Ex-Ferrari president supports Briatore: “Alpine made the right choice, but the road is still long”. Former Ferrari president feels Alpine made the right decision in bringing back Flavio Briatore.

The return of Flavio Briatore to Alpine-Renault

Quantifying, in terms of lap-time improvements, the impact of his arrival at Alpine is nearly impossible. However, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has formed his opinion, stating that Flavio Briatore’s work during his first six months as an executive consultant for the Enstone team has been extremely positive. Recalled by Renault Group CEO Luca De Meo after a deeply disappointing start to the season, the 74-year-old manager from Cuneo is credited with at least restoring some order and unlocking a portion of the team’s untapped potential.

A turning point was giving the reins of the team to young British team principal Oliver Oakes—a true racer with years of experience in lower categories, having led the Hitech team. Under his leadership, the team climbed the constructors’ standings to finish in sixth place. According to Montezemolo, this is a positive result given where Alpine started, even though it falls far short of De Meo’s initial ambitions and those of a major automaker like Renault.

Luca di Montezemolo supports Flavio Briatore

“No one should forget,” Luca di Montezemolo said, commenting on Flavio Briatore’s return during an interview on the Rai GR Parlamento radio program, “that Flavio worked real miracles when he was at Benetton. Luca De Meo, therefore, made the right choice in bringing him back to Alpine. I’m happy for him, although the road to victory is still very long. We saw some good races from Gasly this year, but it’s not enough. In any case, I think they will improve further next year.” – the former Ferrari president concluded.