Flavio Briatore believes Alpine F1’s performance at Imola was stronger than results showed, with safety car timing spoiling their chances.
Briatore expressed his disappointment over Alpine F1’s misfortune at Imola. The team principal did not mention Pierre Gasly’s mistake, which dropped him to 14th place.
He made no reference at all to the French driver’s race, instead highlighting how the timing of the safety car periods impacted the team’s final result.
“We were on course for a good result at Imola and had a chance to score points before the virtual safety car,” said the Italian, who emphasized the solid strategy laid out for Franco Colapinto, standing in for Jack Doohan this weekend.
“With Franco in particular, we had planned a one-stop strategy to the finish, but the neutralization more or less handed a free pit stop to the other drivers. That’s racing, and the final standings don’t reflect where we could have finished.”
Briatore also took the opportunity to defend Colapinto after a challenging debut weekend.
“It was his first race (for Alpine) and he was in a tough spot because of his crash. We’ll see. We have to be patient — he’s a young man with a lot of potential.”
Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Briatore preferred to highlight his ties to Monaco, the venue of the next Grand Prix, rather than mention Alpine’s podium there two years ago or its proximity to France.
“Next stop, Monaco — one of my home races and a circuit where we’ll once again have the chance to fight.”
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