Flavio Briatore urges F1 to cap driver salaries, clashing with Red Bull, who fiercely defend Verstappen’s mega-contract in ongoing budget talks.
Flavio Briatore believes Formula 1 should include drivers’ salaries within the budget cap.
The 75-year-old Italian, who has returned to competition as Alpine’s executive advisor after a long hiatus and even a suspension, acknowledges that limiting team spending is a “good thing.”
However, Briatore added: “I also think the driver’s salary should be part of it, and not just the current cap we have.”
Red Bull, which pays Max Verstappen tens and tens of millions of dollars per year, is “totally opposed” to Briatore’s idea.
Briatore even admitted that if he could choose any driver for Alpine, he would actually pick “two Verstappens, because I have two cars.”
With a more level playing field in terms of driver salary spending, Briatore believes Alpine could reach the front of the grid even faster than he currently anticipates.
“I promised Luca (de Meo, CEO of Renault) that in two or three years, the team would be on the podium, or very close to it.”
“Alpine can one day beat all the current teams and become world champion.”
“Why not? Of course! If you look at the teams ahead of us, there’s nothing special about them. They’re just people—more committed, less distracted.”
“It hasn’t been easy for this team. Hiring, firing, without clear order, without direction, nothing. Everyone was leading, no one was leading.”
“We lost a lot of good people, but now, little by little, they’re coming back.”