Flavio Briatore maintains that he was not responsible for the decision to terminate Renault's works Formula 1 engine program.
Despite claims from staff that the development of the all-new power unit for 2026 is going well, Renault CEO Luca de Meo has made the bold and surprising move to shut down the F1 operations at the French company's Viry-Chatillon facility.
There is speculation that de Meo, advised by his new executive F1 consultant Briatore, the former title-winning team principal during the Benetton and Renault eras, decided that the quickest way to resolve Alpine's performance issues was to switch to a customer Mercedes engine.
However, the 74-year-old denies any involvement.
"I am not always the bad guy," Briatore told the Spanish broadcaster DAZN. "They can blame me for everything else, but not for Viry."
There are also rumours that the next significant change could involve layoffs at Alpine's chassis facility in Enstone.
"I am not going to cut jobs," Briatore asserts. "I don't want to lay anyone off, but we need efficiency and people with a lot of experience."
Regarding the potential plans to become a mere engine customer, the Italian pointed out that McLaren's current success with a Mercedes power unit demonstrates the viability of such a move.
"We need to solidify the structure that has undergone many changes at the top," Briatore stated.
"The problem has been choosing the wrong men to lead."
When asked about the upcoming strategy for Alpine, he summed it up as: "Cleaning up and tidying up the house, making sure everyone works together and is motivated."
