Source: USA TODAY Sports/Peter Casey
[Saba Sports News] According to foreign media reports, Renault team boss Luca de Meo has approached Flavio Briatore to return to the Alpine F1 team. He is expected to lead the team’s resurgence. Briatore carries a strong reputation in F1, having served as the principal of the Benetton team and helping Michael Schumacher secure the drivers’ championship in 1994 and 1995, along with the constructors’ championship in 1995. Although the flamboyant but controversial Italian driver was initially banned from F1 due to the 2008 crashing scandal, when Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed in Singapore to assist teammate Fernando Alonso’s victory, his life ban was later overturned. Briatore now frequently appears in the F1 paddock and stands. The addition of this legendary figure to the Alpine F1 team is undoubtedly a positive development, as the team is in dire need of recovery.