Hype and no results. He was less than impressive at Williams and RedBull saw it as well. Flavio Briatore ‘not happy at all’ with Franco Colapinto as Alpine pressure mounts
What an idiot. Pathetic. Just leave. The sport does not need your garbage in the paddock. Flavio Briatore denies F1 ‘Crashgate’ involvement: ‘I never spoke to Nelson Piquet’ https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1072563/1/flavio-briatore-denies-f1-crashgate-involvement-i-never-spoke-nelson-piquet
The sooner the Enstone team is put up for sale, the better, probably. Renault is obviously not capable to manage it. Surely the team F1 licence, the Mercedes engine supply and the facilities would be of interest to new investors.
Well to be honest this guy should have been banned for life. As good as he was before to win championships.
What will happen to Alpine now is anyone's guess; the results are not bright and Briatore was chosen by DeMeo. Now DeMeo is stepping down from Renault, probably relieved to have an opportunity to leave the automotive industry for the healthier luxury domain. DeMeo is going to join Kering (the second big French luxury group, the other - more successful - being LVMH). Kering owns (among others) Gucci, Balenciaga and Saint-Laurent. François Pinault, the founder of Kering, officially left the management to his son in the early 2000s - but said son, François-Henri Pinault, is probably just another incompetent heir and eventually it has been acknowledged by the Pinault family (although not in these terms obviously); François-Henri Pinault will keep the role of President (Chairman) as the main shareholder, but the CEO role will be taken by a professional (DeMeo). Renault has apparently been hit by surprise; it's a big company so they will react, but how is not yet known, and whether it will alter their strategies is also a question mark.
Colapinto hits end of 'five-race' Alpine F1 deal - but has he been an improvement on Doohan? Not at all. This is about Alpine and they are not going to light-up the grid soon lol.
Still the rumors of a sale continue in the F1 press - Alpine. Money talks Gary Anderson - The Race.com I'm pretty sure that, ultimately, this is all about money. Alpine owner Renault seems to be heading for the F1 exit door if it can find someone with the financial power to turn a tidy profit. Why would it stay and use a rival manufacturer's power unit, which is surely a loss of face and expertise that reflects badly on Renault's capabilities? While there is a financial appeal to Colapinto, he did initially show at Williams that he has the speed. After that, it all went south, and that continued into his early races with Alpine. But he seems to have come through that now, and his performance has stabilised. He's still lacking some performance but, given the Alpine has been consistently the worst car of late, we can only compare him to Gasly. When both drivers have a clean weekend, which doesn't happen often, then Colapinto has recently measured up decently to him. Is there anyone else out there with a similar sponsor backing? Probably not. Is there anyone else out there better? Probably. But as we know, money talks. I would imagine Briatore is hoping that the switch to Mercedes power units next year and an injection of cash from Colapinto's sponsors will allow for a decent rebuilding year. That should make it possible to bag the best offer for the team.
