Briatore: Alpine will not be F1 'tourists' as rebuild continues

Flavio Briatore insists that he is not returning to Alpine to simply be "a tourist" travelling the world with Formula 1. 

The flames yet controversial ex-Benetton and Renault boss has been drafted back into the team as an executive advisor to Renault chairman Luca de Meo, with Team Principal Bruno Famin remaining in post.

Briatore will not attend every grand prix in his new role, but will oversee the Alpine project, with rumours that the team could even decide to stop its works engine programme and become a customer. This has been denied by the team.

However Briatore is determined to restore the Enstone outfit to a competitive level following a poor start to the 2024 season, and insists he does not want to be a "tourist."

"You are in Formula 1 to be competitive," Briatore told Viaplay. 

"Not to be the tourist travelling around the world 24 times, the team needs to be competitive, this is what we want. 

"This is what Luca wants, this is what the corporation wants, everyone wants to be competitive."

'My team'

Briatore has been at the Enstone helm for all of its world championship successes in 1994, 1995, 2005 and 2006 with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, and believes that it was always "his team."

"I love this team because in the end, it was always my team," he added.

"Before it was called Benetton, and after Renault, but it was basically the same, and it was a seven-time world champion team.

"It is a pleasure for me to come back, and thank you to Luca, the chairman, to be advisor to him and after a few months of discussion, I accepted the job."