We all know that the absolute king of blunt, unfiltered Formula 1 paddock comments is Flavio Briatore. The man essentially operates without a PR filter, and honestly, we love him for it. Since taking over as the Executive Advisor at Alpine, he has been heavily involved in navigating the team’s ongoing rebuild.
But while the rest of the motorsport world has been completely swept up in the absolute mania surrounding Argentine driver Franco Colapinto, Briatore just delivered a massive, reality-checking dose of cold water.
The Buenos Aires Blockbuster
If you rewind a bit, you might remember the massive show car run Colapinto did in Buenos Aires. It was an absolute spectacle. Reports noted that an insane crowd of roughly 600,000 die-hard fans flooded the streets just to catch a tiny glimpse of the Alpine driver. Colapintomania has basically taken over South America, and the hype train has been running at maximum speed.
However, during a recent sit-down on the Beyond The Grid podcast with Tom Clarkson, Briatore admitted that he is completely baffled by the sheer scale of the obsession. When asked about that massive street demonstration, Flavio did not hold back.
“I never believed it,” Briatore stated bluntly. “I believed in 10,000, 20, half million people to see nothing. Because everybody was behind to everybody. You have a half million people see nothing”.
Briatore’s Brutal Reality Check
He didn’t stop at just questioning the logistics of a massive street crowd. The former Benetton and Renault boss took direct aim at the actual on-track resume of his young driver. Formula 1 is a ruthless, results-based business, and Briatore is famously cold when it comes to measuring success.
“And the strange is, Franco never won nothing,” Briatore continued. “I still don’t understand this half million people, or more, or 600, standing there for Franco. I don’t really… I don’t understand”.
Ouch. While it sounds incredibly harsh, it is classic Flavio. He is managing a driver who commands a fanbase that rivals legendary World Champions, despite Colapinto still trying to find his footing and deliver consistent, top-tier results in an incredibly tricky Alpine chassis.
And to be fair to the Italian boss, he isn’t entirely writing off the young Argentine. During the same interview, Briatore noted that Colapinto has massive raw talent and specifically advised him to stop obsessing over Pierre Gasly’s telemetry and just drive the car on instinct.
But Flavio’s brutal honesty regarding the hype is a sharp reminder of how he operates. In Briatore’s world, you don’t get a parade until you bring home a trophy.
Colapinto has the entire weight of a nation on his shoulders, but his biggest challenge might just be impressing the guy sitting on his own pit wall.
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