Johnny Herbert believes Flavio Briatore should “not be back in F1” after the Italian maverick returned to the paddock with Alpine as de facto team principal.
Briatore, 75, will enact all the duties of former team principal Oliver Oakes after the Briton’s resignation three weeks ago, due to personal reasons.
While Briatore’s official title will remain “executive adviser”, he is effectively back as team boss 17 years after the 2008 Crashgate scandal, when he was initially given a lifetime ban from the sport for his role as Renault team principal in Nelson Piquet Jnr’s deliberate crash in Singapore.
Briatore’s ban was later overturned in the French courts but, given his chequered past, ex-F1 driver Herbert believes it’s wrong that the Italian has returned in a team-leading capacity in the paddock.
“I didn't agree when Flavio Briatore came back and I still don't agree that he's back,” Herbert said.
“But he is back and he's in the battle. He's now head of the Alpine team and running it.
“Those decisions have been made, as I said, don't agree. I don't think it's the right thing, he's back.”
Briatore, who returned to Renault-owned Alpine last summer as “executive adviser”, recently decided to drop Jack Doohan after just seven races for Argentine driver Franco Colapinto.
However, with a keen eye on new regulations in 2026 and a chance for Alpine to narrow the gap to the frontrunners, Herbert believes Briatore could target a seasoned veteran in the F1 cockpit.
“If Briatore is someone who gets Sergio Perez at Alpine and Perez does a good job and then Flavio gets on his side, he'd be in a very strong position,” Hebert said, in quotes associated with Hochgepokert.com. “If it doesn't go well, you'll have exactly what's happened with Jack Doohan.
“That is always going to be part of what Flavio does. He will always choose one.
“He's one who has always done that and that's where it can be very damaging for the driver’s career, but also just mentally.”
Alpine failed to score points at the last race in Monaco; F1 next heads to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.
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