In Formula 1 “there is only one true genius”, it World? “That pilots is already written”, and about the crisis Ferrari he doesn’t sugarcoat the pill: “Fifteen years of ‘it will be for next year’ doesn’t exist”. Twenty years in the circus spent with headphones ‘behind the wall’, seven world championships won first with Schumacher and then with Alonso, Flavio Briatore tells everything. Strengths and weaknesses, future, strategies and all the revolutions of a world that “is more difficult to change than a ministry”. Even if something moves.
After the first four races of the 2023 world championship, Briatore already sees the drivers’ title written: “Red Bull is doing a separate championship, Max Verstappen has strength and style and the world championship is already his”. The Austrian team based in the English city of roundabouts (Milton Keynes), “is going strong because they work better together” and, a fact that should not be underestimated, even more said by those who have contributed to building Formula 1 since the early 1990s, “have the only true genius he is Adrian Newey”.
Impossible for Briatore not to mention his protégé Fernando Alonso“the real surprise of this world championship”, plunged back almost by chance – but only in the eyes of newbies – in F1 with “theAston Martin, a team that until last year was not competitive. Then they raided the number two’s Red Bull e Mercedes investing heavily in technology and in the factory for over twenty million”. Today Aston is second in the constructors’ standings under the guidance of technical director Dan Fallows (ex-Red Bull) who revolutionized the single-seater together with Eric Blandin (ex-Mercedes): “For these reasons I pushed Fernando to join Aston Martin, which is now second above Ferrari after four Grands Prix. Aston did well in the last round in Miami although it’s not exactly a circuit that suits the car well, but if nothing unexpected happens, the world championship is already written. Even if – he underlines – some circuits like Monte Carlo can always be a big surprise”.
Ferrari is a painful chapter for its fans and Briatore doesn’t sugarcoat the pill: “It’s far behind, the car has countless problems starting with fuel consumption and Charles Leclercas we also saw in Miami, is not competitive, unlike his teammate Carlos Sainz who defended himself well”. The new sprint race formula, also criticized by some riders, according to Briatore is a panacea for the show and for the whole circus: “You get out of bed in the morning if you have a goal, and if before on Friday the riders only went out on the track to give directions to the team, now they go out to score points. Then if you add the knock out qualifications, everything is much more interesting for spectators and TVs. Everyone is drawn to see one more day of F1 that was previously only for insiders. The idea of Sundays, who’s a friend I’ve known for 30 years, is brilliant. We are here to race, not to tour, and to race you need goals”. The redhead never remains marginal when it comes to Formula 1 but, Briatore bitterly claims that he knows the added value of a competitive Ferrari in the world championship, “he can’t afford to say ‘next year’ for fifteen years, he can’t stand it” .
Absolution for Frederic Vasseur, team principal of the red, who however “is only one man in a team. He is trying to rebuild an adequate technical structure and at the same time not to lose engineers ”. In F1 “there must be no employees” and in fact, in the last GP “we saw overtaking, adrenaline”. Infrastructure chapter. In Monza (historical Italian circuit ed.) “the Minister of Infrastructure Matthew Salvini he’s not lending a hand, but two, to invest in the modernization of a circuit where it has become difficult to work. He hasn’t invested much in recent years and the gap with the new F1 racetracks is felt ”. Furthermore, “Monza is very attractive for sponsors, it is close to Milan”. In conclusion, a dispassionate suggestion to the teams for the future: “Domenicali is doing well even if he hasn’t had a few difficulties, the teams must follow him. Formula 1 is like a ministry, it takes a long time to change things”.
