Flavio Briatore Happy To Be Alpine’s ‘Democratic Dictator’

Flavio Briatore insists he has no regrets whatsoever after dropping Jack Doohan and installing the highly rated and heavily sponsored Franco Colapinto in his place.

“He (Doohan) had five races to prove himself,” the 75-year-old told RTL, even though the 22-year-old Australian rookie was actually replaced after round six in Miami.

“After five races, we looked at the results,” the Italian added. “And I didn’t like them.

“You only stay in a company if you do a good job. If you do a bad job, you get fired. Over a thousand people and their families depend on it.

“I’m just protecting the people who work for me,” Briatore insists. “That’s why I always choose the best possible driver for the car.”

Rookie Colapinto’s first race in the Alpine was very much mixed, including a huge qualifying crash. Briatore, though, said: “If you look at Sunday’s times, you can see that he drove a similar time to (Pierre) Gasly.

“This is the first time our cars have been so close.”

However, the cockpit swap continues a long period of great instability at Alpine, including the recent sudden departure of team boss Oliver Oakes, amid rumours of off-track scandals and personal clashes with Briatore.

Briatore denies any disagreements and says Oakes’ resignation also took him by surprise. However, he seems content about the extra power, with Dave Greenwood now serving only as the designated ‘team representative’ in the eyes of the FIA.

To be the actual team principal, ‘executive advisor’ Briatore would need FIA approval and also be officially employed by Alpine – and therefore pay UK taxes.

However, he said of his role: “In a Formula 1 team, you need a dictator, maybe a democratic dictator. You need someone who is accountable.

“I’m now in Enstone three days a week instead of two,” Briatore added, revealing that he has been working on streamlining the team structure. “Six directors report to me now.

“Before Oliver, there were 25. We had to change that.”

Briatore is also known for running lean operations, as he also reveals that he recently scrapped plans to improve Alpine’s aesthetic presentation in the paddock and pit lane.

“We don’t need a nicer pit facility,” he insisted, according to Auto Motor und Sport. “We need a faster car.

“From now on, we’ll only spend money that helps performance.”

What is beyond doubt is that since Briatore arrived, car performance has improved. “It’s no longer a truck like last year,” he agreed.

“But we need to understand why we sometimes make it into the top ten and sometimes fall short. Because it’s not the engine.

“We know our engine costs us between three and four tenths of a second – always roughly in the same range. That doesn’t explain our fluctuations.

“We need to focus on other things and not hide behind the engine excuse.”