BARCELONA (Reuters) – Former Benetton and Renault F1 boss Flavio Briatore is returning to the sport as executive adviser to Renault chief executive Luca de Meo, the French carmaker’s Alpine team announced on Friday.
The Italian businessman, now 74, remains a controversial figure in Formula One due to his involvement in one of the biggest scandals in the sport’s history.
Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet Junior’s deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix became known as ‘Crashgate’ and led to then Renault boss Briatore being handed a lifetime ban from Formula One in 2009.
The ban was subsequently overturned by a French court in 2010.
Briatore had previously led Renault to their most successful era in Formula One with Fernando Alonso world champion in 2005 and 2006. He also led Benetton when Michael Schumacher took his first titles in 1994 and 1995.
“BWT Alpine F1 Team can confirm that Flavio Briatore has been appointed by Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo as his Executive Advisor for the Formula One Division,” Alpine said in a statement at the Spanish Grand Prix.
“Briatore will predominantly focus on top-level areas of the team including: scouting top talents and providing insights on the driver market, challenging the existing project by assessing the current structure and advising on some strategic matters within the sport.”
Alpine are struggling this season and are eighth in the constructors’ standings with just five points from nine races.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by William Maclean)
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