F1 champion tells critics to 'f*** off' after sensational return

Flavio Briatore had an x-rated response for his critics after he made his shock return to Formula 1.

It was announced on Friday morning ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix that the 74-year-old Italian would be joining Alpine as an executive advisor.

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The move marks a return to the Enstone-based team for Briatore, having been the team principal when they ran under the names of Benetton and Renault, overseeing title success for Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso.

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Briatore left the sport in controversial circumstances following the events of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, where it was alleged that Nelson Piquet Jr crashed deliberately to bring out the safety car, allowing team-mate Alonso to take the lead and win the race.

While he denied the accusations, Briatore was handed a lifetime ban from the sport, which was later overturned in 2010 and he has remained in F1 to some degree, as he acted as Alonso’s manager.

Speaking with Craig Slater on Sky Sports F1 ahead of FP2 in Barcelona, Briatore was asked if he had a message for the people that were not happy to see him return to the paddock, to which he had a very firm response: “F*** off.”

Asked if he had been eyeing a return to F1 for some time, he said: “Not really. The chairman at Renault Luca, I know him very well. I have a lot of respect for Luca de Meo.

“He met some difficulties in the performance of the team. He asked if it was possible for me to be the executive advisor of the chairman. We negotiated for two or three months, maybe more.

“I feel I have the motivation to do it. I feel it is possible to do it. I feel that it’s possible to put the team again on the right direction to performing and this is what I like, to go back in the competition.”

Bruno Famin has been team principal of Alpine since the middle of 2023 following the departure of Otmar Szafnauer, and Briatore was asked if he would return to his previous role with the team.

“No, no. Team principal? We have a team principal, we have Bruno. No problem at all,” he responded.

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“I’m working with Bruno, I’m working with everybody. For me, I’m working with Luca. This is my job, I report to him and we try together to get the best performance for the team.

“I’m not changing the tyres yet. I don’t want to change the tyres, I don’t want to drive the car.

“I just want to be competitive. In two years’ time, we will be there.

“I want to give my contribution,” he added. “We have a team principal who is doing a very good job, we have an organisation working together and I’m sure we’ll put everything together in a very short time.”

Recent reports have suggested that Renault are considering scrapping their engine project and Briatore was asked if Alpine were considering becoming a works team in the future.

“No, it’s not a point in this moment,” he said.

“Sure, to make the team competitive we see different opportunities and, after, we choose the best opportunity for the team.

“Formula 1 has a lot of gossip all the time. For the moment, we haven’t made any decision. We’re working and we’ll find the best solution for the team.”

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