Briatore 'looking' for Alpine boss, sets high bar

BARCELONA, Spain -- Flavio Briatore has said Alpine volition not unreserved into a snappy determination connected who should regenerate Oliver Oakes arsenic squad boss.

Briatore has assumed the responsibilities of squad main since Oakes' shock resignation astatine the commencement of May.

Ahead of the weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, the Italian sat successful arsenic Alpine's squad typical successful Friday's property conference, though the squad has stressed helium is not acceptable to regenerate Oakes' relation like-for-like.

"We are looking," Briatore said connected the hunt for a caller squad boss. "For the moment, thing changed.

"I consciousness atrocious for Ollie, honestly, due to the fact that I had a precise bully narration with him. He was a bully squad principal. Everybody knows for idiosyncratic reasons helium stopped and resigned from Alpine.

"We are looking. We don't privation to marque immoderate mistake. I'm prepared to instrumentality immoderate time. But the infinitesimal we determine what is the caller squad manager, enactment successful this way, we volition archer you."

Briatore suggested helium has acceptable a precocious barroom for who the relation should spell to.

"Now we are looking for somebody, you know, there's a batch of radical it is imaginable to beryllium doing this benignant of job. But we're looking for idiosyncratic good, idiosyncratic who understands, idiosyncratic who wants to beryllium portion of the team. I cognize a fewer radical who privation to beryllium portion of this caller travel with Alpine. We determine quick."

Briatore, who led Renault's F1 squad to championships successful 2005 and 2006, controversially returned to Alpine successful an advisory relation past year.

He was erstwhile fixed a beingness prohibition from F1 for his relation successful the Crashgate ungraded arsenic Renault boss, lone for it to beryllium overturned successful court.

He returned past twelvemonth to the aforesaid team, present rebranded arsenic Alpine, and has had a important interaction down the scenes since.

He played a cardinal relation successful Renault deciding to halt gathering F1 engines astatine its French headquarters.

Alpine volition contention with Mercedes powerfulness successful 2026, which has led to Briatore to warrant that the squad tin combat for wins adjacent season.

Briatore besides played a large relation successful archetypal promoting Jack Doohan into a contention spot this year, portion besides pursuing the signing of Argentina's Franco Colapinto, who replaced Doohan aft the Miami Grand Prix.