Flavio Briatore admits he was "furious" upon realising just a few months ago the extent of the decline of Formula 1's Enstone-based team.
The 74-year-old Italian was responsible for leading the team to four world championships—twice with Michael Schumacher under the Benetton name in the mid-90s, and twice more with Fernando Alonso driving for Renault a decade later.
"Formula 1 has changed in quantitative terms compared to the past," said Briatore, who recently returned to F1 in a senior advisory role to Renault CEO Luca de Meo, speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport in Baku.
"In terms of numbers, costs, number of races, yes. The public has changed, the perception in the United States has changed, and they are very important things. But the dynamics within the teams is more or less still the same."
"And when I arrived at Alpine, many things made me furious," he confessed. "There was neither presence of mind nor motivation."
"Now I'm here I will keep everyone on their toes, even if it's impossible to do worse than this. We are in the process of restructuring," added Briatore, who played a key role in the appointment of 36-year-old Oliver Oakes, the former Hitech F2 team leader, as the new head of the Alpine team.
Briatore denied being responsible for any potential decision to discontinue Renault's F1 engine program as a cost-saving measure, but emphasised, "I have always won world championships with 30 percent less budget than the competition and I have not forgotten the magic formula."
2024 has been a disappointing season for Alpine's drivers, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, with the latter set to join Haas in 2025.
After Carlos Sainz declined Briatore's offer to take over Ocon's seat, Australian rookie Jack Doohan will step up to partner Gasly for the 2025 season.
"We already have good, fast drivers," Briatore admitted. "The problem is the car."
Speaking of Doohan, Briatore said: "I don't buy drivers – I've always raised them at home. I launched Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, not exactly two duds," he smiled.
"I think and hope Doohan can give us guarantees in 2025.
"I tried to hire both Carlos Sainz and Adrian Newey but our discussions didn't go well, but I'm focusing more on teamwork."
Briatore recounted a recent visit to the Alpine workshop: "One evening I went down to the workshop and there were 70-80 people working," he said. "Until recently, that would not have happened."
Briatore made these comments while in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital, where he reiterated that he was the driving force behind bringing Formula 1 to the historic city.
"I was the one who promoted Azerbaijan in F1," he stated.
"About ten years ago, I spoke about it with the president, Ilham Aliyev, who wanted to put the country on the map. Back then, nobody knew anything about it, now it's sold out, with spectators coming from half the world.
"Now I've put my headphones back on to hear the guys in the garage and I'm ready to make Alpine great again." body check tags ::
