Flavio Briatore is not a man accustomed to standing on the sidelines of victory, nor is he content with mid-pack mediocrity.
The flamboyant Italian executive advisor to Alpine F1 has made a career out of disruption, trophies, and swagger, and he views Enstone not as a rebuilding project, but as a sleeping powerhouse that simply needs to wake up and seize its former glory.
With a high-profile Mercedes engine partnership powering the team's new era alongside heavy capital expenditure investment in the factory, the foundation for a resurgence is firmly in place.
Yet, despite these crucial assets, the immediate reality remains a frustrating grind inside Formula 1’s midfield, well adrift from the sharp end of the grid.
For Briatore, the gap between Alpine and the top step of the podium isn't an insurmountable chasm of resources – it's a puzzle waiting to be solved.
He looks at the paddock and sees no reason why the team cannot regularly battle and beat the sport’s titans, demanding a fresh, risk-taking mindset to turn potential into silverware.
‘We have everything to win’
Speaking in an interview with The Race’s Darren Cox, Briatore expressed his bewilderment at Alpine's performance given the tools at their disposal.
When asked whether the team could realistically win within the next five years – considering Briatore himself noted he might not be around that long – the veteran boss offered a characteristically direct assessment.
"We have everything to win," Briatore insisted. "Because, you know, the agreement we've done with Mercedes is a super agreement, because we picked up the right partner. And we're investing in CapEx a lot of money in the factory.
"We have everything. We need to put the pieces together. To put the pieces together, you need to be a little bit more creative than what we are now, take more risk than what we take now.
“But I'm sure this team, I don't know why we're not winning. I don't know why we don't beat McLaren. I don't know why we don't beat Ferrari."
Reminding everyone of Enstone’s rich championship legacy, Briatore emphasized that the mindset needs to match the historical success.
"We've done it before,” he said. “It's only a question to believe what you're doing, you know? It's a question to compete with these people."
Benchmarked targets and internal stability
Setting the standard for progress, Briatore highlighted the steady steps required before launching a full championship assault, tying his own performance metrics to the team's upward trajectory.
"And surely, you need the first year. This is the first year we have a little bit of the pieces together," he explained.
“Last year, I promised to Renault, next year we are in the first six. If we make it, maybe we are in the first five. But surely, the first six from P10 to P6 is already there. It is what I promised. My bonus is in the first six. Anyway, at least I take the bonus. But it's…"
Flavio Briatore with Alpine managing director, Steve Nielsen.
When quizzed by Cox on what his bonus is based on for next year, Briatore shrugged off the specific timeline: "No, no, this year. This year, next year, plenty of bonus."
Turning his focus back to the competitive hierarchy, Briatore pointed out that state-of-the-art facilities don't automatically guarantee performance on Sunday as Aston Martin has painfully demonstrated. As far as the Italian is concerned, mindset is the real gamechanger.
"I don't see what the other people have,” he said. “Sure, maybe somebody has a better facility. But we see as well the example of Aston Martin, with the best facility in the world, and the best engineer in the world.
“It's not so competitive, you know? It's only a question of the people need to believe it's possible to win. Put all the effort."
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Addressing the internal technical structure, Briatore believes the talent exists within the team, but it needs proper evaluation and direction.
"And maybe we have very good engineering here, but it's still in the bench. I think so,” he explained.
“Our technical director [David Sanchez] needs to be really, really looking. Now, we've done the first car all together. Now, all the technical part, we didn't understand who's good, who's bad, who's doing very good, very bad. But now we have a picture.
“Before, there was no picture, because there were so many changes. Now we have stability."
That newfound stability, according to Briatore, has dramatically shifted how Enstone is perceived across the paddock.
"And we have people calling us to join the team, to join helping. Before, everybody was taking opportunities, Cadillac, Aston Martin, et cetera, et cetera.
“Now, a lot of people want to come back. For the moment, no. I don't want anybody, the people left, to say a word. I don't care,” Briatore concluded.
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