Does anyone care what Flavio Briatore thinks about Formula 1 these days?
He left his mark in the sport with the race-fixing scandal in Singapore 2008. and has been gone for nearly 10 years, after being thrown out of F1 in 2009.
Why do people keep quoting this man? Does his image help the sport move forwards?
joeblogsf1 
No.
I was glad to see they had a nice tribute get-together for Bernie, and it was good of Flavio to make it happen. FB is still a slob, but he did a nice thing.
So, a while back, he cheated, got caught, and kicked out, so what? That doesn’t make him Josef Stalin. He’s paid his price.
What’s your beef, Joe? Are you just that neurotic about the past, or do you have some other bone to pick with the man?
I consider the word “neurotic” to be insulting. You’re no longer welcome here.
I’ve always wondered why people are still talking to this guy. I’d put Mosley & Ecclestone in the same category too. If we were lucky enough to rid the sport of these people we should ignore anything they have to say about it now.
Not one bit. But it is funny when these people come out with statements like that. I’m sure the Daily Mail will take it seriously.
I think we know your grasp of all things F1 well enough to be able to spot a rhetorical question.
+1
He recently invited the F1 elites to a party for Bernie and all the big wigs turned up! So his voice has still some punch regardless of his tainted history
Yeah but some people will do anything for a free drink.
😂Yep😂
But there are no such things as free drink at a party like that. It’s all about scratching each others backs and also reminiscing about the good old days.
When men walked tall in their Cuban heels and short men wore lifts in their shoes just so they can allow their showcase 6ft wives to wear heels on an outing to Monaco. Ahhhh yes the Bernie/Moseley/Flavio years
When everyone got a gold rolex and a padded envelope carefully placed in an Auto mag under the very nose of a Bavarian financial establishment.
Times have certainly changed. Now we have a 6ft Brawn Bear in charge looking to the future behind Bernie’s Sky Deal. Limited viewing audiences with more money for the teams and sponsors wondering whether it’s worth sponsoring a team in F1… if no one’s paying to watch on Sky. Welcome to the mad world of Liberty. I can hear Azerbaijan trumpet playing the Star Spangled in a circus tent 🎪🎺 and the season hasn’t started yet.
The only people who quote Briatore, are those desperate for a headline.
In a word, no. He is a blight on an already well blighted landscape. Hopefully with Bernie no longer being top dog, the chances of Flávio creeping back into the fold will have diminished. F1 doesn’t need him and personally I don’t want to see him linked with the sport.
Quoting him? Him organising a well-attended party to celebrate Bernie’s career is news, mate. Like it or not.
Why?
Because when given the choice between covering something that matters vs something that doesn’t, our so-called news media will cover the thing that doesn’t every time. They always follow the shiny object.
What’s hard to fathom is what about Flavio they find shiny. Is he still wearing gold chains?
A better analogy would be like flies round s**t…
Nah, this is actually fitting tribute to the Great Scam;
“Hey Flav! You’re my clickbait, b***h!”
Because you don’t get to decide what is news. News is news.
Not true. I get to decide what is on this blog. Whether you consider it news is your problem. Not mine
What disappointed me was he was Mark Webbers managers after that for how long?
He’s still involved with Alonso’s management too.
And despite not being everyone’s cup of tea, it has to be said that Flav did a better job of running Benetton than such as Renault have managed on their own. Also, i’ve read what Webber & Alonso have said of him, and since they have had far more intimate knowledge of dealing with him than most have, i’m inclined to think that he’s not all bad……plus he isn’t the first person to cheat in any sport, nor the last i’d guess!
There’s a difference between recognising some showmanship even razzmatazz goes a long way in top sport that runs on money, and running out of sports and chasing crooked games on Flaneur des Oleagonistes mouthwash for the irredeemably hallitosic.
Flavio; the former’s king dirty soundboard who echoes the past.
A vulgar man indeed.
Love him or loath him, like Eddie Jordan or Vijay Mallya, he is one of F1’s colourful characters. Something of a throwback to the old days of a less sanitised industry. No bad thing to have a few mavericks saying outrageous things – we all know what is truth and what is bluster to spice up an otherwise dull day at the track.
Having said that, the Nelson Piquet Jr crashgate scandal marks him down has a nasty piece of work and I struggle to see anything positive coming out of his mouth now that would absolve him of that crime.
Oh now, let’s not bracket Eddie with the likes of those two. EJ’s a proper racer who loves the sport and built a winning team from scratch. The other two are hardly cut from the same cloth.
Good point Why ? Because like the man or not the press falls and fawns over his every word due to the fact that their readership keeps clicking and reading every single thing about Signor Flav they post or print .
So does anyone care ? Though I for one do not … obviously the answer is an explicit and definitive Yes ! … In fact a hell of a lot of people care … if they didn’t .. trust me .. the press would ignore him .
And the snippet mentioned was the only thing about motorsport that day, even with pre season F1 testing going on….whilst the printed media is dying out, it is also the case that motorsport from F1 down, gets little mention now. So, whether he’s good or bad, it does show that personality trumps anodyne Corporatespeak…..got to be a lesson there somewhere?
Yet Pat Symonds has been welcomed back…
And working for Sky this season.
Pat’s a good bloke.
I doubt that was his idea.
I doubt he has sufficient understanding of F1 to have thought of it.
Perhaps it it useful to have a moral compass reference point, lest we forget.
Isn’t he still tangled up with Alonso in some managerial capacity. His influence on FA is probably the reason he is stuck on two world titles.
Nope.
Simple question.
Simple answer.
No.
Because while he may be a total A Hole he’s a character, like it or not, and he’s still very popular in some places. It’s rare I go to Italy and don’t see him appear on TV at some point. (And this is not necessarily in a F1 context at all).
You can’t have it both ways, you can’t have celebrity based social media drivel being passed off as journalism and also have serious business. It’s one or the other.
It’s either Vettel serious person serious business no twitter no nonsense or its Hamilton look at me I just bought a new red hat social media nonsense.
Pick one.
Yes you can
” you can’t have celebrity based social media drivel being passed off as journalism and also have serious business ”
Errrr .. hate to state the obvious bringing politics into the conversation but might I direct your attention to our ‘ so called ‘ president Trump ? Proving not only can you be a social media celebrity with a serious business but you can also attain the highest position in the world … unfortunately
‘so called’ president ? get a grip, he’s been elected and he is in office, irrespective of how you deem his behaviour. From the outside of the US he certainly makes interesting reading
My first thought when I saw the Bernie Party article was ‘how thin skinned really are the billionaires of this world if they need their friends to throw big lavish parties when the masses stop massaging their egos’.
I quickly realised the answer was ‘very’.
One look at the stream of tweets issuing from the Awful Office would have told you that even without reference to Mr Ecclescake [“Who he?” – Ed.]
I always though the T-shirt salesman was a shifty so-and-so even before that business in Singapore but people keep giving him the oxygen of publicity and so he thrives (see also “Farage, N”, “Hopkins, K” etc etc).
For the ultimate example of ‘ thin skinned ‘ billionaires look no further than our ‘ so called ‘ president . Every time he’s contradicted or proven wrong he goes on a 2am Twitter***tfit ranting like an angry 4th grader that got his hand slapped
No we don’t care about Flavio Joe.
Apparently F1 itself is still interested in Flavio. Saw a picture he threw a party for Bernie this week and about 100 F1 (related) folks turned up.
A kid of them would go to the opening of an envelope
I feel offended whenever I see him associated with F1 on television. What this man did to F1 is unforgiveable. It is a pity that legilation did not exist to prevent him having any form of contact with Fi including the management of drivers or even having an advisory role with any team or organisation.
Couldn’t agree more Joe, a relic of the past……..
Bernard Ecclestone seems to.
The cheat shall inherit the girth.
Flavio stays relevant if you keep giving him air time even if asking the wider audience why people are still quoting the guy.
The dudes a Boss and people are attracted to that even if they dislike his chops.. The dude is Largo avoiding the law on his Disco Volante and he gets Domino.
I give him no air time at all
You just did. I’m reading about him, first hand, on your blog.
I gave him negative air time
Joe, you’re definitely smart enough to know that giving someone a variety of airtime = giving someone airtime.
Would have to agree to disagree – Lux’s point is that by asking rhetorical questions to readers in a blog post that is exclusively centered around him, this raises his profile. This in essence is what he meant by ‘giving him air time’ (apologies if I’ve misinterpreted you here Lux – feel free to correct me if so).
Negative airtime
It is still airtime
Yes and you’re lucky to get it
I am? I’d be quite happy never to read about Flavio ever again.
Lux’s point remains valid, particularly when one considers that many respected marketers subscribe to the notion that ‘any publicity is good publicity’ and that ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’.
That is simply not true.
The the french concept of ‘succès de scandale’ must be a figment of my imagination then..
I can believe how many folks seem intent on beating a dead horse about the effects of even mentioning Flavio.
Jesus, people… if you wanna argue about something, at least find something worth arguing about. As is, it sounds like you’re the teenage boy playing “gotcha” about some minor debatable aspect of something your Dad said…
RShack – to the contrary, the reason you’re seeing such debate (no bad thing at all) is because there is a fundamental disagreement with the author on his opinion (not fact) that negative airtime can not be a positive for whoever is the recipient (whether it is Flavio or someone else is immaterial).
If you feel this is something not worth debating, that is your opinion and you are entitled to it. However others do feel this is a significant matter that requires further discussion. If the subject matter has progressed to something of little interest to you, I can only offer guidance in respect to what I would do which would be to stop reading and move on to another article that I find more compelling.
Here’s a better idea… why don’t you debate how many angels can fit on the head of pin…
Come on RShack you are better than that, please respect Joe’s house rules. Let’s just agree to disagree on this one and move on.
For an interesting insight into good/bad publicity and true/fake news simply google, other search engines are available, “tim harford the trouble with facts”.
Even mentioning bad/fake reinforces it in people minds as good/real.
Again
Rule #1 – ” The only bad press is no press at all ”
Rule #2 – Re-read rule number one
I do not agree
It doesn’t matter . As a matter of fact I hate the concept . But that is the way it is , the reality we live in … and are forced to deal with .. like it or not
To be clear Joe .. we’re on the same page opinion wise … I’m just stating the cold hard ugly ( disgusting ) facts of the matter regardless of our shared opinion .
You’re right. Some bad press can never be anything but. Though some certainly can.
“*insert name here* was arrested this morning on suspicion of sexual offences against children” can never be spun into positive publicity. An extreme example? Sure, but it disproves the rule. That said, merely opining that someone is a t*** can definitely reinforce good PR perceptions depending on the individuals and context, e.g if Piers Morgan were to tweet that Prince Harry was an overprivileged party animal most folks would think ‘Go for it Harry, never mind what that c*** says.’
It’s a complex and nuanced landscape basically.
Well, I for one will not give him air time by commenting here.
pardon the raucous laughter but ahh … y’all just did .. 🙂
Hardley, old chap, it was meant to be ironic
I saw the headline this morning and thought exactly the same thing!
Anything else aside, Briatore was great as manager who got thinks done…primarily thanks to hiring the right people and then allowing them to do their job as they pleased…plus paying them in full and on time. Which is not always how things are done in the world of oversized egos. I mean, Benetton had no business winning the title in 1994! Some years ago I actually wished he would buy Toro Rosso from Red Bull. Nonetheless, he has a number of world titles to his name and therefore, would always maintain an audience.
You should read more about him
Him wearing a baseball cap backwards for the sole reason of driving Ron Dennis crazy…one has to appreciate the sense of humor in that. So, as someone else had mentioned here already, he is a character…for better or worse.
In addition to the wealth of reading material out there about Briatore; I’d advise anyone who thinks Flavio is any kind of managerial genius to watch ‘The Four Year Plan’; the documentary film about his tenure as the Chairman of Crystal Palace.
You will come away thinking that the majority of the success he achieved in F1 was probably down to luck, good advice and powerful friends; because in the film he comes across as (among other things) a shifty, thin skinned buffoon.
I’d question the sanity of anyone who has seen it if they hired him to water plants for a living, let alone anything more demanding.
It was QPR not Crystal Palace – but well worth watching as an object lesson in how not to run a football club
There’s a Flavio/traction gag in here somewhere!
Some stats from front page:
1. brief analyse of Barcelona laptimes = 3 comments.
2. Formula 4-3-2-1 = 7 comments
3. Fascinating F1 Fact:93 = 6 comments
… ‘Does anyone care what Flavio Briatore’ = got by now (surprise-surprise!!!) 30 comments.
Joe, the fact is we need dirty and brutal F1. Otherwise it will become very very boooooring.
We don’t need perfect characters. We need freaks, evil geniuses, dictators and other S.O.B.s.
Watch Coronation Street
Of it’s all the same, I’m not THAT desperate! 😛
Along with a few others, I believe Briatore is a mouthpiece for Bernie, which pretty much guarantees he gets reported in the F1 media. He provides them with easy space filling articles, most of it forgotten in the next hour or two. Many dodgy geezers always crave attention, that’s why many will do anything for money.
When I read Briatore said “Bernie was treated badly”, I translated that into Bernie, “Poor me, now I know how it feels”. I couldn’t ignore poor Bernie having to call in a favours for his little party. I would think there would be a thousand times more who wouldn’t have touched the event with a bargepole.
Briatore is still Alonso’s manager (wouldn’t we all like to have the money he makes out of that), so he’s likely to be in the news in the coming season.
Does Briatore still attend every race hanging round the paddock like a bad smell? I always imagined that he was always thinking about weedling his way back into the sport by hanging round Ecclestone. Now that Ecclestone has effectively gone and with new ownership in place, I hope that’ll be the end of any aspirations he may have held of having any involvement. Some people just don’t know when to stop.
No
I always thought his obese presence, often captured by TV cameras, in the paddock post crashgate, put the sport in a poor light.
His seedy image does harm to the sport. More than once I’ve heard a TV reporter reference his presence during a race weekend when a camera captures a glimpse of his portly personage, with some unnecessarily reverential comment such as “Flavio holding court there” (which I think was Coulthard).
Well yes, Mr Mojo, all you say is true, but still …… he sure looks good in a bathing suit!
He’s been principal at times when Schumacher and Alonso became world champions. He worked together with Brawn, Symonds, Byrne, Gascoyne and others. So, I guess his long presence in F1 is the reason.
Anyway, nobody is obliging anyone to read what he says. So I don’t see the problem.
You should read more about him
Steven De Groote
Steve the guy was a cheat, just google 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet, will give a good run down. Not too many accolades there.
I guess when you cheat your way to the top there’s no need to ask for money. That’s for the hard working folk..
I like Flavio. it’s a pity he is not in F1 these days (
You need to learn more about him
There are two sides to every story. You are a quality journalist Joe, one of the very few left. This vigilantism does you no favours. Sylt and Briatore are jokes, and nobodys. Ignore them.
I am really not interested in your silly views. be polite or go away
I’m sorry that you feel that way. Ban me if you must. I just feel you have a few people you bear a grudge, but wish to point out, respectfully, they are not worth your time. If you wish to gag me for that, it is your house.
I just do not appreciate people being rude to me
Joe, I’m not sure eahorest was having a pop at you.
As always txt and emails are read in the mood we’re in, rather than the mood they’re written in. All too often I’ve seen a happy/angry email mis-interpreted because the sender and recipient are in completely different moods.
But I appreciate you get a lot of crap, so can see why you’d think that any 50/50 comments are having a pop.
You’re a good guy, I think more readers, than not appreciate your blog, me being one of them 🙂
Oh and on Flávio, bad guy, yeah probably …. but he does seem to know what he’s on about so I do read what he has to say about f1.
I don’t think I am being rude Joe. I think you are in a dark place right now and you come onto your comments section in a defensive mood at the best of times, all of which is understandable.
Thank you for your amateur psychoanalysis. I’ll file it in an appropriate place.
Am I missing something here? What was it that Eahorest2 said that was rude?
“There are two sides to every story.” – indiscriminate comment
“You are a quality journalist Joe, one of the very few left.” – a compliment
“This vigilantism does you no favours.” – subjective critical (at worst) opinion
“Sylt and Briatore are jokes, and nobodys.” – (rude) opinion but on third parties
“Ignore them.” – advice, take it or ignore it
Unless I’ve overlooked some other aspect, it appears there has been some level of miscommunication here as opposed to any desire or intent to be rude.
You have missed something
Ok, fair enough
@Bob Ballard: I’m guessing it’s the implied accusation of vigilantism that’s the problem. But I could be wrong.
On a more general note, I found a few years ago that googling “Flavio Briatore” alongside “Tad Czapski” leads you to some surprisingly dark places pretty quickly.
Here you go counselor “This vigilantism does you no favours.”
How did you miss that one? a no brainer. I’m guessing the word with the V is the one Joe took issue with and rightly so. He’s been around these folks and likely knows a thing or ten the rest of us do not. Don’t blame Joe if he let’s a little thing like ethics cloud his judgement.
I tried to have my ethics removed but the operation was failure…
That’s a fair point, I did indeed miss the connotation there I guess. Thanks for clarifying.
>> There are two sides to every story…
No, there are not two sides to every story.
If you disagree, please explain the “other side” of ordering a fake crash at Singapore… and of having Michael win a WC in a car with explicitly outlawed capabilities.
The other side, like it or not, is simply doing whatever it takes to win. It is what happens in an intensively competitive sporting environment.
That doesn’t justify the actions, nor pass judgment on them.
But there are two sides to every story.
I kinda don’t mind Joe calling a slime bucket a slime bucket, as long as these A-holes don’t sue him I’m good with it. (Another bucket is currently in exile because he is a fine upstanding individual)
You cannot be sued for telling the truth
Joe .. trust me … I feel the same way .. about Flav and Trump … but unfortunately our feelings aint gonna get either of them outta the way . So lets face facts . We live in a celebrity addicted – addled by cult of personality world where in the words of the Bard ” Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair ” Hence your BREXIT , May Queen of Populists and Boris BadEnough – our ‘ so called ‘ president – and in F1 … Flav .
And lets be honest here . Regardless of his driving talents lew.i.am is bucking full on and hard for celebrityhood/cult of personality status as well . And earned or not every celebrity is a Faustian Tragedy in the making . Such is the world we live in .
P.S. I don’t care about people who say bad things about Ferrari 😉
People are happy to listen to Pat Symonds though, despite him also having been up to his eyeballs in the grubby Singapore crash business
Canadian F1 Fan, I think the difference between Pat and the Slimey One is that Pat at least seems have been sorry about what happened. Briatore was probably only sorry they’d got caught. At least, that’s how it appears from here.
I’m not, the guy is dead to me.
in know right? especially a quote trying to make me feel bad for bernie. a joke.
Briatore is nothing else than a Berlusconi ersatz which, like his idol, shines by reflected light. It’s like a flash that attracts the eye and turns out to be nothing important. Still attracts the eye, like a distraction. Quite natural, nothing very important. It will slowly vanish.
No. No. Next question.
Never did care and will not start now. He was a thug and will remain so. Shady guy hiding behing his blue shades.
I totally agree with you. Love the irony.
Never cared about his opinion even when he was in F1. The most disgusting guy in F1 bar none, certainly in my time as a fan(since 1994).
Niki Lauda when asked about Briatore’s opinions on something, said :
” Don’t listen to Flavio, he’s an idiot.”
Far more important than going on about a nobody and giving him credibility he doesn’t deserve spare a thought for the Surtees family. A great competitor has passed on. Truly one of the unsung heroes of both four and two wheeled racers. RIP John Surtees
No, he’s the Lance Armstrong of motor sport….a liar, a cheat and a bloated relic of the past.
It is easy to lash out at LA, but cycling is deeply rotten from top to bottom, has been for a long time and probably always will be.
Only bottom feeders. Any right minded person wouldn’t give a toss
I think they quote him, because they can copy and paste the words, without paying anything, onto their website. I think the question is “Are people actually interested?” If monkeys are filling up their websites with this stuff, you have to assume someone out there is reading it. God knows who!
I don’t think anyone does.
The only thing I’ve seen him mentioned about recently was the party he threw for Bernie.
Which IMO would have been legitimately newsworthy whoever organised it, and remains so in spite of the fact that it turned out to be him.
FWIW, my reaction was mostly “people in F1 are so positive about having a valedictory celebration of Mr. Ecclestone that they’ll even come to one organised by Flavio…
While I agree with those who think F1 desperately needs more non corporate characters in it to keep things real, he ain’t it. I would not shed a tear if he were to gag on his thong today…….
Joe; don’t stop at Singapore 2009. I will always associate Flav with the B194; one of the most sophisticated cars ever to grace an F1 track. Yes, thanks for that one Flav…… As for all the tosh about ‘no such thing as bad publicity’, I wonder what Gerald Ratner would say about that?
Care? DEFINATELY NOT!!!!
And NO, his presence does NOT help F1 move forward!!!!
PK.
Claps!!!! Joe, my respects. Some decency needed.
This is a question not worth answering
+1
Mmmm….wise head on wise shoulders…..knowledge and power…..Flávio may be many things but put aside his mistakes he is a double world constructors champion
Andy Burrows, the TEAMs Briatore were involved in achieved the championships. Not him personally. When did you ever see him (or hear talk of him) wielding the pen that drew the winning aero, or change a wheel in a pit stop, or make a strategic call that won a race (legitimately)?
There are team principals and other team principals…Flávio achieved 2 WCC titles in the heart of Ferrari dominance… You have to applaud that….Flávio has great vision and can see the micro and macro environment of what it takes to win…
To each his own
Until you brought his name up, I had totally forgotten about him. Now I have to go back to drinking single malt until I forget him again.
I remember Vijah Mallya posting a pic on twitter with Bernie and Flavio at a table in a fancy restaurant with him standing between them and something like “with my F1 gurus” as caption. I immeditaley thought, that picture would be just the thing Joe would like to have on his bedside table 😉
I guess people came to the party because of Bernie, and not because Flavio organised it. Or maybe just to discuss the current state of affairs informally with their peers. I think it was in Yes Minister were it was said that that was good thing about state funerals…
je suis totalement d’accord avec vous, à chaque fois je réagis quand je vois un article sur ce qu’il peut dire de la F1 ou d’Ecclestone ou autre, c’est indécent !
I think we must accept the Flavios and the rest of the many F1 scoundrels (the highly visible and the quietly absent) that are part of the sport and contribute an interesting and entertaining layer of colour. After all, F1 is no school of ethics or etiquette. So why single out just a few when there is such a long list.
Because some are simply very bad people
I always switch off literally and metaphorically when the jumper salesman puts in an appearance.
There is a God then…
Another thought Joe…
Your recent posts have drawn the following numbers of comments:
Games in Barcelona – 8 comments
Formula 4-3-2-1 – 25 comments
Another good sign at Formulat One – 7 comments
John Surtees 1934 – 2017 – 36 comments
And this post – 117 comments and counting!
What does that tell us?
I prefer not to comment on that…
That this article has helped raise the profile of the individual it is about..? This appears unfortunate but indeed the case.
Overall people are idiots? The Eighty – twenty rule lives?
It’s unfortunate that the FIA’s sentence was overturned.
It was poorly done by the federation. Stupid really.
A fascinating character, nonetheless. How on earth did he earn enough to buy his Manhattan and Monte Carlo apartments – to say nothing of his boat? Is there really that much money for a team manager as welk as taking his 10% (figure may be low) from representing a few drivers? Which brings me to my next question – did nobody in F1 mind that he managed a team and drivers? So many questions, Joe.
Of course they did
One thing that has long puzzled me is why such a straight-talking, down-to-earth bloke as Mark Webber would have Briatore as his manager. Obviously he is/was well-connected, and I don’t think it did Webber any harm, but as two (seemingly) completely contrasting personalities, I am amazed they got on.
Alonso, on the other hand…
Mark did hat was necessary to get to F1
No Joe I don’t care about this chap ..
@Nick W. Sophisticated yes but the cloud still hovers around illegal traction control
Sophistocated?
Just a thought but if all of the F1 big-wigs who attended the party were happy to be there, why did they wear masks to disguise thieridentities
I don’t get it. What’s so bad about a balding, perma-tanned, shifty, balding lothario wearing oddly tinted spectacles and mutton-dressed-up-as-lamb gear? So he’s been caught cheating. Give the guy a break already. He’s only human. Well, almost.
He embodies all that was wrong in F1. I will never forget or forgive the cheating that was going on at Benetton/Renault. I carry grudges a long long way, and in my mind a certain world champion’s first two titles are tainted and led to the death of a legend of this sport,
Flav who?
When I think of Flavio I think of a photo I saw of him. It was 2 photos in fact. Identical ones, one on top of the other. The photo was of him standing in the sea showing his fine figure!!!! with his arm wrapped around a young lady in a bikini, on top of the top photo the caption read… If your son asks why he should go to school show him this photo and above the bottom identical photo it read… If your daughter asks why she should go to school show her this photo!!!
Same boat as Ken Tyrrell, Gordon Murray,(or was it Frank Dermie who used skirts), Moneytron, Michael Schumacher, Tom Walkinshaw, Bernie and his gang,
Ron Dennis, Ferrari mechanics with mystery powder, and “alternative” measuring devices,Red Bull and their drooping wing,, VJM, Sahara, Symmonds, any number of constructors who just don’t pay their bills on time, or at all.
The only difference is that they occupy
different classes aboard that vessel.
The one that gets me the most is Jacques Villeneuve. Does anyone really care what he thinks? When is the last time he has been relevant in any form of auto racing? I’d rather hear from Flavio, and I’m no fan of his either!
I have a lot of time for Jacques. He’s a World Champion driver
+1.
Indeed, as well as a CART champion when the competition and depth of feild was much fiercer than F1 and the cars very difficult to drive, as well as the last winner of a real Indy 500 in 1995. The resume speaks for itself in racing.
Hay Fantum, that’s being a bit harsh! I quite enjoy what Jacques has to say!
When you’ve followed his father as a fan, and watched Gilles son grow up through the ranks of car racing over the years, you sort of feel you know the guy. I’d go out of my way to meet Jacques, but I wouldn’t want to be in the same room as Bratorey
PK.
I like Jacques too. I met him on a street in Montreal after one of Joe’s talks there and we had a nice chat.
Don’t care about Flavio. Jacques, don’t hear much about him. Why doesn’t he have a role on an F1 team?
He works in French and Italian television
Dear Joe,
I couldn’t agree more. I see him as the Katy Hopkins of F1 (if you’re lucky enough not to know who she is, suffice to say she’s a vile tabloid columnist who was described this week in a court judgement as being known as ‘rentagob’. The case was against her for defamation of a left-wing blogger, and rentagob lost.)
That said, isn’t Briatore still Alonso’s manager? I was shocked that a few drivers kept him on as manager after crashgate, especially as at the time it looked like he would never be allowed in the paddock again – but they did. I guess he still has F1 connections who either like or respect him, more’s the pity. And if he is still Alonso’s manager (he was quoted in December as saying that Alonso would stay loyal to McLaren rather than jumping ship to replace Rosberg at Mercedes) he is doing a pretty crap job! I’d have fought damn hard to get Alonso bought out of his contract at Woking, and shoehorn his behind into the silver arrow…
That said, JYS also seems to get columnists hanging on his every word. For some time I’ve said that he pops up and mouths off when he hasn’t had publicity lately. Do we allow it with him due to his racing heritage and all the work he did to improve safety in the 70s? Eventually as people get older (or enjoy the attention gleaned from their controversial soundbites?) the wheels fall off, no matter their pedigree. Just look at Bernie!
I feel that crashgate was unforgivable and that Briatore should crawl back into his hole in shame, but either some people around the paddock have short memories, or are more willing to forgive. As with the vile rentagob Hopkins, while any of us talk about his views we are still feeding him the oxygen of publicity…
I have always had a saying (in relation to fame) that first off, you need people to know your name. Only then can you worry about whether they actually like you – whereas even if you’re the world’s nicest person, there’s no point in it unless everyone knows who you are. Clearly that doesn’t apply everywhere, but it is relevant if you thrive on attention, or need people to buy into “me, the brand” for your career path of choice. Which does indeed apply in the fashion industry – Briatore’s previous bread and butter.
Joe, I totally understand you brought this up due to incredulity at other people reporting and repeating his opinions; it’s in no way a stab at you. In fact you’ve merely voiced what many F1 fans must be thinking. But sadly until absolutely everyone ignores Briatore, and a Google search on his name throws up outdated news, or better, blanks, he’ll still get the fuel and attention he craves.
Cheers, Flash (F1 fan since 1986!)
+1 – great comments, well articulated
I’m sorry but as much as perhaps JYS belongs to another age, what he achieved as a man is quite in another league to anything FB has achieved… And is worthy of a degree of respect several logarithms away and above anything deserved by FB…
I can’t think of a single positive quote from any senior F1 personnel, no sense of injustice shared, no hankering for the good old days when FB was around. Nothing.
Speaks volumes of the man.
Who compared the two?
If I’ve upset anyone then I’m sorry but I thought that techiebabes suggesting that media quoting of JYS was similarly indulgent with the reporting of FB’s comments/ options … If not, then why mention him at all in response to a post about FB?
I have techiebabes following this blog?
Ah… Yes.
In future I will use the reply button to respond to a specific post.
In future I will use the reply button to respond to a…
….(repeat 48 times)…..
… specific post.
I don’t understand this comment
Joe, you were there at the time, what was your opinion on the BT194?
Bent
What was your opinion of the B195, Joe?
A good car
Thank you. I’ve heard people argue that both the B194 and the B195 were bent. That never made much sense to me, especially once the FIA were able to access the source code in ’95, but I’ve never been completely certain.
With very few exceptions I leave the ‘stories’ based on quotes from has-been’s unread as they tend to be the journalistic equivalent of junk food. Flav occupies the top of the ‘don’t read’ list, however along with rent-a-gob Jacques Villeneuve
I don’t know Briatore, so my impression of him is purely as an outsider. He always seemed to come across as a shady character, and he seems to have been mixed up in some pretty shady practices. He doesn’t seem to have had much regard for the welfare of his drivers and crew (refueling rig tampering in 1994 when Verstappen’s car caught fire in the pits at Hockenheim during refueling, and Crashgate, Singapore 2008). Drivers such as Alonso and Webber seem to hold him in high regard; others, such as Button, not so much. I certainly don’t care about anything Briatore says, especially when he suggests shortening the races. As Oscar Wilde said, “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
Your gut feelings are sound
If Benetton were cheating in ’94, why were they not caught? Is that not the fault of the FIA?
Was it any worse than Brabham in ’83? Or the myriad occasions in F1 history when rules have been bent to favour Ferrari?
You can easily read about it if you go and look. It is all available information.
In a roundabout way, I was making the point that I don’t see why, in the case of alleged cheating in 94, Briatore should be considered any worse than Ecclestone (83) or Ferrari (name a year…). I didn’t mention Tyrrell (85 – he was actually caught) or any other instance where a team or individual has pushed the limits of the rules to breaking point.
Isn’t this the name of the game? Is it not the job of the FIA to police it, and are they not therefore responsible for getting it right, and thus culpable if they miss something?
Or is it me missing something in this particular instance, which makes it different from the others?
You are. Politics…
Hay, Bigmac, it boils down to whether you are honest and ethical or not! If you are not,then you try to win dishonestly by cheating, whereas if you are honest/ethical then you abide by the rules!
Sounds like you might not be honest/ethical!
PK.
bigrobmac. There’s much that was written at the time and over the years, as Joe’s pointed out. If you wanted something purely ‘visual’ then you might start by googling the start of the 1994 French GP @Magny Cours. Watch the start from the second row; it’s truly astonishing…… 1994 was a tragic season where we lost Roland & Ayrton. The only good memories I have are seeing Roland reach his ultimate goal of competing in F1 and seeing Ayrton on the very edge at Imola in the FW16, a car that I’ve absolutely no doubt was 100% legit, out qualifying and keeping ahead of the B194. Genius at work.
And as the saying goes…two wrongs don’t make a right..
Yes Nick W, the car was only 3rd best at the beginning of the year, and Patrick was unwilling to except that there was anything wrong with his car and was belligerent about changing anything. Ayrton outdrove what the Fw16 was capable of, pride and his status at stake. Whatever caused the accident I’m 100% convinced in my own mind that the B194 was as bent as a banana and should not have been capable of pushing the FW16 and Senna like it did. Draw your own conclusions as to how I feel about FB from this.
@TexasMike. We’re on the same page here. The saddest thing about Imola ’94 was that it robbed the F1 world of what I’m sure would have turned out to be one of the greatest rivalries in the sport; Ayrton & Michael. There would have only been one winner there. I still consider MS to be a ‘five-time’ WDC; Others will have their own views however, for me, the ’94 & ’95 offerings just don’t seem satisfactory. Although I wavered for a few years about the ’95 result (and was prepared to be charitable), Singapore 2009 really did change my view and brought some of the memories of 1994 back. The penny had finally dropped…….with a very loud BANG! Let’s also not forget about the fuel filter at Hockenheim, the ‘plank’ at Spa, and just to end what had been a tragic season on a low note, Michael seem to decide when Damon’s race at Adelaide would end.
Part of the problem was that I suspect it wasn’t just them.
IIRC,there’s footage somewhere of a UK commentator pointing out to the TV audience that a Ferrari is using traction control in ’94, because the revs have dropped but the accelerator is still floored. And McLaren refused to share their source code with the FIA because it was ‘commercially confidential’. I have a suspicion that besides Williams, there were rather few properly clean teams that year. I may be completely wrong.
I always found FB a fascinating character, like a villain out of a soap opera. However, he did seem to be able to make money out of motor racing, which has eluded most people who tried. FB and Tom Walkinshaw (who was engineering director or something at Benneton during the refueling fiasco) are always linked in my mind. I used to think Walkinshaw was a pretty competent team manager and FB just somehow got lucky, but Walkinshaw ended up bankrupt after buying Arrows while FB seems to have an amazing ability to land on his feet. Utterly repulsive, but also somehow compelling.
Ron Dennis/McLaren and the Ferrari spy scandal with a reputed fine of $100m (was that ever paid?) come to my mind. How many are vilifying Mr. Dennis about that?
Or Ken Tyrell’s use of lead balls in the “brake cooling water system” that got refilled just before the end of a GP?
Could it be a case of disliking the one person more than the other?
Could
The money was paid, but the scandal was politics not really about spying. If you look at the Renault case at the same time. it is clear what happened
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I did check re the McLaren/Ferrari scandal and agree with you.
That just leaves Mr. Tyrell…
Politics as well. He was standing in the wY of turbos at the time…