Flavio Briatore does not plan to return to F1
Involved in Formula 1 from 1990 to 2009 and always inclined to give his opinion on the sport thereafter, Flavio Briatore does not, however, contemplate returning to F1.
Flavio Briatore, former director of the Benetton and Renault F1 teams and ex-owner of Ligier and Minardi, left F1 following the “crashgate” scandal – during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed his Renault into the wall to benefit his teammate Fernando Alonso’s strategy – a case in which he still denies any involvement: « There is no proof that I was involved [in the crashgate]. I was not involved at all. »
Briatore had been sanctioned with a lifetime ban from working in F1 by the FIA, a sanction eventually overturned by the Tribunal de Grande Instance. Even though nothing prevents him from returning to Formula 1 one day, the Italian—who recently turned 63—does not consider this possibility for the moment.
« I know everything that is happening and I know that owning a team currently makes no sense from a financial perspective. So, there is no reason to return to Formula 1. Now, I have a son who is three years old, I work 20 hours a day for different companies, different investments, different situations, both here [in Europe, ed] and in America; I am very happy, » Flavio Briatore confided to the magazine Formula 1 Racing.
However, Briatore is not so far removed from the F1 World Championship in recent years, mainly due to his role as manager of Mark Webber, the current Red Bull Racing driver.
