Flavio Briatore
Encyclopedia
Flavio Briatore is an Italian
businessman. During the 1980s, he was convicted for multiple counts of fraud, receiving two prison sentences, only one of which he served. As a fugitive from Italy, he set up restaurants and then a number of successful Benneton franchises in the Virgin Islands
and the United States. In 1990, he was promoted to manager of the Benetton Formula One
racing team and then, more recently, Renault F1
. He was also part-owner and chairman of London
's Queens Park Rangers F.C.
from 2007 to 2010. On 16 September 2009, Briatore was forced to resign from the ING Renault F1 team due to his involvement in race fixing
at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix
. After the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
(FIA) conducted its own investigation, Briatore was banned indefinitely from any events sanctioned by the FIA, although this ban was later overturned by the French Tribunal de Grande Instance
.
near Cuneo
, Italy
, in the Maritime Alps
, to a family of elementary school teachers. After being flunked out for two times from the public school (state school), he had to go to a private school (independent school) to get a diploma with the lowest grades in Land Surveying at Fassino di Busca high school. Briatore found early work as a ski instructor and restaurant manager. He opened a restaurant named Tribüla, which was Briatore's nickname. The restaurant was unsuccessful and went bankrupt.
Then he worked as door-to-door assurance policies salesman. In the 1970s, he moved to Cuneo
and became an assistant to businessman Attilio Dutto, owner of the Paramatti Vernici paint company (formerly owned by Michele Sindona
). Dutto was killed on 21 March 1979 in a car bomb attack by an unknown perpetrator. From then on, Briatore started his business career.
Briatore moved to Milan
and worked in the Italian stock exchange
. During this period, he met Luciano Benetton, founder of the Benetton
clothing company.
Briatore was first convicted for fraud for a scheme that used fake playing cards. He set up rigged poker games, which used fake playing cards. He was sentenced to one and a half years imprisonment, which he served. Later, Briatore was involved in the bankruptcy of Paramatti. He was convicted on various counts of fraud in Bergamo and Milan, for which he was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison. To avoid imprisonment, he fled to Saint Thomas,Virgin Islands. He never went to prison and he came back to Italy only thanks to an act of oblivion In spite of his fugitiveness, he kept close relations with Benetton and opened some Benetton stores in the Virgin Islands. When Benetton opened his first five stores in the United States
in 1979, he appointed Briatore as director of the group's American operations.
Thanks to Benetton's methods of franchising, the chain experienced a brief boom in popularity in the US where, by 1989, there were eight hundred Benetton stores. Briatore, having taken a cut of each franchising agreement, became very wealthy. As store owners began to complain of competition from other Benetton stores, the number of stores decreased to two hundred and Briatore began to look for a new business. In 1999, it was reported he was arrested on suspicion of fraud in Nairobi, relating to charges of fraud relating to real estate in Kenya.
race, the Australian Grand Prix
, in , having in the past proclaimed his lack of interest in the sport. Luciano Benetton appointed him commercial director of his Formula One team, Benetton Formula Ltd.
(formerly Toleman
), and when he fired the team management shortly thereafter, Briatore was promoted to managing director and set about turning Benetton into a competitive team.
He hired and quickly fired engineer John Barnard
. Barnard's successor was Tom Walkinshaw
, whose greatest achievement with the team was to lure young driver Michael Schumacher
from the Jordan
team after his first F1 race in . Briatore, too, contributed to this achievement. The Times
observed that Briatore knew Schumacher could be the best and built a team around him at Benetton that eventually beat the Williams driver Damon Hill
to the World Championship after Ayrton Senna
was killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix
.
Schumacher went on to win at Spa
in and again at Estoril
in before claiming the World Drivers' Championship in and . The Benetton team won the World Constructors' Championship in 1995.
During the season, Briatore's Benneton team came under allegations of cheating
, resulting in fines and a two-race ban for Schumacher.
Late in , Briatore purchased the ailing Ligier team to acquire its stock of Renault
engines. FIA regulations, however, did not permit him to own the team, so he sold it to Walkinshaw. He took on complete management of Benetton, but when Schumacher and a number of key technical staffers departed for Ferrari
in , the team slipped to the middle of the grid.
Briatore purchased a share of the Minardi
team in , but being unable to sell it to British American Tobacco
, as he had hoped, he sold out to fellow owners Giancarlo Minardi
and Gabriele Rumi. Benetton fired him in in favour of David Richards
.
From to , he led Renault
's motorsport sister company Mecachrome
, which provided older 1997 Renault
engines to the Williams
(1998–1999), Benetton
(1998–2000), BAR
(1999) and Arrows
(2000) teams under the brand names Mecachrome
(1998), Supertec
(1999–2000) and Playlife
(for Benetton 1998–2000).
. 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.
For 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.'
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.
Briatore also acts as manager for Mark Webber
and Heikki Kovalainen
, and formerly managed Jarno Trulli
and Nelson Piquet, Jr. Despite winning the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix
, Trulli was dropped from Renault by Briatore and replaced by Giancarlo Fisichella
.
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.' Briatore was duly confirmed as staying at Renault for the 2007 and 2008 seasons on 6 September 2006.
Briatore replaced Alonso with Kovalainen for 2007, saying: "With Kovalainen, I hope to find the anti-Alonso".
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 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."
In August 2009, Briatore was heavily criticised by Nelson Piquet, Jr. after he was sacked from the Renault team. Writing on his own site, Piquet said "A manager is supposed to encourage you, support you, and provide you with opportunities. In my case it was the opposite. Flavio Briatore was my executioner."
In an interview with Autosport
magazine, Piquet Jr. said that Briatore "is ignorant about Formula 1” and revealed that “If you listen to the pit-wall radio, it's like a joke. He hasn't got a clue what is happening in the race… he makes comments that don't make any sense.”
The son of the three times F1 champion Nelson Piquet
affirmed "everyone knows that his (Briatore) ego is bigger than anything else. He likes to show off. You can be a very good businessman and whatever, but the F1 team itself can do very well without him. The only good thing the team takes out of him is his good relationship with Bernie Ecclestone
and the FIA. Other than that, he doesn't know what is going on. It's like listening to something my sister would say about the car."
of 28 September 2008. 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 Piquet Jr. had deliberately crashed to help Renault team mate 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. 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." A statement released said:
At the same hearing, the FIA banned Briatore from FIA-sanctioned events indefinitely. Briatore is not permitted to attend FIA events even as a spectator. It 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 came down hard on Briatore because he denied his involvement despite overwhelming evidence. The FIA stated 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 commits a comparable offense between 2009 and 2011, they will be indefinitely banned from F1. British newspaper The Daily Mirror
described the ban as the harshest sanction ever imposed on an individual in the history of motorsport.
Briatore later said he was "distraught" by FIA's action, and sued the FIA in French courts in order to clear his name. On January 5, 2010, the Tribunal de Grande Instance
overturned the ban, and granted him €15,000 in compensation. The FIA announced that it would appeal the decision issued by the French Court, but the two parties later reached an out-of-court settlement in April.
Briatore has stated in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport that he is sure that he will not return to Formula One, despite having his ban overturned.
Twelve years later his feelings were much the same: "The people in charge should be businessmen, as they are in Hollywood, not ex-engineers. Nothing costs more, and delivers less entertainment, than hidden technology. And that’s what engineers love most of all."
In 2007 he even went so far as to suggest that Grands Prix be split into two separate races as in the GP2 series
.
He has a reputation of buying either undervalued and under performing assets and turning them around in a short period of time usually 3– 5 years. As evident because of his experience and contact base, access to Equity Managers and International Finance Capital makes most of the deals workable where others have failed.
He created the Billionaire brand in 1998 and owns a club in Sardinia
under that name. A line of Billionaire fashion and sportswear is available as well as a haute couture line, Billionaire Italian Couture. In addition to that he opened Cipriani's restaurant
in Mayfair
, London
in 2004 and owned until 2007 48.9% of the pharmaceuticals company Pierrel. He also operates a Tuscan
beach club and Lion in the Sun, a holiday resort in Kenya
.
He purchased the super yacht Force Blue
from Home Shopping Network
investor Roy Speer
for £68.2m. She was given a refitted interior designed by Celeste dell`Anna, and given a blue exterior.
In 2007 he was linked to a takeover of English Championship Club, Queens Park Rangers, from a Monaco
based consortium led by Gianni Paladini
. On 1 September 2007 it was officially announced that Briatore (along with Bernie Ecclestone
) had bought Queens Park Rangers (QPR) Football Club.
. He serves as the club's chairman.
In December 2007, Briatore and Ecclestone were joined as co-owners of QPR by multi-billionaire Lakshmi Mittal
, the 4th richest person in the world, who bought 20% of the club http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=504087&in_page_id=1779&ito=1490
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. 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 has stepped down from the post on 19 February 2010.
Heidi Klum
. In December she announced her pregnancy. Soon after the two split and Klum began dating the musician Seal
.
Klum gave birth to Helene (Leni) Klum in May 2004 in New York City
. According to Klum, Briatore is not involved in Leni's life; she has stated emphatically that "Seal is Leni's father". In 2009 Briatore allowed Seal to adopt his daughter and change her name to Helene Samuel.
58-year-old Briatore married the 28-year-old 'Wonderbra
' model Elisabetta Gregoraci
, on 14 June 2008. The driver of the bridal car was Fernando Alonso
. After the ceremony, Alonso drove the newlyweds to the reception at the Castello di Torcrescenza in Rome Gregoraci gave birth to their son Falco Nathan in Nice, France on 18 March 2010.
Briatore is a long-time follower of Italian football club Juventus F.C.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
businessman. During the 1980s, he was convicted for multiple counts of fraud, receiving two prison sentences, only one of which he served. As a fugitive from Italy, he set up restaurants and then a number of successful Benneton franchises in the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
and the United States. In 1990, he was promoted to manager of the Benetton Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing team and then, more recently, Renault F1
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
. He was also part-owner and chairman of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
from 2007 to 2010. On 16 September 2009, Briatore was forced to resign from the ING Renault F1 team due to his involvement in race fixing
Renault Formula One crash controversy
The Renault Formula One crash controversy, dubbed Crashgate by some in the media, is a sporting scandal perpetrated by the Renault F1 team who ordered Nelson Piquet, Jr...
at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore Grand Prix
The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, formally known as the 2008 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was a Formula One race held on 28 September 2008 at the newly built Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore...
. After the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
(FIA) conducted its own investigation, Briatore was banned indefinitely from any events sanctioned by the FIA, although this ban was later overturned by the French Tribunal de Grande Instance
Tribunal d'instance
In France, the Tribunal d'instance , is a judicial inferior court of record of first instance for general civil suits and includes a criminal division, the Police Court , which hears cases of misdemeanors or summary offences...
.
Early life and Benetton career
Briatore was born in VerzuoloVerzuolo
Verzuolo is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 66 km southwest of Turin and about 25 km north of Cuneo...
near Cuneo
Cuneo
Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in the Maritime Alps
Maritime Alps
The Maritime Alps are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the French département Alpes-Maritimes and the Italian province of Cuneo. The Col de Tende separates them from the Ligurian Alps; the Maddalena Pass separates them from the Cottian Alps...
, to a family of elementary school teachers. After being flunked out for two times from the public school (state school), he had to go to a private school (independent school) to get a diploma with the lowest grades in Land Surveying at Fassino di Busca high school. Briatore found early work as a ski instructor and restaurant manager. He opened a restaurant named Tribüla, which was Briatore's nickname. The restaurant was unsuccessful and went bankrupt.
Then he worked as door-to-door assurance policies salesman. In the 1970s, he moved to Cuneo
Cuneo
Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area...
and became an assistant to businessman Attilio Dutto, owner of the Paramatti Vernici paint company (formerly owned by Michele Sindona
Michele Sindona
Michele Sindona was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a member of Propaganda Due , a secret lodge of Italian Freemasonry, and had clear connections to the Mafia...
). Dutto was killed on 21 March 1979 in a car bomb attack by an unknown perpetrator. From then on, Briatore started his business career.
Briatore moved to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and worked in the Italian stock exchange
Borsa Italiana
The Borsa Italiana S.p.A., based in Milan, is Italy's main stock exchange. It was privatised in 1997 and is a part of the London Stock Exchange Group plc since 2007. In 2005, the companies listed on the Borsa were worth US$890 billion...
. During this period, he met Luciano Benetton, founder of the Benetton
Benetton Group
Benetton Group S.p.A. is a global luxury fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan....
clothing company.
Briatore was first convicted for fraud for a scheme that used fake playing cards. He set up rigged poker games, which used fake playing cards. He was sentenced to one and a half years imprisonment, which he served. Later, Briatore was involved in the bankruptcy of Paramatti. He was convicted on various counts of fraud in Bergamo and Milan, for which he was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison. To avoid imprisonment, he fled to Saint Thomas,Virgin Islands. He never went to prison and he came back to Italy only thanks to an act of oblivion In spite of his fugitiveness, he kept close relations with Benetton and opened some Benetton stores in the Virgin Islands. When Benetton opened his first five stores in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1979, he appointed Briatore as director of the group's American operations.
Thanks to Benetton's methods of franchising, the chain experienced a brief boom in popularity in the US where, by 1989, there were eight hundred Benetton stores. Briatore, having taken a cut of each franchising agreement, became very wealthy. As store owners began to complain of competition from other Benetton stores, the number of stores decreased to two hundred and Briatore began to look for a new business. In 1999, it was reported he was arrested on suspicion of fraud in Nairobi, relating to charges of fraud relating to real estate in Kenya.
Benetton Formula
Briatore attended his first Formula OneFormula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
race, the Australian Grand Prix
1988 Australian Grand Prix
The 1988 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide, on November 13, 1988. It was the 53rd Australian Grand Prix to be held since the original 100 Miles Road Race was held in 1928, and it was the fourth race to be held on the streets of Adelaide as...
, in , having in the past proclaimed his lack of interest in the sport. Luciano Benetton appointed him commercial director of his Formula One team, Benetton Formula Ltd.
Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...
(formerly Toleman
Toleman
Toleman Motosport was a Formula One constructor based in the UK. It was active between 1981 and 1985 and attended 70 Grands Prix.-Origins:In the 1970s, businessmen and motorsport fans Ted Toleman and Alex Hawkridge began their involvement in various car racing formulae in the UK. Ted was also noted...
), and when he fired the team management shortly thereafter, Briatore was promoted to managing director and set about turning Benetton into a competitive team.
He hired and quickly fired engineer John Barnard
John Barnard
John Barnard is a race car designer and is currently working alongside Terence Woodgate designing high specification carbon fibre furniture....
. Barnard's successor was Tom Walkinshaw
Tom Walkinshaw
Tom Walkinshaw was a Scottish racing car driver and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing...
, whose greatest achievement with the team was to lure young driver Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...
from the Jordan
Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan...
team after his first F1 race in . Briatore, too, contributed to this achievement. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
observed that Briatore knew Schumacher could be the best and built a team around him at Benetton that eventually beat the Williams driver Damon Hill
Damon Hill
Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE is a retired British racing driver. In 1996 Hill won the Formula One World Championship. As the son of the late Graham Hill, he is the only son of a world champion to win the title...
to the World Championship after Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...
was killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix
1994 San Marino Grand Prix
The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 1, 1994 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. It was the third race of the 1994 Formula One season...
.
Schumacher went on to win at Spa
1992 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1992 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on August 30, 1992. It was the twelfth round of the 1992 Formula One season. The race was won by Benetton's Michael Schumacher, it was the first of his record 91 Grand Prix wins...
in and again at Estoril
1993 Portuguese Grand Prix
The 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Estoril on September 26, 1993. It was the fourteenth round of the 1993 Formula One season. Michael Schumacher took his only win of the season, while second place was enough for Alain Prost to clinch the championship, after Ayrton...
in before claiming the World Drivers' Championship in and . The Benetton team won the World Constructors' Championship in 1995.
During the season, Briatore's Benneton team came under allegations of cheating
Allegations of cheating in the 1994 Formula One season
The 1994 Formula One cheating controversy was a series of allegations of cheating in the 1994 Formula One season. The cheating allegation went on several Formula One team on that time; one of the main allegations surrounded the Benetton team. The team were alleged to have been using illegal...
, resulting in fines and a two-race ban for Schumacher.
Late in , Briatore purchased the ailing Ligier team to acquire its stock of Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
engines. FIA regulations, however, did not permit him to own the team, so he sold it to Walkinshaw. He took on complete management of Benetton, but when Schumacher and a number of key technical staffers departed for Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
in , the team slipped to the middle of the grid.
Briatore purchased a share of the Minardi
Minardi
Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans...
team in , but being unable to sell it to British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco p.l.c. is a global tobacco company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco company by global market share , with a leading position in more than 50 countries and a presence in more than 180 countries...
, as he had hoped, he sold out to fellow owners Giancarlo Minardi
Giancarlo Minardi
Giancarlo Minardi is the founder and former Managing Director of the now-defunct Minardi Formula One team.Minardi was born in Faenza , Italy and has spent his life with cars. As a young boy, his family managed a Fiat dealership and an Agip fuel station, and currently manages Iveco and Selenia...
and Gabriele Rumi. Benetton fired him in in favour of David Richards
David Richards (racing)
David Pender Richards CBE is the chairman of Prodrive and Aston Martin, and a former team principal of the BAR and Benetton Formula One motor racing teams. He lives with his wife, Karen, in Warwickshire and has three children....
.
From to , he led Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
's motorsport sister company Mecachrome
Mecachrome
Mecachrome SAS is a precision engineering company involved in aviation, the automotive industry, motor racing and industrial engineering, but is most famous for assembling the engines designed by Renault for the Renault Formula One team.-Formula One:...
, which provided older 1997 Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
engines to the Williams
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
(1998–1999), Benetton
Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...
(1998–2000), BAR
British American Racing
British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year...
(1999) and Arrows
Arrows
Arrows Grand Prix International was a British Formula One team active from to . For a period of time, it was also known as Footwork.-Origins :...
(2000) teams under the brand names Mecachrome
Mecachrome
Mecachrome SAS is a precision engineering company involved in aviation, the automotive industry, motor racing and industrial engineering, but is most famous for assembling the engines designed by Renault for the Renault Formula One team.-Formula One:...
(1998), Supertec
Supertec
Supertec was a Formula One engine supplier in 1999 and 2000. Supertec supplied Renault-designed, Mecachrome-built 1998 season engines updated for 1999 and 2000....
(1999–2000) and Playlife
Playlife
Playlife is a fashion company based in Treviso, Italy.The company is owned by the Benetton family and is the sporting label of the clothes manufacturer....
(for Benetton 1998–2000).
Renault F1
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 BenettonRocco Benetton
Rocco Benetton is the former chief executive of the Benetton Formula One team.-Personal background:...
. 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
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
. 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.
For 2003, Briatore fired race-driver Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
and replaced him with Alonso. When he replaced Button the outcry was huge, but Briatore stated, 'Time will tell if I am wrong.'
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.
Briatore also acts as manager for Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
and Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....
, and formerly managed Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert...
and Nelson Piquet, Jr. Despite winning the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix
2004 Monaco Grand Prix
The 2004 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 23, 2004 at the Circuit de Monaco.__FORCETOC__-Summary:One of the most eventful races of the 2004 season, the Monaco Grand Prix saw Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher qualify in fourth place...
, Trulli was dropped from Renault by Briatore and replaced by Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo Fisichella , also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver. He has driven in Formula One for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari. Nowadays, he drives for AF Corse's GT2 Ferrari in various sportscar events...
.
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.' Briatore was duly confirmed as staying at Renault for the 2007 and 2008 seasons on 6 September 2006.
Briatore replaced Alonso with Kovalainen for 2007, saying: "With Kovalainen, I hope to find the anti-Alonso".
Allegations were made during November 2007 by the FIA against the Renault F1
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
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
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
investigation, with an FIA hearing taking place 6 December 2007. Renault were found guilty of breaching the same regulation as McLaren (see F1 espionage scandal
2007 Formula One espionage controversy
The 2007 Formula One espionage controversy, also known as "Spygate," or "Stepneygate" involves allegations that the McLaren Formula One team was passed confidential technical information from the Ferrari team, and that the Renault F1 team was passed confidential technical information from the...
), but were not punished. Despite this guilty verdict, Briatore hit back at McLaren's Ron Dennis
Ron Dennis
Ronald "Ron" Dennis CBE is the executive chairman of McLaren Automotive and McLaren Group, and is also a significant shareholder in both companies...
, 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."
In August 2009, Briatore was heavily criticised by Nelson Piquet, Jr. after he was sacked from the Renault team. Writing on his own site, Piquet said "A manager is supposed to encourage you, support you, and provide you with opportunities. In my case it was the opposite. Flavio Briatore was my executioner."
In an interview with Autosport
Autosport
Autosport is a weekly magazine covering motorsport, published in the United Kingdom every Thursday by Haymarket Consumer Media. It was first published on 25 August 1950 by Gregor Grant, immediately prior to the Silverstone International Trophy meeting of that year...
magazine, Piquet Jr. said that Briatore "is ignorant about Formula 1” and revealed that “If you listen to the pit-wall radio, it's like a joke. He hasn't got a clue what is happening in the race… he makes comments that don't make any sense.”
The son of the three times F1 champion Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
affirmed "everyone knows that his (Briatore) ego is bigger than anything else. He likes to show off. You can be a very good businessman and whatever, but the F1 team itself can do very well without him. The only good thing the team takes out of him is his good relationship with Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
and the FIA. Other than that, he doesn't know what is going on. It's like listening to something my sister would say about the car."
Departure
Briatore was forced to resign as team principal of Renault due to a race fixing scandal. The controversy centered around an early crash involving Renault driver Nelson Piquet, Jr.'s car during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix2008 Singapore Grand Prix
The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, formally known as the 2008 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was a Formula One race held on 28 September 2008 at the newly built Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore...
of 28 September 2008. 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 Piquet Jr. had deliberately crashed to help Renault team mate Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
, who went on to win the race. After a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
(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
FIA World Motor Sport Council
The World Motor Sport Council is the most powerful body of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . It decides on rules and regulations for the FIA's various racing series, from karting to Formula One. Its membership is chosen by the FIA General Assembly, which contains representatives from...
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
Pat Symonds
Patrick Bruce Reith Symonds is the former Executive Director of Engineering of the Renault Formula One team....
. 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. 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." A statement released said:
At the same hearing, the FIA banned Briatore from FIA-sanctioned events indefinitely. Briatore is not permitted to attend FIA events even as a spectator. It 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 came down hard on Briatore because he denied his involvement despite overwhelming evidence. The FIA stated 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 commits a comparable offense between 2009 and 2011, they will be indefinitely banned from F1. British newspaper The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
described the ban as the harshest sanction ever imposed on an individual in the history of motorsport.
Briatore later said he was "distraught" by FIA's action, and sued the FIA in French courts in order to clear his name. On January 5, 2010, the Tribunal de Grande Instance
Tribunal d'instance
In France, the Tribunal d'instance , is a judicial inferior court of record of first instance for general civil suits and includes a criminal division, the Police Court , which hears cases of misdemeanors or summary offences...
overturned the ban, and granted him €15,000 in compensation. The FIA announced that it would appeal the decision issued by the French Court, but the two parties later reached an out-of-court settlement in April.
Briatore has stated in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport that he is sure that he will not return to Formula One, despite having his ban overturned.
Stance on the future of F1
Briatore has always spoken out about his desires to see F1 provide better entertainment. In 1994 he said: "All the team owners are orientated towards the technical side rather than the entertainment side, and this is a big fault. Every meeting that I go to, people are talking about pistons and suspensions. Nobody goes to a race to see that kind of thing… People come to see Schumacher and Senna racing each other."Twelve years later his feelings were much the same: "The people in charge should be businessmen, as they are in Hollywood, not ex-engineers. Nothing costs more, and delivers less entertainment, than hidden technology. And that’s what engineers love most of all."
In 2007 he even went so far as to suggest that Grands Prix be split into two separate races as in the GP2 series
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series, GP2 for short, is a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecclestone also has the rights to the name GP1...
.
Business Interests
Briatore has developed a diverse portfolio of business interests outside Formula 1, many of which revolve around fashion.He has a reputation of buying either undervalued and under performing assets and turning them around in a short period of time usually 3– 5 years. As evident because of his experience and contact base, access to Equity Managers and International Finance Capital makes most of the deals workable where others have failed.
He created the Billionaire brand in 1998 and owns a club in Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
under that name. A line of Billionaire fashion and sportswear is available as well as a haute couture line, Billionaire Italian Couture. In addition to that he opened Cipriani's restaurant
Cipriani S.A.
Cipriani S.A. is a privately owned international corporation based in Luxembourg that owns and operates luxury restaurants and clubs around the world including Harry's Bar in Venice and formerly the Rainbow Room in New York City....
in Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 2004 and owned until 2007 48.9% of the pharmaceuticals company Pierrel. He also operates a Tuscan
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
beach club and Lion in the Sun, a holiday resort in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
.
He purchased the super yacht Force Blue
Force Blue
Force Blue is a trawler-expedition style luxury yacht built by Royal Denship in 2002. She is presently the world's 78th-largest superyacht-Design:...
from Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...
investor Roy Speer
Roy Speer
Roy Speer was the financial backing behind the Home Shopping Network. He was the first CEO of the company and saw its revenue from $1.9 million to over $1 billion annually...
for £68.2m. She was given a refitted interior designed by Celeste dell`Anna, and given a blue exterior.
In 2007 he was linked to a takeover of English Championship Club, Queens Park Rangers, from a Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
based consortium led by Gianni Paladini
Gianni Paladini
Gianni Paladini is the former chairman of Queens Park Rangers football club after replacing Bill Power in a boardroom coup...
. On 1 September 2007 it was officially announced that Briatore (along with Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
) had bought Queens Park Rangers (QPR) Football Club.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club
On 7 November 2007, Briatore completed his takeover of Queens Park Rangers together with Bernie EcclestoneBernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
. He serves as the club's chairman.
In December 2007, Briatore and Ecclestone were joined as co-owners of QPR by multi-billionaire Lakshmi Mittal
Lakshmi Mittal
Lakshmi Narayan Mittal is an Indian steel magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company....
, the 4th richest person in the world, who bought 20% of the club http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=504087&in_page_id=1779&ito=1490
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
Fit and proper person test
The Fit and proper person test or Director's test is a test undergone by owners and directors of major British football clubs in the hope that it prevents corrupt or untrustworthy businessmen from buying them.-Application:...
." The Football League also has the power to ban owners who have been banned from another sporting organisation. 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 has stepped down from the post on 19 February 2010.
Personal life
In March 2003, 53-year-old Briatore began dating 30-year-old supermodelSupermodel
The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...
Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum
Heidi Samuel , better known by her birth name Heidi Klum, is a German model, actress, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional singer. In 2008 she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship...
. In December she announced her pregnancy. Soon after the two split and Klum began dating the musician Seal
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
.
Klum gave birth to Helene (Leni) Klum in May 2004 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. According to Klum, Briatore is not involved in Leni's life; she has stated emphatically that "Seal is Leni's father". In 2009 Briatore allowed Seal to adopt his daughter and change her name to Helene Samuel.
58-year-old Briatore married the 28-year-old 'Wonderbra
Wonderbra
The Wonderbra is a type of push-up underwire brassiere that gained worldwide prominence in the 1990s. Although the Wonderbra name was first trademarked in the U.S. in 1935, the brand was developed in Canada. Moses Nadler, founder and majority owner of the Canadian Lady Corset Company, licensed the...
' model Elisabetta Gregoraci
Elisabetta Gregoraci
Elisabetta Gregoraci is an Italian fashion model and TV personality.She was born in Soverato, province of Catanzaro, Calabria, in southern Italy...
, on 14 June 2008. The driver of the bridal car was Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
. After the ceremony, Alonso drove the newlyweds to the reception at the Castello di Torcrescenza in Rome Gregoraci gave birth to their son Falco Nathan in Nice, France on 18 March 2010.
Briatore is a long-time follower of Italian football club Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...