and instead highlight the shortcomings of those at the top of Renault who expect success without investing enough and lack strategic thinking.
This team has often been concerned about appearances, which has led to poor decision-making. For example, the candidacy of Nico Hulkenberg for the 2023 driver position was dismissed primarily because he had been dropped before, and it would have looked bad to bring him back, rather than considering his merits.
Amid rumors that Alpine is considering closing its engine program and concerns from the American investment group that recently acquired the team, it would make sense if this appointment is another step towards the eventual demise of Renault’s F1 program.
Renault frequently denies that they are for sale, and they reiterated this to the Enstone workforce yesterday. We can only hope that this is true for the sake of the team, as they deserve a chance to reach their full potential. There are many talented individuals within the team who have been let down by Renault.
The only logical reason for bringing in Briatore in this role is to facilitate a sale. By separating the team from Viry and making it a separate entity that can be easily sold, Renault can potentially include their underwhelming Alpine car brand in the deal. Briatore is highly skilled in commercial matters and would likely be effective in facilitating such a sale, even if the entity is supposedly not up for sale.
However, there are others who could fulfill this role. One of the reasons given for this appointment was to provide greater support to team principal Bruno Famin, who works tirelessly but may be stretched too thin. Perhaps that’s all there is to it. But once again, it was De Meo who initiated the leadership changes last year, so if they are not proving to be effective, it raises significant questions about Renault’s strategy.
There is a sense of decline surrounding the Alpine team within the wider F1 community, and Renault’s credibility in F1 has further eroded with this latest move.