Flavio Briatore
Briatore in 2009
Born	(1950-04-12) 12 April 1950 (age 75) Verzuolo, Italy
Occupation	Businessman
Spouse	Elisabetta Gregoraci ​ ​ (m. 2008; sep. 2017)​
Children	2

Flavio Briatore (Italian: [ˈflaːvjo bri.aˈtoːre]; born 12 April 1950) is an Italian businessman, who serves as executive adviser and de facto team principal of Alpine in Formula One. As the longtime team principal of Team Enstone (Benetton Formula / Renault F1 Team), Briatore led the team to three World Constructors' Championships and four World Drivers' Championships. However, he was dogged by allegations of cheating, including the 1994 "Launch Control" controversy and the 2007 "Spygate" affair, although in both cases his teams escaped penalties. He was forced out of Renault and received a lifetime ban from F1 after the 2008 "Crashgate" scandal, although a French court subsequently overturned the ban. Fifteen years later, he returned to the Enstone team, which currently operates as Alpine F1.

Briatore started his career as a restaurant manager and insurance salesman in Italy. He was convicted in Italy on several fraud charges in the 1980s, receiving two prison sentences, though the convictions were later extinguished by an amnesty. He spent several years as a fugitive in the Virgin Islands and the United States, where he set up several United Colors of Benetton franchises, paving the way for his role at Benetton's F1 team. From 2007 to 2011, he was part-owner and chairman of English association football team Queens Park Rangers.

Briatore was born in Verzuolo near Cuneo in the Maritime Alps. His parents were school teachers.^[1] After twice failing public (state) school, he attended Fassino di Busca, a private (independent) school, receiving a diploma with the lowest grades in Land Surveying.^[2]

Briatore found early work as a ski instructor and restaurant manager. He opened a restaurant named Tribüla, which was his own nickname. (The term Tribüla refers to "a restless character who will do almost anything to get what he wants." Briatore admitted that the name fit him well.^[1]) The restaurant was unsuccessful and had to close due to excessive debt.^[3][4]

In the 1970s, Briatore moved to Cuneo and became an assistant to businessman Attilio Dutto, owner of the Paramatti Vernici paint company.^[1] Dutto was killed on 21 March 1979 in a car bomb attack by an unknown perpetrator.^[5] Briatore then moved to Milan and worked for Finanziaria Generale Italia at the Italian stock exchange.^[6]

While working in Milan, Briatore met Luciano Benetton, founder of the Benetton clothing company.^{[citation needed]} When Benetton expanded to the United States in 1979, he appointed Briatore to lead the group's American operations.^[7]

In the 1980s, Briatore was convicted of multiple counts of fraud and received two prison sentences.^{[2][8][9][10]} In 1984, a court in Bergamo found him guilty of fraud arising from the collapse of Milan's Compagnia Generale Industriale.^[1] It sentenced him to a prison term of one year and six months (reduced to one year on appeal), as well as a fine.^[8][11] In 1986, a court in Milan found Briatore guilty of fraud and conspiracy; he helped a ring of confidence tricksters that recruited gamblers to play rigged card games. He received a three-year sentence (reduced to one year and two months on appeal).^[12][13]

To avoid imprisonment, Briatore fled the country and lived as a fugitive in Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands.^[14] He did not return to the EU until his convictions were extinguished by amnesty.^[15][16] In 2010, a Turin court ordered Briatore rehabilitated, which by Italian Criminal Code results in the extinction "of any criminal effect of the conviction".^[17]

In 1999, the Corriere della Sera reported that Briatore had been arrested in Nairobi on suspicion of fraud relating to real estate in Kenya.^[10] Briatore successfully sued the newspaper for libel and received compensation.^{[citation needed]}

During his exile, Briatore continued working for Benetton. By 1989, there were 800 Benetton stores in the United States,^[1] which was attributed to Benetton and Briatore's franchising methods. Briatore became very wealthy, as he received a cut of every franchising agreement. Briatore also opened some Benetton stores in the Virgin Islands. However, store operators complained that Benetton sold too many franchises, which created excessive competition.^[7]

In 1985, the Benetton family purchased Formula One team Toleman Motorsport, which it then renamed to Benetton Formula. At first, Briatore (who was not interested in auto racing) was not involved with the team.^[18] He did not attend a race until the 1988 Australian Grand Prix. However, the Benetton family reassigned him to manage the team's commercial operations.^[1] Benetton eventually fired the team leadership, allowing Briatore to rise to team principal. Under Briatore's leadership, "the rebel F1 team became a part of the establishment" and won three world championships.^[18]

Briatore's skills lay primarily on the commercial side of the sport, and he reportedly "revelled in his technical ignorance of F1" from day one.^[19] Even so, he built a "super team" of talented engineers at Benetton.^[1] He started by hiring celebrated chassis designer John Barnard, but existing designers Rory Byrne and Pat Symonds disliked working with Barnard.^[1] In 1990, Byrne, Symonds, and 11 other engineers quit en masse to join the abortive Adrian Reynard F1 project.^[19] To Symonds' surprise, Briatore stayed on good terms with him and Byrne, and convinced them to return at the end of the 1991 season; Barnard was fired.^[19] Briatore also hired Tom Walkinshaw and Ross Brawn.^[1] In 1992, the team moved to a new facility at Enstone, Oxfordshire, where it remains to this day.^[20]

Briatore also became famous for his "hard-nosed" approach to hiring and firing drivers; Motor Sport noted that over the years, "Johnny Herbert, Martin Brundle, Jos Verstappen, JJ Lehto and Jarno Trulli all felt the full force" of Briatore's wrath.^[1]

Briatore lured rookie driver Michael Schumacher from the Jordan team after his first F1 race in 1991. The Times observed that Briatore knew Schumacher could be the best and built a team around him at Benetton.^[21]

The circumstances of Schumacher's move were controversial. Reportedly, Schumacher had signed a letter of intent to sign "a contract" with Jordan for 1991 to 1993, but once Briatore grew interested, Benetton and Schumacher's management interpreted the letter as allowing Schumacher to satisfy his obligation to Jordan with non-racing contracts. Briatore won a legal battle with Jordan, allowing him to sign the German. Briatore also ousted Benetton driver Roberto Moreno to make room for Schumacher, arguing that Benetton's deal with Moreno only obliged Briatore to supply him with a chassis, not an engine. Moreno eventually accepted a buyout. According to Briatore, Moreno's teammate Nelson Piquet was so upset by Briatore's treatment of Moreno that he temporarily quit the team, and Ayrton Senna also criticized Briatore's actions. Briatore convinced Piquet to return by threatening to replace him with Alex Zanardi.^[22]

As the team improved, Schumacher won two races in 1992 and 1993, and claimed the World Drivers' Championship in 1994 and 1995.

During the 1994 season, Benetton was accused of multiple forms of cheating. Although Formula One had banned electronic driver aids ahead of the 1994 season, it was later revealed that Benetton's cars had retained illegal software, although it remains disputed whether Benetton ever used it. Benetton's second driver, Jos Verstappen, claimed that Briatore knew about the software and encouraged him to "not talk about it."^[23] In addition, an investigation into a fire during a Verstappen pit stop revealed that Benetton had discarded a regulation fuel filter to speed up its pit stops, although Briatore escaped punishment after pointing out that multiple teams had done the same thing.^[24] Schumacher received a two-race ban for ignoring a black flag (under instructions from the team^[24]) at the British Grand Prix, and controversially clinched his first title by crashing into his closest competitor at the Australian Grand Prix.

Following Schumacher's 1994 title season, Ferrari's Umberto Agnelli offered Briatore a job at the Scuderia, but Briatore declined, as he owned 30% of the Benetton team.^[25] Instead, Briatore upgraded Benetton further by buying the Ligier team—one of the only Formula One teams with a contract for the dominant Renault engines—and transferring its Renault contract to Benetton. Tom Walkinshaw was reassigned to run Ligier, which was sold to Alain Prost (Prost Grand Prix) two years later. With Renault power, Benetton won the 1995 Constructors' Championship. Byrne and Symonds claimed that their 1995 victory vindicated them after the accusations of 1994.^[18]

Schumacher left for Scuderia Ferrari before the 1996 season, and lured Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn to Maranello at the end of the year.^[20] Briatore retaliated by signing Ferrari's drivers Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi,^[19] but the Benetton team slipped to the middle of the grid.^[20] In 1997, Benetton replaced Briatore with David Richards.^[6]

Briatore sold his Benetton shares and invested the proceeds in Supertec,^[19] which he led from 1998 to 2000. Supertec was formed in the wake of Renault's departure from Formula One to supply the old Renault engines (built by Mecachrome) to F1 teams, including Benetton itself (1999 & 2000 as "Playlife"), Williams and BAR in 1999, and Arrows in 2000.^[7] Briatore forced Benetton to pay £17m/year to keep Renault power.^[19]

Briatore also purchased a share of the Minardi team in 1996, but after failing to sell it to British American Tobacco as he had hoped, he sold out to fellow owners Giancarlo Minardi and Gabriele Rumi.^[6]

In 2000, Renault announced its plans to return to Formula One with the purchase of the Benetton Formula team. Briatore returned as managing director and team principal, replacing Rocco Benetton. The team raced as Benetton-Renault in 2001 before becoming Renault F1 in 2002.

Briatore has a reputation as a talent-scout and probably his greatest 'find' has been Fernando Alonso. Briatore met with the teenage Spaniard in 1999. As his manager, Briatore secured him a race drive with Minardi in 2001 and promoted him to test-driver for Renault in 2002.^[7]

In 2003, Briatore fired race-driver Jenson Button and replaced him with Alonso. When he replaced Button, the outcry was huge but Briatore stated, "time will tell if I am wrong".^[26]

With Alonso, Renault won both the driver's and constructor's championships in 2005 and 2006. However, Alonso turned his back on Briatore to sign for rivals McLaren for 2007.^[7]

Briatore also acted as manager for Mark Webber, Jarno Trulli, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Heikki Kovalainen. Despite winning the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix, Trulli was dropped from Renault by Briatore and replaced by Giancarlo Fisichella.^[7]

In April 2006, Renault F1's new president Alain Dassas stated that having a contract with Briatore for 2007 was 'a key factor' in securing the company's commitment to the sport, "and we will do everything to ensure Flavio stays".^[27] Briatore was duly confirmed on 6 September 2006 as staying at Renault for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.^[28]

Briatore replaced Alonso with Kovalainen for 2007, saying "with Kovalainen, I hope to find the anti-Alonso".^[29]

Allegations were made during November 2007 by the FIA against the Renault F1 team regarding information they were found to have in their possession concerning the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars. These allegations were the subject of an FIA investigation, with an FIA hearing taking place on 6 December 2007. Renault were found guilty of breaching the same regulation as McLaren (see F1 espionage scandal), but were not punished. Despite this guilty verdict, Briatore hit back at McLaren's Ron Dennis, saying "here is a team that acquired an advantage illegally. Just read the regulations: for intellectual property theft the punishment is exclusion... Ron Dennis… was the one who protested us on the mass damper. He is not the immaculate saint he pretends to be on his statements".^[30]

In August 2009, Briatore was heavily criticised by Nelson Piquet Jr., the son of three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet, after Piquet Jr. was removed from the Renault team. On his personal website, Piquet Jr. called Briatore his "executioner".^[31] In an interview with Autosport, Piquet Jr. said that Briatore "is ignorant about Formula 1".^[31] Piquet Jr. criticised Briatore for his ego and for his poor sense of race tactics.^[31]

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• Renault F1's team boss, top engineer quit as team accepts cheating claim

Briatore resigned as team principal of Renault due to a race fixing scandal. The controversy centred on an early crash involving Nelson Piquet Jr.'s car during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix of 28 September 2008, when he was still driving for Renault. At the time, Piquet Jr. described the crash as a simple mistake; however, shortly after his acrimonious departure from Renault and criticism of Briatore nearly a year later in August 2009, allegations surfaced that he had deliberately crashed to help Renault teammate Fernando Alonso, who went on to win the race. After a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) investigation, on 4 September 2009 Renault were charged with conspiracy and race fixing, and were due to face the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on 21 September 2009. In return for immunity from punishment, Piquet Jr. had reportedly stated to the FIA that he had been asked to crash by Briatore and Renault chief engineer Pat Symonds. On 11 September, following leaks of Piquet Jr.'s evidence, Renault and Briatore stated they would take legal action against Piquet Jr. for making false allegations. However, five days later, Renault announced they would not contest the charges and that Briatore and Symonds had left the team.^[32][33] The day after the Renault announcement, Renault confirmed Briatore had resigned from the team, while Briatore himself stated of his departure that "I was just trying to save the team", "It's my duty. That's the reason I've finished."^[34][35] The team issued the following official statement:

The ING Renault F1 Team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. It also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team.^[36]

At the same hearing, the FIA banned Briatore from FIA-sanctioned events indefinitely. The FIA also stated that it would not renew any superlicence granted to Briatore-managed drivers, effectively barring him from managing drivers who participate in any competition that is under the FIA's authority. The FIA stated that it was coming down hard on Briatore because he denied his involvement despite overwhelming evidence and that Renault's actions were serious enough to merit being thrown out of F1. However, since Renault took swift action by forcing Briatore and Symonds to resign once the affair came to light, the FIA effectively placed the team on two years' probation. If Renault committed a comparable offence between 2009 and 2011, it was to be indefinitely banned from F1.^[37] British newspaper The Daily Mirror described the ban as the harshest sanction ever imposed on an individual in the history of motorsport.^[38]

Briatore later said he was "distraught" at the FIA's action and sued the FIA in French courts to clear his name.^[39] On 5 January 2010, the Tribunal de Grande Instance overturned the ban and granted him €15,000 in compensation.^[40] The tribunal declared in particular that "the decision of the World Council was presided over by the FIA president, who was well known to be in conflict with Briatore, with Mr Mosley having played a leading role in launching the inquiry and its investigation in violation of the principle of separation of the power of the bodies".^[41] The FIA announced that it would appeal the decision issued by the French court, but the two parties reached an out-of-court settlement the following April.^[42][43]

Although the French court ruling made Briatore eligible to return to Formula One in theory, he said that he did not expect to work in F1 again.^[44] He spent fifteen years on the sidelines of the sport.^[45] However, he remained associated with the sport, particularly through his close relationship with Fernando Alonso.^[19]

During his time away from Formula One, Briatore maintained his longstanding belief^[7] that Formula One should focus on spectator entertainment over technical innovation.^[46] He frequently criticised the direction of modern Formula One, and particularly its emphasis on "hidden technology," saying that "nothing costs more, and delivers less entertainment".^[46] He attacked the larger auto manufacturers' push for fuel-efficient engines, saying that the new engines' slower speeds were not fun to watch^[47] and that fans wanted to hear the loud noises of the old Formula One engines.^[48] He also criticised the new Formula One spending cap, saying that independent teams could not reasonably reach the $175 million ceiling.^[25]

In May 2024, Briatore returned to Enstone and Renault (now competing as the Alpine F1 Team).^[45] He was given the title of Executive Advisor for the Formula One Division.^[49] Although he was employed by the parent Renault company and not the official Alpine team,^[50] Motor Sport reported that Briatore had "effectively been given full scope for hirings and firings within the team."^[51] Car magazine interpreted his role as "team boss in all but name."^[52]

Briatore's return to F1 was controversial, largely due to lingering memories from Crashgate.^[52][51][53] However, several F1 executives, including Mercedes' Toto Wolff, Ferrari's Frédéric Vasseur, and Sauber's Alessandro Alunni Bravi, commented positively on the move.^[54]

Upon returning to Renault/Alpine, Briatore aggressively cut expenses, reducing headcount at Alpine's Enstone facility by 25%^[55] and shuttering Renault's Viry-Châtillon engine operation in favor of a customer engine supply from Mercedes.^[56][57] Briatore attributed the engine decision to Renault senior management, saying that the decision was made before he joined the team, and that "whatever our chairman decides [is] fine."^[57] Several media outlets suggested that Renault CEO Luca de Meo had given Briatore a mandate to make the team more attractive to a potential buyer,^[51] but Briatore denied the accusation.^[58][57]

On 6 May 2025, following the mid-season resignation of team principal Oliver Oakes, Briatore became Alpine's de facto team principal. He is not the official team principal, as he is not an Alpine employee and he does not hold the requisite FIA license.^[50]

Briatore has developed a diverse portfolio of business interests outside Formula 1, many of which revolve around fashion.

He created the Billionaire nightclub [it] brand in 1998 and owns a club in Sardinia; in August 2012, he opened another Billionaire club in Marbella under that name along with an haute couture line, Billionaire Italian Couture. In addition to that, he opened Cipriani's restaurant in Mayfair, London, in 2004 and until 2007 owned 48.9% of the pharmaceuticals company Pierrel [it]. He also operates a Tuscan beach club and Lion in the Sun, a holiday resort in Kenya.^[7]

Briatore is a beneficiary of Autumn Sailing Ltd, which purchased the super yacht Force Blue from Home Shopping Network investor Roy Speer for £68.2m.^[59] She was given a refitted interior designed by Celeste dell'Anna and a blue exterior. The yacht was then chartered by a number of individuals including Briatore, who named it as the most extravagant present he had ever bought himself.^[60] In 2010, the yacht was seized by officers investigating a tax fraud over its charter status and VAT on fuel.^[61] The Italian Supreme Court ruled that there were no issues with the seizure, though the yacht itself was released^[62]

In 2007, Briatore was linked to a takeover of English Championship football club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) from a Monaco-based consortium led by Gianni Paladini.^[63] On 1 September 2007, it was officially announced that Briatore (along with Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshmi Mittal) had bought the club.^[64] On 7 November 2007, Briatore completed his takeover of QPR together with Ecclestone. He served as the club's chairman.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2007, Briatore and Ecclestone were joined as co-owners of QPR by multi-billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, who bought 20% of the club.^[65]

Following Briatore's ban from FIA, the Football League requested that FIA provide details of its investigation. The Football League could force Briatore out of QPR under rules that stipulate a club owner must be a "fit and proper person". The Football League also has the power to ban owners who have been banned from another sporting organisation.^[66] The Football League board discussed the matter on 8 October 2009 and declared that they would be awaiting a response from Briatore to various questions before commenting further. It was announced that he had stepped down from the post, effective from 19 February 2010.^{[citation needed]}

When interviewed about the QPR experience on an Italian chat show, he stated: "I will never invest in a football club again, it's only ever a good idea if you're very rich and looking for ways to waste your money. In two years you'll be very poor and won't have that problem anymore"

In 1993, an explosive device destroyed the front door of Briatore's London mansion. The Provisional Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility.^[67]

In 1998, Briatore became engaged to supermodel Naomi Campbell; they were involved in an on-again-off-again relationship until their separation in 2003. Campbell now considers him her "mentor".^[68]

In March 2003, Briatore began dating supermodel Heidi Klum. In December, she announced her pregnancy.^[69] Soon after, the two split and Klum began dating the musician Seal. Klum gave birth to Leni Klum in New York City in May 2004.^[70] According to Klum, Briatore is not involved in Leni's life; she has stated emphatically that "Seal is Leni's father".^[71] In 2009, Briatore allowed Seal to adopt his daughter and change her name.^[72]

Briatore married the 'Wonderbra' model Elisabetta Gregoraci on 14 June 2008.^[73] Gregoraci gave birth to their son in Nice, France in 2010.^{[74][unreliable source?]}

In 2019, Briatore founded the political party Movimento del Fare.^[75]

• The Apprentice (Italian TV series)

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