Flavio Briatore slams Ferrari: “They’ve been saying ‘it’s for next year’ for 15 years, there’s only one genius in F1”

In System 1”there is only one true genius”, World Cup? “The pilots have already been written“, and about the crisis Ferrari he doesn’t want the pill: “Fifteen years of ‘it will be next year’ doesn’t exist”. 20 years in the ‘behind the wall’ headphone circus, seven world champions won first by Schumacher and then by Alonso, Flavio Briatore he says everything. Strengths and weaknesses, the future, strategies and all the revolutions of the world that are “harder to change than to serve”. Even if something is moving.

After the first four races of the 2023 world championship, Briatore already sees the drivers’ name written: “Red Bull makes a different championship, Max Verstappen has power and style and the world championship is already his“. The Austrian team, based in the British city of circuits (Milton Keynes), “is going strong because they work better together” and, a fact that should not be ignored, even more is said by those who have contributed to the construction of Formula 1 since the beginning . 1990s, “having the only genius he has Adrian Newey“.

It is impossible for Briatore not to mention his partner Fernando Alonso“the real surprise of this world championship”, went back almost by chance – but only in the eyes of newcomers – in F1 and “Aston Martin, a team that until last year had no competition. Then they attacked number two Red Bull and Mercedes investing heavily in technology and the factory for more than twenty million”. Today, under the leadership of technical director Dan Fallows (ex-Red Bull) who changed one seat with Eric Blandin (ex-Mercedes), Aston is second in the standings Builders: “For these reasons I pushed Fernando to join. Aston Martin, which is now second to Ferrari after four Grands Prix. Aston did well in the last round in Miami although it is not a circuit that suits the car well, but if nothing unexpected happens, the world championship is already written. Even if – he insists – other circuits like Monte Carlo can always be a big surprise”.

Ferrari is a painful face for its fans and Briatore does not take the pill: “It is very far behind, the car has many problems starting from the use and Charles Leclercas we saw in Miami, he is not competitive, unlike his counterpart Carlos Sainz who defended himself well”. The new method of sprint racing, also criticized by other riders, according to Briatore is the solution for the show and for the whole circus: “You get out of bed in the morning if you have a goal, and if before Friday only the riders. they went out to give instructions to the team, now they are going out to get points. Then if you add knock-on features, everything is more interesting for viewers and TV. Everyone is interested in seeing one more day of F1 that was once an insider’s affair. The idea of sunday, who is a friend I have known for 30 years, is brilliant. We’re here to race, not to tour, and to race you need goals.” Red is never on the sidelines when it comes to Formula 1 but, bitterly argues Briatore, who knows Ferrari’s added competitive value in the world championship, “can’t afford to say ‘next year’ for fifteen years, it has not stopped”.

Solution to Frederic Vasseur, the head of the red team, who however “is only one person in the team. He is trying to rebuild the technical structure sufficiently and at the same time not to lose engineers”. In F1 “there must be no workers” and indeed, in the last GP “we saw the excess, the adrenaline”. Infrastructure chapter. In Monza (Italian historical cycle editor.) “Minister of Infrastructure Matthew Salvini he is not lending a hand, but two, investing in the modernization of the circuit where it has been difficult to work. Not much has been invested in recent years and the gap for a new F1 race is felt”. Furthermore, “Monza is very attractive to sponsors, it is close to Milan”. In conclusion, a pessimistic proposal for the team for the future: “Domenicali is doing well even if he has not had a few problems, teams must follow him. Formula 1 is like a ministry, it takes a long time to change things“.

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Riccardo Annibali