Flavio Briatore

Briatore was born in Verzuolo near Cuneo in the Maritime Alps. His parents were school teachers. After twice failing public (state) school, he attended Fassino di Busca, a private (independent) school, receiving a diploma with the lowest grades in Land Surveying. Early business career Briatore found early work as a ski instructor and restaurant manager. In the 1970s, Briatore moved to Cuneo and became an assistant to businessman Attilio Dutto, owner of the Paramatti Vernici paint company. Briatore then moved to Milan and worked for Finanziaria Generale Italia at the Italian stock exchange. In 1984, a court in Bergamo found him guilty of fraud arising from the collapse of Milan's Compagnia Generale Industriale. In 1986, a court in Milan found Briatore guilty of fraud and conspiracy; he helped a ring of confidence tricksters that recruited gamblers to play rigged card games. He received a three-year sentence (reduced to one year and two months on appeal). To avoid imprisonment, Briatore fled the country and lived as a fugitive in Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands. He did not return to the EU until his convictions were extinguished by amnesty. In 2010, a Turin court ordered Briatore rehabilitated, which by Italian Criminal Code results in the extinction "of any criminal effect of the conviction". In 1999, the Corriere della Sera reported that Briatore had been arrested in Nairobi on suspicion of fraud relating to real estate in Kenya. == Formula One ==

Benetton Formula at the 1993 British Grand Prix In , the Benetton family purchased Formula One team Toleman Motorsport, which it then renamed to Benetton Formula. At first, Briatore (who was not interested in auto racing) was not involved with the team. He did not attend a race until the 1988 Australian Grand Prix, However, in 1989, the Benetton family reassigned him to manage the team's commercial operations. He assumed full control of the team in 1991, Williams had blown a deadline to file its entry paperwork for the 1993 season, and Briatore (all team principals had a veto) refused to let Williams compete in 1993 until Frank Williams "listen[ed] to [him]" on costs. The move was deemed "grossly unsporting" at the time, but Briatore's position ultimately won out. Even so, he built a "super team" of talented engineers at Benetton. Briatore also became famous for his "hard-nosed" approach to hiring and firing drivers; Motor Sport noted that over the years, "Johnny Herbert, Martin Brundle, Jos Verstappen, JJ Lehto and Jarno Trulli all felt the full force" of Briatore's wrath. The circumstances of Schumacher's move were controversial. Reportedly, Schumacher had signed a letter of intent to sign "a contract" with Jordan for 1991 to 1993, but once Briatore grew interested, Benetton and Schumacher's management interpreted the letter as allowing Schumacher to satisfy his obligation to Jordan with non-racing contracts. Briatore won a legal battle with Jordan, allowing him to sign the German. Briatore also ousted Benetton driver Roberto Moreno to make room for Schumacher, arguing that Benetton's deal with Moreno only obliged Briatore to supply him with a chassis, not an engine. Moreno eventually accepted a buyout. According to Briatore, Moreno's teammate Nelson Piquet was so upset by Briatore's treatment of Moreno that he temporarily quit the team, and Ayrton Senna also criticized Briatore's actions. Briatore convinced Piquet to return by threatening to replace him with Alex Zanardi. Briatore subsequently enraged Schumacher by violating a clause in the German's contract mandating that Benetton had to match the salary paid to any driver besides Senna, Alain Prost, or Nigel Mansell. Briatore gave Riccardo Patrese a $3 million contract for the 1993 season, which exceeded Schumacher's $2 million salary, but did not tell Schumacher about it. Reportedly, Patrese disclosed his salary to McLaren's Ron Dennis, who leaked the information to Schumacher's camp. Using Briatore's duplicity as leverage, Schumacher negotiated a significant raise for the 1994 season. Titles and cheating allegations As the team improved, Schumacher won two races in and , and claimed the World Drivers' Championship in and . During the season, Benetton was accused of multiple forms of cheating. Although Formula One had banned electronic driver aids ahead of the 1994 season, it was later revealed that Benetton had retained illegal software, although it remains disputed whether Benetton ever used it. Benetton's second driver, Jos Verstappen, claimed that Briatore knew about the software and encouraged him to "not talk about it." However, the Liverpool Data Research Associates, called in by the FIA after the San Marino Grand Prix to investigate allegations of cheating using banned driving aids, concluded that the illegal software likely was not used by Benetton during the Grand Prix, leading the FIA to take no action against the team. In addition, an investigation into a fire during a Verstappen pit stop revealed that Benetton had discarded a regulation fuel filter to speed up its pit stops, although Briatore escaped punishment after pointing out that multiple teams had done the same thing. Schumacher received a two-race ban for ignoring a black flag (under instructions from the team) at the , Following Schumacher's 1994 title season, Ferrari's Umberto Agnelli offered Briatore a job at the Scuderia, but Briatore declined, citing his ownership stake in Benetton. Instead, Briatore upgraded Benetton further by buying the Ligier team—one of the only Formula One teams with a contract for the dominant Renault engines—and transferring its Renault contract to Benetton. (Briatore was not the only person with this idea: McLaren's Ron Dennis and Mansour Ojjeh had previously sought to buy Ligier because their star driver, Ayrton Senna, wanted a better engine.) With Renault power, Benetton won the 1995 Constructors' Championship, and Schumacher defended his Drivers' Championship. Byrne and Symonds claimed that their 1995 victory vindicated them after the accusations of 1994. When Ligier unveiled its 1995 car, the racing press mocked it as a copy of Benetton's. Benetton aerodynamicist Willem Toet accused his own team of violating Formula One's information sharing rules and later said that it was one of the reasons why he left for Ferrari, but Dernie defended his actions, arguing that Williams and McLaren had also copied Benetton's chassis. The team collected one win under Briatore, when Olivier Panis won the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix. However, the team began to stagnate; Walkinshaw left the team for Arrows, taking Pedro Diniz (and his hefty Parmalat backing) with him. French president Jacques Chirac pressured Briatore to sell the team to a Frenchman, and Alain Prost (Prost Grand Prix) bought the team ahead of the season. Briatore sold his Benetton shares and invested the proceeds in Supertec, Briatore also managed Mark Webber, Heikki Kovalainen, and Romain Grosjean. In April 2006, Renault F1's new president Alain Dassas stated that having a contract with Briatore for 2007 was 'a key factor' in securing the company's commitment to the sport, "and we will do everything to ensure Flavio stays". Briatore was duly confirmed on 6 September 2006 as staying at Renault for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Briatore was also implicated in the 2007 "Spygate" scandal, but escaped without punishment. In November 2007, the FIA alleged that Renault possessed confidential information about the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars. Following a hearing that December, Renault were found guilty of breaching the same regulation as McLaren, but were not punished. Despite this guilty verdict, Briatore hit back at McLaren's Ron Dennis, saying "here is a team that acquired an advantage illegally. Just read the regulations: for intellectual property theft the punishment is exclusion... Ron Dennis… was the one who protested us on the mass damper. He is not the immaculate saint he pretends to be on his statements". "Crashgate" and resignation Briatore was forced to resign from Renault after a race fixing scandal. Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds asked their number two driver, Nelson Piquet Jr., to intentionally crash during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix so that his teammate Fernando Alonso could gain an advantage. Alonso eventually won the race. After Briatore dropped Piquet from the team, Piquet traded his confession for immunity. However, he still claims that he never personally spoke with Piquet. In September 2009, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) charged Renault with conspiracy and race fixing. Renault and Briatore initially threatened to sue Piquet for defamation, but shortly afterwards, Renault announced that they would not "dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA" and that Briatore and Symonds had left the team. Renault emerged largely unscathed on paper, receiving two years' probation; the FIA explained that Renault promptly and unreservedly accepted guilt and "ensured that [Briatore and Symonds] left the team". Briatore was indefinitely banned from FIA-sanctioned events. In addition, he was effectively banned from managing drivers, as the FIA announced that it would not permit any driver he managed to renew their superlicence. Symonds received a five-year ban. The FIA explained that it severely punished Briatore because he refused to admit his guilt despite overwhelming evidence, whereas Symonds admitted guilt and expressed remorse. Briatore sued the FIA in French courts over the unprecedented penalty, demanding his reinstatement and €1 million in compensation. On 5 January 2010, the Tribunal de Grande Instance overturned the bans on Briatore and Symonds and granted them €20,000 in compensation, €15,000 of which went to Briatore. The FIA announced that it would appeal the decision, Wilderness years Although the French court ruling made Briatore eligible to return to Formula One in theory, he said that he did not expect to work in F1 again. He spent fifteen years on the sidelines of the sport. He frequently criticised the direction of modern Formula One, and particularly its emphasis on "hidden technology," saying that "nothing costs more, and delivers less entertainment". and that fans wanted to hear the loud noises of the old Formula One engines. He also criticised the new Formula One spending cap, saying that independent teams could not reasonably reach the $175 million ceiling. He was given the title of Executive Advisor for the Formula One Division. Although he was employed by the parent Renault company and not the official Alpine team, Motor Sport reported that Briatore had "effectively been given full scope for hirings and firings within the team." Car magazine interpreted his role as "team boss in all but name." On 6 May 2025, following the mid-season resignation of team principal Oliver Oakes, Briatore became Alpine's de facto team principal. He is not the official team principal, as he is not an Alpine employee and he does not hold the requisite FIA license. However, several F1 executives, including Mercedes' Toto Wolff, Ferrari's Frédéric Vasseur, and Sauber's Alessandro Alunni Bravi, commented positively on the move. Briatore credited Formula One chief Stefano Domenicali for facilitating his comeback. and shuttering Renault's Viry-Châtillon engine operation in favor of a customer engine supply from Mercedes. Briatore initially claimed that ending Renault's engine program was company leadership's idea, Several media outlets suggested that Renault CEO Luca de Meo had given Briatore a mandate to make the team more attractive to a potential buyer, The season before Briatore arrived, Otro had bought its shares for €200 million, valuing the team at $900 million. By March 2026, Otro claimed to value the team at £1.5-1.86 billion ($1.99-2.46 billion). ==Outside Formula One==

Hospitality and luxury brands Briatore has developed a diverse portfolio of business interests outside Formula 1, many of which revolve around fashion. He created the brand in 1998 and owned a club in Sardinia; in August 2012, he opened another Billionaire club in Marbella under that name along with an haute couture line, Billionaire Italian Couture. In addition to that, he opened Cipriani's restaurant in Mayfair, London, in 2004 and until 2007 owned 48.9% of the pharmaceuticals company . He also operates a Tuscan beach club and Lion in the Sun, a holiday resort in Kenya. Briatore claimed that it was the most extravagant present he had ever bought himself, but rented out the yacht via charter. On 1 September 2007, the team announced that Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone had made a recommended offer to buy the club from a Monaco-based consortium led by Gianni Paladini. Lakshmi Mittal joined the ownership group soon after. The total price was £14m. Under Briatore's leadership, QPR spent heavily and lost large amounts of money, including £19m in 2009 and £14m in 2010. He later said that "I will never invest in a football club again. ... It's only ever a good idea if you're very rich and looking for ways to waste your money. In two years you'll be very poor and won't have that problem anymore." He attempted to directly influence football decisions: he ordered Paolo Sousa to play a second striker at half-time in a match against Crystal Palace, briefly sought to dictate lineups to Marc Bircham, and insisted that Paul Hart play a 4-4-2 formation instead of a 4-3-3. Briatore resigned from QPR following his ban from the FIA. The Football League's rules stipulate that a club owner must be a "fit and proper person" and allow the League to ban owners who have been banned from another sporting organisation. In September 2009, The Guardian reported that legal experts were not certain whether Briatore qualified for a ban from the Football League. However, the following month, the League announced that it was investigating Briatore's exit from Renault; it also asked the FIA to share the details of its investigation. Briatore floated the idea of resigning in January 2010 and officially resigned that February. He also appeared in Emigratis season 2 episode 4, was a guest on 60 Minutes's segment named "Monaco" and was a guest on Spanish Talk Show El Hormiguero. == Personal life ==

Marriages, relationships, and children Briatore has been married three times and has two children, Leni Klum (b. 2004) and Falco Nathan Briatore (b. 2010). He married the following women: • Nina Stevens sep. 2017). In addition, Briatore was previously engaged to supermodel Naomi Campbell (sep. 2003) and briefly dated supermodel Heidi Klum, a relationship that produced a daughter, Leni. During Leni Klum's childhood, Heidi Klum and her then-husband Seal both stated that Briatore was not involved in Leni Klum's life; Seal implied it was by mutual agreement, explaining that "[it's] not because [Briatore's] a bad person ... He obviously sees the set-up and leaves it alone." In September 2023, it was reported that Briatore and Leni were now in contact with each other. In October 2024, Briatore and Klum opened a pizzeria together in Manhattan. Homes and activities In 1993, an explosive device destroyed the front door of Briatore's London mansion. The Provisional Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility. Briatore currently resides in Monaco, citing its favorable tax rules and good business environment; he has lived there since approximately 2010. Epstein links Briatore and Jeffrey Epstein knew each other, and Briatore was mentioned in the Epstein files. In 2005, Briatore requested to meet with Epstein during a trip to New York City. In 2010, Epstein told Peter Mandelson that Briatore wanted to sell his Chelsea triplex residence, after which Briatore requested to meet with Epstein again. Epstein also described Briatore as "my Italian friend" when discussing Mohamed Al-Fayed. ==See also==