Flavio Briatore calls for massive F1 rule change in bonkers press conference

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

The FIA press conference at the Spanish Grand Prix was a memorable one with Flavio Briatore stealing the show through his irreverent presence representing Alpine
Flavio Briatore certainly made an impression in his first FIA press conference since returning to Formula 1. He was representing Alpine at the Spanish Grand Prix with the team required to provide a figurehead to face the media for the first time since team principal Oliver Oakes resigned.
The official FIA press conferences are usually highly structured, sedate settings – devoid of much character. That was never going to be the case this time with Briatore present and, expectedly, it led to a few memorable moments.
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Some of them involved genuine points being made by the Italian, such as when he gave his verdict on the budget cap which didn't exist when he first rose to prominence in F1 – he likes it, but believes it should change to include driver salaries too.
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Briatore said: "This was a very good idea to have the cost cap for the teams. I believe it should stay. I also believe the salary of the driver should be part of that – not only what we have now. The cost budget cap was a very good idea. I believe we should increase the budget including the salaries of the driver."
But some other moments during the press conference were almost slapstick. And Briatore was encouraged by the presence of his old friend Christian Horner sitting beside him, the Red Bull boss clearly getting a kick out of the Italian's disruptive presence.
Host Tom Clarkson just about got through his introductory questions without too much drama. But then as soon as the press conference was opened to questions from the floor, the very first one that went Briatore's way prompted one of the more baffling responses to a question that this platform had seen in some time.
And it's not as though it wasn't a fairly straightforward ask. "Flavio, could we see Mick Schumacher racing for Alpine in Formula 1 in 2025 or 2026?" But it seemed as though Briatore misheard and thought it might have been a question about Michael Schumacher, who he worked with at Benetton in the 1990s.
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And so he replied: "I'm not sure why we're talking about Schumacher now. We are here in 2025. I don't understand. What you want to know?" When the question was repeated to him by Horner, he added: "I don't think it's the question to ask here, now. Next question!" And when Clarkson, with a note of exasperation, asked: "Just to be clear, is Mick going to be signed?", Briatore just snapped back: "I don't want to talk about that."
Horner took the opportunity to crack a joke when he was asked a question next, replying with a grin: "I think I'm going to take a leaf out of Flavio's book and say, 'I don't want to answer it'. But then he did. Briatore did his best to as well, for a few minutes, until he appeared to lose interest mid-way through answering a question about whether he felt Pierre Gasly has what it takes to win F1 titles in the future.
After 30 seconds of mumbling a half-answer, for some reason, he threw over to Horner who responded: "I have no idea what you're talking about." The Red Bull chief added: "But all I want to say is how refreshing it is to have Flav back. I mean, he had a bit of time out, but it is so much fun. These press conferences were so boring before you came back."
He's right – these press conferences can be a little dull at times, and that wasn't a word that could be used to describe this one. F1 has lost some personality in the last 12 months with Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas falling off the grid but, in Briatore, boy, has it got some back in return.