Formula 1 Schumacher confidant
“Benign tumor” – Briatore undergoes heart surgery
As of: 1:20 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
Flavio Briatore had to have a tumor removed. The former Formula 1 maker is now recovering from the procedure
What: REUTERS
Flavio Briatore has to recover from an operation. A benign tumor grew in the heart of the former Formula 1 manager. Now Briatore describes the details of the procedure.
Former Formula 1 manager Flavio Briatore, 73, has had to undergo heart surgery. The former Benetton and Renault team boss said in an Instagram video that a “benign tumor” was discovered in his heart. The tumor was removed using a “minimally invasive operation” using an endoscope, says the Italian, as he sits in front of the camera in a polished wooden armchair wearing a black cap and mirrored sunglasses and can already smile again.
“The procedure went perfectly,” said the long-time confidante of record world champion Michael Schumacher. During a routine examination ten days ago, a benign tumor was discovered. The procedure at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan was “preventative,” said Briatore, who had to spend a few days in the clinic. He expressly thanked the medical team around Professor Francesco Maisano. It wasn’t Briatore’s first tumor diagnosis. In 2006, the former Formula 1 mastermind had already overcome kidney cancer.
The picture from 2006 shows Briatore and Michael Schumacher
Those: picture alliance/dpa/Gero Breloer
Briatore was team boss for the Benetton team in the racing series between 1989 and 1997 – exactly at the time when Schumacher’s star was rising in the premier class of motorsport. The duo celebrated two world championship titles together (1994 and 1995). Briatore later led the Renault factory team and discovered another future world champion in Fernando Alonso. To this day, Briatore is the Spanish racing driver’s manager.
The timing of the heart operation therefore came at the worst possible time for the Italian. Since the announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s much-discussed move from Mercedes to Ferrari, there have been persistent rumors about Alonso moving to the Silver Arrows. A total of twelve driver contracts for ten teams in Formula 1 will expire at the end of the season.
