Max Verstappen dismisses Alpine F1 interest, warns Briatore his salary won’t drop, despite praising the team’s progress and leadership.
Flavio Briatore revealed in Le Monde that he would like to recruit Max Verstappen to Alpine F1.
The head of the French team described the four-time world champion as the perfect signing, even though there is virtually no chance of it happening.
Indeed, the Italian stated last week that drivers are too expensive for teams and that he would like their salaries to be included within the budget cap.
Since Verstappen is the highest-paid driver on the grid, the financial argument, beyond any sporting considerations, is clearly a major obstacle.
“It will be expensive for Alpine,” the Red Bull driver told Viaplay, before confirming that there were no ongoing negotiations or any project involving collaboration with the French team. “But that’s not at all a topic at the moment.”
Verstappen acknowledged the work done by Briatore at Alpine. Possibly overlooking — perhaps due to lack of awareness — Flavio’s downsizing efforts, which led to at least 300 dismissals in Enstone and as many in Viry-Châtillon, he praised the team’s appeal and noted that his family is familiar with Briatore, as his father Jos drove for Benetton in 1994.
“Yes, I get along well with Flavio. My father, of course, has known him since the time he raced for Benetton. Moreover, there has been clear progress at Alpine over the past year, with, for example, the arrival of new sponsors. So he is definitely doing things well.”
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