Flavio Briatore has never hidden his ambitions for Alpine: the Italian believes that the Enstone team now has all the necessary ingredients to return to the top of Formula 1.
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Thanks to the engine partnership concluded with Mercedes from the new regulations and the significant investments made in the factory’s infrastructure, Briatore considers that the foundations for renewal are in place.
According to him, all that remains is to properly assemble the different pieces of the puzzle, as he confided in a long interview with our colleague The Race Business.
Just have to, must…
« We have everything we need to win, he proclaims loudly. The agreement we have with Mercedes is an excellent agreement, because we chose the right partner. And we are investing heavily in the factory’s infrastructure.»
For the former head of Benetton and Renault, Alpine must now adopt a bolder approach: « We have all the necessary tools. We just need to put all the pieces together. To achieve this, we must be a little more creative than we currently are and take more risks.»
Briatore admits he does not understand why Alpine remains so far from the best teams: « I am convinced that this team can win. I don’t understand why we don’t win. I don’t understand why we don’t beat McLaren. I don’t understand why we don’t beat Ferrari.»
Keeping promises to earn the bonus
The Italian recalls that the Enstone team has already won championships in the past and believes it is above all a state of mind: « We have done it before. It’s only a matter of believing in what we do. We just have to accept to compete with these teams.»
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Briatore also states that the project follows the roadmap he presented to Renault. His goal is to place Alpine among the top six teams as early as this season: « Last year, I promised Renault that we would be in the top 6 this year. If we achieve that, maybe we can even aim for the top 5. Moving from tenth to sixth place is already an important step. That’s what I promised. My bonus depends on a place in the top six. At least, I will get my bonus!»
Asked about his future goals, Briatore remained true to his humor: « This year, next year… there will be many bonuses.»
The Aston Martin counter-example
The Italian also points out that having the best facilities does not automatically guarantee success, taking Aston Martin as an example: « I don’t see what others have more than us. Of course, some may have better facilities. But look at Aston Martin: they probably have the best infrastructure in the world and the best engineer in the world. Yet, they are not competitive. What matters is that people believe it is possible to win and give their best.»
Regarding the technical organization, Briatore believes the potential is already present internally, but the team needed stability to identify everyone’s strengths and weaknesses: « Maybe we have very good engineers here, but they are still on the bench. Our technical director David Sanchez (photo above) now really has to evaluate everyone.»
« With this first car, we finally have a clear vision of who works well, who needs to improve, he concludes. Before, it was impossible because there were too many changes. Today, we finally have stability.»
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