FORMULA ONE INTERVIEW WITH FLAVIO BRIATOREIn his day job, Briatore has been arguably the most impressive team principal in recent history, writes Richard Gillis
FLAVIO BRIATORE is a throwback to the glory years of Formula One, when teams were led not by faceless multinational corporations but by rakish millionaires mixing with Hollywood royalty and chasing coltish supermodels up and down the French Riviera.
Think of the 57-year-old Italian head of Renault F1 and such exploits come easily to mind. Whether it is dating Naomi Campbell or entertaining the super-rich at his Billionaire nightclub in Sardinia, the Briatore brand plays directly to the monied Italian playboy stereotype.
A few years back, when supermodel girlfriend Campbell walked out on him, her description of their life together only seemed to add to this reputation as an old-fashioned man's man: "I'm not going to be a trophy," she said through pouted lips. "If you expect me to be in the kitchen cooking breakfast in high heels, looking as though I just stepped out of a fashion magazine, it's not going to happen."
But dig below the tabloid tales of excess and easy luxury and you'll find a different view of the Italian, one that sees the image and the reality diverge. In his day job, Briatore has been arguably the most impressive team principal in recent motor racing history. Four times his teams have won the coveted Drivers Championship. In 1994 and 1995, Benetton won with a young Michael Schumacher at the wheel. More recently, in 2005 and 2006, Renault took the honours, this time propelled by Spaniard Fernando Alonso.
This year, Alonso is reunited with Briatore and Renault after his annus horribilis at McLaren. What's more, Briatore's supporters are quick to point out that this success has been achieved on a fraction of the budgets of the more storied teams along the paddock, such as Ferrari, Williams and arch rivals McLaren.
He shares a knack for talent-spotting with the very best football managers. He, like Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, has uncovered the best performers in the world at the start of their careers. In Briatore's case, his nurturing of Schumacher and Alonso is testimony to a willingness to invest in youth allied to a businessman's eye for a bargain.
Briatore's personal wealth stems from his years at the helm of Benetton, the Italian knitwear giant, which he helped build into one of the most successful franchises in the fashion industry. His close relationship with the company's founder, Luciano Benetton, led to his involvement in the Benetton Formula One team, first as commercial director and then as the boss.
Formula One, he says, is a form of entertainment, something many of his peers in the paddock club fail to acknowledge. He is quick to distance himself from the ex-mechanics and engineers who populate the pit lane.
"Nothing costs more, and delivers less entertainment, than hidden technology. And that's what engineers love most of all."
Fans, he says, are drawn in by the atavistic excitement that racing provides. Too much talk of torque and computerised gear systems turns him, and many millions of others, off.
"This season we will drive without traction control and engine braking," he says at the launch of Renault F1's new car, the R28. "That means the cars will be more difficult to handle and mistakes are more likely to happen.
"Mistakes are one major cause for overtaking and overtaking is what people want to see. But we also need to close the wide gap between the fans and the drivers. After all, they pay a lot of money to come to the races."
The next five years will mark a critical period in the sport. It is loved by petrolheads for its sheer excess, but in the 21st century the carbon footprint of motor racing is unsustainable and pressure is building for change.
"Formula One is the most advanced motor racing series in the world," he says. "Everything is high-tech. So it is only obvious that our series must also think about environment preservation. We have invested €37 million for new CFD technology that reduces our cars' CO2 emissions. This is one step in the right direction, but we do, of course, have to do more. Whether bio-fuel is the answer, I don't know, but we will see.
"I think the challenges are still the same because, although the technology changes, Formula One remains a business about human beings. You need the same leadership skills, and the same ability to understand what needs to change in the business at the critical moments."
Last year saw more human drama than ever. The emergence of Britain's Lewis Hamilton energised the sport on and off the track. His running feud with team-mate Alonso led the back pages on many a Monday morning, and Briatore, who also manages Alonso's business affairs, is a beneficiary of this spat. The Spanish driver has returned to Renault for this season under the man who gave him his break.
Likewise, Briatore was quick to offer his views on the McLaren-Ferrari spy story. "Here is a team that acquired an advantage illegally," he said of McLaren in the heat of the 2007 battle. "Just read the regulations: for intellectual property theft the punishment is exclusion."
Fast-forward six months and his views are more reflective, but there is still a glint in the eye. "I am sure that we will return to racing. However, Formula One is mainly entertainment and it doesn't do any harm brushing this side up a little (laughing).
"No, seriously, the spy story and McLaren's problems with their drivers were certainly not in favour of the sport, but they were solved and we can now focus on another exciting season."
But within Bernie Ecclestone's billion-dollar empire, team leaders such as Briatore, Ron Dennis of McLaren or Jean Todt of Ferrari are compelled to put aside their competitive zeal and work to the common good. This sounds fine and dandy, but real life often gets in the way.
"We have seen the calendar expand, and many exciting new venues join Formula One," he says. "But in terms of making decisions about the sport and improving the show, we are still hampered by the need for unanimous agreement. We have started to think about cutting costs and improving the show, but progress is slow. A system where we can make decisions by a majority would help improve the process of change."
The day-to-day issues include the expansion of Formula One away from its traditional European heartlands: the money, and the zeitgeist, are moving east, and with it the F1 circus. For a man from "Old Europe" he is surprisingly free of emotion on the subject.
"Concerning France, they are lacking the hospitality areas, the space and the hotels we need. Magny Cours is not a good example of what is there for the future of Formula One. But they are in the calendar again, so I hope they will have (bridged) the gap.
"As for Singapore, a night race is the perfect answer to the increasing demand of action and entertainment. It's something new, something exciting. I am looking forward to it very much."
Briatore and Ecclestone remain on good terms, and last year the pair became business partners away from the track. Along with Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian-born steel magnate, they put together a takeover of underperforming west London football club QPR. Another sport, another opportunity to make money; listening to Briatore, it is all part of the same thing.
He says his job is about motivating every member of his team: "It is a fantastic adventure to lead a top-line Formula One team. I am responsible for delivering the team's objectives. That means finding the right people for the key positions, defining a strategy and motivating my people to do the job. I give people freedom and responsibility to do their jobs how they need to, and keep my management structure light.
"And when the time comes, I make decisions quickly and decisively. If you lose a moment when it comes to deciding the direction you are going on, then it has major consequences on the track much later.
"You need transparency at every level in the team. The people must understand their targets, and how to achieve them. Everybody must have a clear vision of the objectives and work hard towards them. And you can only achieve this when you have transparency.
"Our target for 2008 is catching up with Ferrari and McLaren again in order to win the world championship for Renault with Fernando (Alonso). We are all competitive people, and there is nothing like the feeling of leading a team of people to success.
"I don't know if you need "qualifications" in a formal way. For me, Formula One is a business like any other. You must understand your product, and how to make a better one than your rivals. You must be able to react to changing situations and do so quickly.
"Cost-efficiency is important: a bloated operation will never be successful, you must be taut and lean. And you must keep a clear head and evaluate every situation objectively. I think too many decisions are made with the heart, and they are always costly."
Meanwhile, his Billionaire brand is expanding, with an Italian couture clothing range and proposed nightclub in London's St James, run under his Much Fun Properties company.
"I wanted a place where even if people weren't billionaires, they could spend like billionaires," is how he describes his vision.
His famed private life is showing no signs of slowing - he has a child with model Heidi Klum, and is rumoured to be engaged to Italian Wonderbra model Elisabetta Gregoracci.
But as another new season begins there are murmurings that Briatore is tiring of the day-to-day grind, rumours fuelled by a serious health scare last year. "Staying healthy, especially following my cancer problems, is everything. But three months of holidays would also come in handy," he says laughing.
F1 fans will hope he stays around a little longer, the sport needs him more than ever.
