168 replies to this topic

[P123]

George Costanza, on 22 Jun 2024 - 03:15, said:

I know people dislike Flavio but he did win championships with them.

 

And a whole bunch of other people that are no longer there.

 

It does seem a desperation hire.  Last throw of the dice for a team that is rudderless.

[FLB]

I don't remember where I read it, but it's apparently now pretty much of a given that Jack Doohan will be in the second Alpine next year, because he's managed by Flavio. It also explains why Bruno Famin was making positive comments about Doohan this week, even if he didn't want to fully commit.

Edited by FLB, 22 June 2024 - 12:18.

[absinthedude]

The one thing Flav always had was a knack for analysing how the team worked (and how it wasn't working) and hiring the right people to get the job done. When he came into F1, he didn't know anyone in the sport so not much has changed in that regard. We just know about his dodgy business dealings in addition to Crashgate. 

[William Hunt]

Flavio is a bully and a psychopath.

- He bullied Johnny Herbert at Benetton, Flavio even had left the track already when Herbert won at Monza.

- He bullied Alexander Wurz when he didn't want to sign a management contract with Flavio, because Wurz was managed by a youth friend whom he wanted to stay loyal to.

- He bullied Jarno Trulli, who had even won a race at Monaco for him, because Jarno did not want to sign a management contract with him. Like Wurz, Flavio pushed Trull out of the team because they didn't want him as their manager

- He bullied Riccardo Patrese. When Patrese was hired by Benetton and Michael Schumacher was quicker in qualy as Riccardo, Flavio was constantly insulting him (like he did with all his drivers apart from Schumacher and Alonso) saying 'you can't even beat a younger driver like Michael'

- Flavio bullied the very competent Benetton team boss Peter Collins out. Collins was 100 times more competent as big mouth Flavio.

- Flavio cheated with the fuel flow of the tanking installation, cauing a fire in the pits with Jos Verstappen's car in Hockenheim 1994

- Flavio cheated in 1994 and 1995 with illegal traction control

- Flavio bullied Nelson Piquet Jr and put so much pressure on him to force him to crash in a wall at Singapore, putting Piquet and other drivers health in danger and blatantly cheated

- Flavio was convicted for massive tax fraud and not paying taxes in a yaught

- Flavio caused Renault to quit F1 because of cheating

 

He is a disgrace for the sport. He is not a good person in the way he treated many of his drivers. He cheats, bullies people, boasts, is narcistic, is corrupt (tax fraud + forcing drivers to sign a management deal with him which is a huge conflict of interest with his job as team boss, he used his job as team boss for personal profit by forcing Benetton drivers to sign a management deal with him, otherwise he would fire him like what happened to Wurz and Trulli). The guy is a crook who should never have been allowed to step in to an F1 paddock again.

Btw: check out what Joe Saward wrote on Flavio in his last 2 (in particular his penultimate) blog post.

 

If anyone deserves the title of worst personality to have worked in F1, there really is no competition with Flavio. Worst team boss by a mile, that he won world titles had more to do with the talent of Schumacher and the likes of Ross Brawn than with him. He is like a bully in primary school. And he is decadent and damaging for F1's image.

He also had no clue about the technical aspects of F1. How can such a person be a competent advisor, for a team that had earlier quit F1 because he was cheating?

Edited by William Hunt, 23 June 2024 - 09:20.

[KWSN - DSM]

William Hunt, on 23 Jun 2024 - 09:16, said:

Flavio is a bully and a psychopath.

 

....

 

Just so I get it right, you do not like Flavio, and do not like that he is back in F1?

[William Hunt]

FLB, on 22 Jun 2024 - 12:18, said:

I don't remember where I read it, but it's apparently now pretty much of a given that Jack Doohan will be in the second Alpine next year, because he's managed by Flavio. It also explains why Bruno Famin was making positive comments about Doohan this week, even if he didn't want to fully commit.

Regardless who manages his him (I though his father managed him), Jack has worked very very hard to achieve F1, I would like to see him given a shot. Although I do rate Martins and Mini more talented, Doohan has the grit and fighting spirit that could make him succeed in F1. I believe he will do just fine and will be a good addition to the grid.

[William Hunt]

KWSN - DSM, on 23 Jun 2024 - 09:19, said:

Just so I get it right, you do not like Flavio, and do not like that he is back in F1?

I'm not alone with that view. Besides, do you like cheaters who bully their own drivers and who make extra personal profit by abusing his function as team boss?

 

Regardless of what you think of Joe Saward, I could not agree more with him:

 

"The second rumour is slightly more alarming because it seems that De Meo is toying with the idea of putting Flavio Briatore back in charge of the team. This is really not a good idea. Firstly, Briatore has had a career in F1 which consists largely of controversy, dating back to his early involvement with Benetton when the team was found to have traction-control in its system. They got away with that because the FIA could not prove it was actually used, but no-one  in the sport really fell for that ridiculous defence (apart from lawyers) and most believe that at least one World Championship was impacted by this.

 

And then, of course, we had the infamous Singapore Grand Prix scam in 2008, after which Briatore was fired by Renault (and banned from the sport)  after it admitted that its factory team had deliberately fixed the race by ordering Nelson Piquet Jr to crash to give Fernando Alonso an unfair advantage, which he translated into a victory. This sort of thing, and people willing to do them, are not what F1 needs in the modern age. A 74-year-old Italian with a sleazy history is not going to be a good thing for the sport."

 

Text above copyright from Joe Saward's blog, the text in full can be read here:

https://joesaward.wo...aint-doulchard/

 

PS: I wrote sufficient arguments why he should never be allowed back in the sport, let alone in the paddock. He initially also had received a life long ban. He's also a convicted tax fraud. A sleazy crook with mobster tactics.

Like Saward I am pretty angry at Di Meo for bringing the sport in a bad light by letting Briatore even be present in the Alpine pits. Disgusting, this guy had earlier caused Renault to quit F1?
And I'm equally dissatisfied about Di Meo (not Bruno Famin who is very strongly against ditching their own engine) visiting other team bosses in Monte Carlo, to see if he could buy an engine from them.
Di Meo completely disregards his responsibility for all the staff working at Viry, Renaul's F1 engine departement. Di Meo has installed a climate of fear at Alpine and now also at Viry. Bruno Famin on the other hand is a 'racer', he is a former boss of Peugeot in WEC and he brought Alpine to Le Mans in HyperCar. Famin also knows very well how many competent people work at Viry, and he knows that the Renault engine is just lacking in power because the engines were frozen and they couldn't catch up because of that. There is no doubt that Renault would have closed the 25-30Hp deficit if there was no engine freeze.

Edited by William Hunt, 23 June 2024 - 09:35.

[Secretariat]

William Hunt, on 23 Jun 2024 - 09:26, said:

I'm not alone with that view. Besides, do you like cheaters who bully their own drivers and who make extra personal profit by abusing his function as team boss?

I definitely do not want to be a character witness for Briatore. However, I will tread lightly near the border checkpoint of Whataboutism, but only ask your perceptions/opinions of Gene Haas and Eddie Jordan in the context of being able to participate in F1? Haas is a convicted tax felon and Jordan by his own words has done questionable deeds (shady business, lying to drivers) in the name of surviving.

 

It seems Briatore has served his penance which I think is a noteworthy distinction. If he gets into anymore "trouble", I guess it would be a case of a leopard not changing his spots. Which is more of a problem for de Meo, Renault and their partners than it is for Briatore.  

Edited by Secretariat, 23 June 2024 - 10:03.

[SophieB]

Secretariat, on 23 Jun 2024 - 10:01, said:

I definitely do not want to be a character witness for Briatore. However, I will tread lightly near the border checkpoint of Whataboutism, but only ask your perceptions/opinions of Gene Haas and Eddie Jordan in the context of being able to participate in F1? Haas is a convicted tax felon and Jordan by his own words has done questionable deeds (shady business, lying to drivers) in the name of surviving.

 

It seems Briatore has served his penance which I think is a noteworthy distinction. If he gets into anymore "trouble", I guess it would be a case of a leopard not changing his spots. Which is more of a problem for de Meo, Renault and their partners than it is for Briatore.  

He has consistently avoided serving penances like when he fled Italy to avoid prison after being convicted of conning people in crooked card games.

 

[PayasYouRace]

William Hunt, on 23 Jun 2024 - 09:16, said:

 

- Flavio cheated in 1994 and 1995 with illegal traction control

 

I don’t mind a rant and you don’t have to like him, but can we try to stick to the facts? There were suspicions that Benetton were using Launch Control in 1994, which were never proven. And there have never been any suggestions that the 1995 car had illegal driver aids.

[Secretariat]

SophieB, on 23 Jun 2024 - 10:08, said:

He has consistently avoided serving penances like when he fled Italy to avoid prison after being convicted of conning people in crooked card games.

 

I was speaking more in a F1 context, but your point is fair. However, based on what I have seen if the authorities really wanted him to pay for his crimes, they probably should not have granted amnesty.

[SophieB]

Secretariat, on 23 Jun 2024 - 10:13, said:

I was speaking more in a F1 context, but your point is fair. However, based on what I have seen if the authorities really wanted him to pay for his crimes, they probably should not have granted amnesty.

Different thing isn’t, it, whether authorities have the resources to enforce convictions of all fugitives. You were suggesting (I think) that a point in his favour is a sort of ‘it’s a fair cop, guv, I did the crime so I’ll do the time’ attitude when there’s nothing in his past that I can see that actually back this up. Even if F1, he didn’t accept his punishment, he aggressively appealed the original judgement.

e.g.

https://www.theguard...-one-ban-appeal

[Secretariat]

SophieB, on 23 Jun 2024 - 10:19, said:

Different thing isn’t, it, whether authorities have the resources to enforce convictions of all fugitives. You were suggesting (I think) that a point in his favour is a sort of ‘it’s a fair cop, guv, I did the crime so I’ll do the time’ attitude when there’s nothing in his past that I can see that actually back this up. Even if F1, he didn’t accept his punishment, he aggressively appealed the original judgement.

e.g.

https://www.theguard...-one-ban-appeal

Yes it is different. Don't want to get into obligations here, unless it's allowed but that responsibility goes both ways. Generally speaking, in my opinion judicial entities should not exist if they can not enforce their judgments, have no mechanisms for appeal or vacate judgements arbitrarily. As for F1, he did not agree with the punishment which was his right. He appealed and won. Which is ideally how these types of things should work. 

[SophieB]

Secretariat, on 23 Jun 2024 - 10:34, said:

Yes it is different. Don't want to get into obligations here, unless it's allowed but that responsibility goes both ways. Generally speaking, in my opinion judicial entities should not exist if they can not enforce their judgments, have no mechanisms for appeal or vacate judgements arbitrarily. As for F1, he did not agree with the punishment which was his right. He appealed and won. Which is ideally how these types of things should work. 

I think a lot of criminals disagree with their punishments. I guess I’m just not getting your overall, orginal point. What exactly has he done thats in any way admirable to mitigate his crimes? He didnt confess, didn’t admit it when Piquet blew the whistle and instead directed a load of gross personal slurs at him. Then he took the FiA to court to make them let him back in. What is admirable about any of this?

[Secretariat]

SophieB, on 23 Jun 2024 - 10:53, said:

I think a lot of criminals disagree with their punishments. I guess I’m just not getting your overall, orginal point. What exactly has he done thats in any way admirable to mitigate his crimes? He didnt confess, didn’t admit it when Piquet blew the whistle and instead directed a load of gross personal slurs at him. Then he took the FiA to court to make them let him back in. What is admirable about any of this?

Ok. I understand better your position. My original point starting with #108 is basically discussing Briatore's (or any other person's) ability to participate in F1. In no way am I suggesting, hinting, alluding, or stating any of it is admirable. As stated, I have no desire to be a character witness for Briatore. However, he does have a right to work and his situation was not handled appropriately (neither was Symond's case) as evidenced by the appeal decision to which the judge ironically noted the sanction was illegal.

 

As for the items outside of F1? I do think that's a whole different discussion. But will restate my opinion that in general judicial entities should not exist if they can not enforce their judgments, have no mechanisms for appeal or vacate judgements arbitrarily. That goes whether it's Italy, the US, the UK, and so on.

[PayasYouRace]

Secretariat, on 23 Jun 2024 - 11:20, said:

Ok. I understand better your position. My original point starting with #108 is basically discussing Briatore's (or any other person's) ability to participate in F1. In no way am I suggesting, hinting, alluding, or stating any of it is admirable. As stated, I have no desire to be a character witness for Briatore. However, he does have a right to work and his situation was not handled appropriately (neither was Symond's case) as evidenced by the appeal decision to which the judge ironically noted the sanction was illegal.

 

As for the items outside of F1? I do think that's a whole different discussion. But will restate my opinion that in general judicial entities should not exist if they can not enforce their judgments, have no mechanisms for appeal or vacate judgements arbitrarily. That goes whether it's Italy, the US, the UK, and so on.

Nobody has the right to work wherever the hell they want. He could, and did, find work elsewhere. His ban from F1 should have been upheld.

[Secretariat]

PayasYouRace, on 23 Jun 2024 - 11:40, said:

Nobody has the right to work wherever the hell they want. He could, and did, find work elsewhere. His ban from F1 should have been upheld.

Regarding work: This is all very true. However, Briatore has not hired himself...de Meo has. So, I feel comfortable in saying again if he gets into anymore "trouble", I guess it would be a case of a leopard not changing his spots. Which is more of a problem for de Meo, Renault and their partners than it is for Briatore.

[PayasYouRace]

Secretariat, on 23 Jun 2024 - 11:44, said:

Regarding work: This is all very true. However, Briatore has not hired himself...de Meo has. So, I feel comfortable in saying again if he gets into anymore "trouble", I guess it would be a case of a leopard not changing his spots. Which is more of a problem for de Meo, Renault and their partners than it is for Briatore.

I think de Meo is just looking for past glories and has made a desperation hire. Briatore wont solve Alpine”s problems.

[Secretariat]

PayasYouRace, on 23 Jun 2024 - 11:46, said:

I think de Meo is just looking for past glories and has made a desperation hire. Briatore wont solve Alpine”s problems.

Perhaps. It is a curious/interesting decision. Does he think he will offer good advice? Is he looking for a carnival barker to bring attention? We will see.

[flyboym3]

Any comments from Renault sponsors what they think about this hiring?

I think its poor judgement from Famin and an act of desperation. They are struggling so understandable from that perspective too.

[Secretariat]

flyboym3, on 23 Jun 2024 - 12:02, said:

Any comments from Renault sponsors what they think about this hiring?

I think its poor judgement from Famin and an act of desperation. They are struggling so understandable from that perspective too.

I have not, however it seems everyone else has opinions and as expected it appropriately covers both sides of the spectrum. I may have missed it, but have not seen what Briatore has been tasked to do, so I will note it:

 

Quote

 

Alpine's announcement said Briatore will "predominantly focus on top level areas of the team including: scouting top talents and providing insights on the driver market, challenging the existing project by assessing the current structure and advising on some strategic matters within the sport."

 

https://www.espn.com...-alpine-advisor

 

These are things that I think are in his knowledge base, thus can be helpful. Unless of course that knowledge is antiquated.

Edited by Secretariat, 23 June 2024 - 12:21.

[milestone 11]

Has he already had an influence, after all, when last were both Alpines in Q3?

[FLB]

flyboym3, on 23 Jun 2024 - 12:02, said:

I think its poor judgement from Famin and an act of desperation. They are struggling so understandable from that perspective too.

It's not coming from Famin. It's coming from the Very Top (de Meo).

[Secretariat]

milestone 11, on 23 Jun 2024 - 12:33, said:

Has he already had an influence, after all, when last were both Alpines in Q3?

At this point, I would say it is coincidence. However, the timing could not be any better....unless Gasly and Ocon take each other out, or the power units do a LeMans.

[FLB]

Somehow the interview he just gave on Sky fits... 

 

(Hard to understand a single word he was saying)

[danmills]

I thought that, is he just old or suddenly very very Italian!?

 

Must not have spoken English so routinely for a while.

[flyboym3]

Yeah that interview shocked me, he's aged a lot.

[milestone 11]

Secretariat, on 23 Jun 2024 - 12:39, said:

At this point, I would say it is coincidence. However, the timing could not be any better....unless Gasly and Ocon take each other out, or the power units do a LeMans.

I wasn't really being serious. The chap doesn't appear particularly well to me, I doubt he can bring much, if anything, at all.

[Disgrace]

flyboym3, on 23 Jun 2024 - 12:43, said:

Yeah that interview shocked me, he's aged a lot.

 

Looks like he's been hitting the Ozempic.

[Nathan]

It looks like he had a stroke, thought he is less than 3 months removed from heart surgery.

[chrcol]

Cant blame them, at least he has won something in F1.

[WonderWoman61]

Remind me when Briatore was unbanned from F1?

[OO7]

PayasYouRace, on 23 Jun 2024 - 10:11, said:

I don’t mind a rant and you don’t have to like him, but can we try to stick to the facts? There were suspicions that Benetton were using Launch Control in 1994, which were never proven. And there have never been any suggestions that the 1995 car had illegal driver aids.

Willem Toet has detailed how how Benetton raced with a legal, pseudo traction control system.  A pretty ingenious system.

[PayasYouRace]

OO7, on 23 Jun 2024 - 15:51, said:

Willem Toet has detailed how how Benetton raced with a legal, pseudo traction control system.  A pretty ingenious system.

 

Well it it was legal, there's no problem.

[OO7]

PayasYouRace, on 23 Jun 2024 - 15:55, said:

Well it it was legal, there's no problem.

Yep.  That was on the B194 apparently.

[PayasYouRace]

OO7, on 23 Jun 2024 - 15:56, said:

Yep.  That was on the B194 apparently.

 

There's never been any doubt about the legality of the B195. If William Hunt has that wrong, how much of his list is also wrong?

[absinthedude]

B194 there's still a lot of doubts but we'll never really know the truth. Toet's explanation of the legal simulation of TC still has a lot of people who were there at the time doubting it's veracity. As far as I am aware, the B195 was legal.

 

William Hunt has a point about Flav being a bully, and his treatment of his #2 drivers was disgusting. There's a lot that I am sure FOM/Liberty and the FIA will hope is forgotten. Even prior to coming into F1, there was a trail of tainted business practises behind him which he always somehow managed to escape. 

 

But he might still be a winner. He probably still has those skills. I wouldn't hire him. I wouldn't touch him with the proverbial barge pole. But he might just lift Alpine up. The gods know they need direction.

[Nathan]

How different to the way Williams treated their drivers?  

 

What is Ken Tyrrell's reputation in general?

[OO7]

PayasYouRace, on 23 Jun 2024 - 15:57, said:

There's never been any doubt about the legality of the B195. If William Hunt has that wrong, how much of his list is also wrong?

That's the first time I've heard it mentioned about the B195.  As far as I'm aware, that car was never in question.

[OO7]

absinthedude, on 23 Jun 2024 - 16:21, said:

B194 there's still a lot of doubts but we'll never really know the truth. Toet's explanation of the legal simulation of TC still has a lot of people who were there at the time doubting it's veracity.

Do you have any links or sources, as it's always been an interesting topic to me.

[FLB]

OO7, on 23 Jun 2024 - 16:58, said:

Do you have any links or sources, as it's always been an interesting topic to me.

 

How Schumacher and Benetton beat the rules to win the F1 title - Speedcafe.com

[WonderWoman61]

William Hunt, on 23 Jun 2024 - 09:16, said:

Flavio is a bully and a psychopath.
- He bullied Johnny Herbert at Benetton, Flavio even had left the track already when Herbert won at Monza.
- He bullied Alexander Wurz when he didn't want to sign a management contract with Flavio, because Wurz was managed by a youth friend whom he wanted to stay loyal to.
- He bullied Jarno Trulli, who had even won a race at Monaco for him, because Jarno did not want to sign a management contract with him. Like Wurz, Flavio pushed Trull out of the team because they didn't want him as their manager
- He bullied Riccardo Patrese. When Patrese was hired by Benetton and Michael Schumacher was quicker in qualy as Riccardo, Flavio was constantly insulting him (like he did with all his drivers apart from Schumacher and Alonso) saying 'you can't even beat a younger driver like Michael'
- Flavio bullied the very competent Benetton team boss Peter Collins out. Collins was 100 times more competent as big mouth Flavio.
- Flavio cheated with the fuel flow of the tanking installation, cauing a fire in the pits with Jos Verstappen's car in Hockenheim 1994
- Flavio cheated in 1994 and 1995 with illegal traction control
- Flavio bullied Nelson Piquet Jr and put so much pressure on him to force him to crash in a wall at Singapore, putting Piquet and other drivers health in danger and blatantly cheated
- Flavio was convicted for massive tax fraud and not paying taxes in a yaught
- Flavio caused Renault to quit F1 because of cheating
 
He is a disgrace for the sport. He is not a good person in the way he treated many of his drivers. He cheats, bullies people, boasts, is narcistic, is corrupt (tax fraud + forcing drivers to sign a management deal with him which is a huge conflict of interest with his job as team boss, he used his job as team boss for personal profit by forcing Benetton drivers to sign a management deal with him, otherwise he would fire him like what happened to Wurz and Trulli). The guy is a crook who should never have been allowed to step in to an F1 paddock again.
Btw: check out what Joe Saward wrote on Flavio in his last 2 (in particular his penultimate) blog post.
 
If anyone deserves the title of worst personality to have worked in F1, there really is no competition with Flavio. Worst team boss by a mile, that he won world titles had more to do with the talent of Schumacher and the likes of Ross Brawn than with him. He is like a bully in primary school. And he is decadent and damaging for F1's image.
He also had no clue about the technical aspects of F1. How can such a person be a competent advisor, for a team that had earlier quit F1 because he was cheating?

If the following article is anything to go by...

https://gprejects.co...ted-testing-era

...Briatore bullied Alain Prost to hire Jarno Trulli instead of Emanuel Collard to stand in for Olivier Panis in 1997.

[Collombin]

Nathan, on 23 Jun 2024 - 16:26, said:

What is Ken Tyrrell's reputation in general?

Superb I believe. Irrelevant and ill informed comment, but that figures (edit - for RC in relation to Ken Tyrrell I meant, not aimed at you specifically).

Edited by Collombin, 23 June 2024 - 18:21.

[PayasYouRace]

FLB, on 23 Jun 2024 - 17:05, said:

How Schumacher and Benetton beat the rules to win the F1 title - Speedcafe.com

 

Thanks for that. It's been a while since I read it.

 

The key was that the "traction control" they had wasn't a reactive system that would sense wheelspin and correct for it. It was a passive system that just limited the power from the engine where it would be most useful. As Toet says, if the track improved it would cut too much power, and if the tyres went off it would not prevent wheelspin. It was a clever system and an interesting loophole, but entirely legal.

 

As an aside, that B194 was such a great looking car.

[AnttiK]

William Hunt, on 23 Jun 2024 - 09:16, said:

 Flavio even had left the track already when Herbert won at Monza.

 

 

I have heard this story before somewhere but it's most definitely not true. Flavio was there happily celebrating as Johnny crossed the line and even went on the podium with him:

https://www.youtube....YUt4IN4&t=1803s

Edited by AnttiK, 23 June 2024 - 17:33.

[FLB]

Collombin, on 23 Jun 2024 - 17:14, said:

Superb I believe. Irrelevant and ill informed comment, but that figures.

Except for the whole 1984 affaire, which admittedly wasn't a good look for *anybody*. The article is behind a paywall (and I have it on actual paper in a box somewhere) : The Formula One Scene October 1984 - Motor Sport Magazine

 

 

Ken Tyrrell was unhappy about some of the comments that James Hunt made about some of his drivers (per Hunt's biography by Gerry Donaldson), but that's as far as it went, AFAIK.

[FLB]

Should anybody ever meet him/interact with him, another I'd suggest *NOT* to mention the name of Flavio Briatore is ex-Renault engineer Denis Chevrier...

[WonderWoman61]

William Hunt, on 23 Jun 2024 - 09:16, said:

Flavio is a bully and a psychopath.
- He bullied Johnny Herbert at Benetton, Flavio even had left the track already when Herbert won at Monza.
- He bullied Alexander Wurz when he didn't want to sign a management contract with Flavio, because Wurz was managed by a youth friend whom he wanted to stay loyal to.
- He bullied Jarno Trulli, who had even won a race at Monaco for him, because Jarno did not want to sign a management contract with him. Like Wurz, Flavio pushed Trull out of the team because they didn't want him as their manager
- He bullied Riccardo Patrese. When Patrese was hired by Benetton and Michael Schumacher was quicker in qualy as Riccardo, Flavio was constantly insulting him (like he did with all his drivers apart from Schumacher and Alonso) saying 'you can't even beat a younger driver like Michael'
- Flavio bullied the very competent Benetton team boss Peter Collins out. Collins was 100 times more competent as big mouth Flavio.
- Flavio cheated with the fuel flow of the tanking installation, cauing a fire in the pits with Jos Verstappen's car in Hockenheim 1994
- Flavio cheated in 1994 and 1995 with illegal traction control
- Flavio bullied Nelson Piquet Jr and put so much pressure on him to force him to crash in a wall at Singapore, putting Piquet and other drivers health in danger and blatantly cheated
- Flavio was convicted for massive tax fraud and not paying taxes in a yaught
- Flavio caused Renault to quit F1 because of cheating
 
He is a disgrace for the sport. He is not a good person in the way he treated many of his drivers. He cheats, bullies people, boasts, is narcistic, is corrupt (tax fraud + forcing drivers to sign a management deal with him which is a huge conflict of interest with his job as team boss, he used his job as team boss for personal profit by forcing Benetton drivers to sign a management deal with him, otherwise he would fire him like what happened to Wurz and Trulli). The guy is a crook who should never have been allowed to step in to an F1 paddock again.
Btw: check out what Joe Saward wrote on Flavio in his last 2 (in particular his penultimate) blog post.
 
If anyone deserves the title of worst personality to have worked in F1, there really is no competition with Flavio. Worst team boss by a mile, that he won world titles had more to do with the talent of Schumacher and the likes of Ross Brawn than with him. He is like a bully in primary school. And he is decadent and damaging for F1's image.
He also had no clue about the technical aspects of F1. How can such a person be a competent advisor, for a team that had earlier quit F1 because he was cheating?

Gunther Schmidt? Andrea Sassetti? Peter Monteverdi? Ernesto Vita?

To name a few...

[AncientLurker]

Briatore should never have been let back in the paddock, but neither should Liberty. They deserve each other, the sport does not.

[William Hunt]

Article that was posted today.

Briatore apparently called himself "a genius in F1" and sugested that he alone can drag Alpine out of misery. If that kind of language is not a serious indication, if not proof, of a narcisistic personality with a hugely inflated ego, then I don't know what is...

https://thesportsrus...-out-of-misery/