Briatore denies Alonso deal role

[spi-ti-tout]

Renault boss Flavio Briatore insisted he played no part in Fernando Alonso's 2007 move to McLaren despite his role as the world champion's manager.

"I was at no time directly or indirectly involved in the conduct of these negotiations," said Briatore.

"Fernando made a personal decision that his future lies outside the Renault team when his current contract expires at the end of 2006.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41141000/jpg/_41141158_flavio203.jpg

"He contacted, and negotiated with McLaren at his own instigation."

Briatore brought Spain's Alonso into Formula One and helped him blossom into the sport's youngest world champion at 24.

The flamboyant Italian is likely to replace Alonso with another of his proteges - Heikki Kovalainen, of Finland.

A product of Renault's driver development programme, he will be the F1 team's test driver next season.
Who was pointing at him in the first place?

[Matra et Alpine]

Briatore's contract as Alonso's manager ends next season, so maybe Briatore DID set it up behind the scenes to shaft Alonso for not retaining him as manager :D

[henk4]

normally a manager gets a percentage of a brokered deal. I assume if Alonso did everything on his own, Mr. B could be quite upset, unless of course Mr. A pays him a sizeable amount afterwards:)

[RacingManiac]

I have a theory, assume if Briatore will continue to be Alonso's manager, that leaves him in a unique position, as both Renault's team boss, and his manager. Now assume if Flav knows something we don't, something along the line of the speculation for Renault to pull out due to the re-introduction of Carlos Ghosn as CEO of Renault(from Nissan), F1 program falls out of favor and Renault might leave with Michelin in 07. Now instead of letting the musical chair play itself out, Flav convince Ron that signing Alonso is worthwhile, because Ron might be losing Kimi in 07(which would put Ron in the position of looking for a replacement, and who better than the person who beat Kimi to the title), so McLaren moved on the oppotunitiy and signed a deal worth a lot of money(no doubt) to get Alonso, and Flav gets his cut, and still securing the income when Renault do pull out....

[magracer]

I'm not buying into Briatore's statement for a second.

[Dino Scuderia]

(GMM) What was heralded as a clever coup has been slammed as 'not intelligent' by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

The sport's diminutive boss, 75, criticised McLaren chief Ron Dennis and world champion Fernando Alonso for doing a dirty deal behind Flavio Briatore's back.

''I know what happened (but) I can't tell the details,'' Bernie told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Ecclestone's account is given credence by the Renault boss' insistence that he had nothing to do with Alonso's huge-price switch from the Enstone team.

''Flavio has been left ... deceived,'' Bernie added. ''On top of that, with Dennis being Briatore's worst enemy, (Ron) spited him by exposing things publicly in order to make it difficult for him.

''Dennis' move hasn't been intelligent.''

So, what looked like a skilful move into formula one's fastest car, has been turned sour for Spaniard Alonso.

England's The Telegraph newspaper said it believed Briatore - Alonso's manager - had asked lawyers to look into the legality of his driver's one-sided deceit.

On top of that, Fernando, 24, has to drive for the blue and yellow team next season, and Kimi Raikkonen must go into 2006 unsure of the loyalty of his own employer.

http://formula-1.updatesport.com/news/article/1135236612/formula_one/F1headlines/Bernie-blasts-Alonso-deceit/view.html

[henk4]

this is going to be interesting. I wonder if anybody has been so naive as to assume that Mr. Dennis would have played an honest game:D

[Jack_Bauer]

this is going to be interesting. I wonder if anybody has been so naive as to assume that Mr. Dennis would have played an honest game:D
I doubt it very much, it seems everyone is wanting to stick the boot into Baldy and McLaren over the incident. Niki Lauda has also been quick to condemn....





Former driver and team boss Niki Lauda has shaken his head at Fernando Alonso's switch from Renault to McLaren. The outspoken 56-year-old Austrian criticised Ron Dennis, his former employer and team principals' colleague, for announcing the coup a week before Christmas '05.


"Everything he could do wrong, he has done wrong," Lauda told Germany's Bild newspaper. "Ron has forgotten that humans aren't machines -- they have emotion."

Niki called the timing of the Spaniard's signing - about a year before Alonso's first McLaren test - a 'disaster'. He reckons Alonso, plus current McLaren duo Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya, all have their noses out of joint.

First, Niki Lauda suggests, 'iceman' Kimi is no longer the golden boy at the silver clad team. "In this deal, there are only losers," the ex-triple world champion said. "Alonso will have trouble with his Renault team in 2006. And Montoya now has to perform in the knowledge that he is only McLaren's third choice."

To the 'Sport1' publication, meanwhile, former German GP driver Hans-Joachim Stuck reckons the Alonso move was pretty predictable. "It looks like Renault will stop the F1 programme in a year or two."


To be honest, I don't know why people are getting all incredulous about it. Since when has honour, honesty or respect EVER come into driver contracts? Same as it ever was as far as I can see. :rolleyes:

[RacingManiac]

remember how flav signed Schumi....

[Zytek_Fan]

Bernie Ecclestone has launched a stinging attack on Fernando Alonso and Ron Dennis following the Spaniard's shock move to McLaren for 2007.

With Flavio Briatore, the Renault team boss who also acts as Alonso's manager, denying any knowledge of the deal, Bernie has rounded on Dennis and suggested he was provoked into signing Alonso by a personal grudge.

"I'm reminded of when I was the owner of Brabham and, in the summer of 1977, I contacted Niki Lauda at the Italian Grand Prix and offered him a drive for the following season," Ecclestone told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

"He accepted, but I told him, 'Look Niki, I don't want to have any issues with Enzo Ferrari. You explain to him how things have gone, and then we'll announce it'. In this case it was Alonso dealing with Ron Dennis [McLaren's chief], bypassing Briatore. Flavio has been left, how can you say it...deceived.

"On top of that, with Dennis being Briatore's worst enemy, he spited him by exposing things publicly in order to make it difficult for him. Dennis and Briatore could have written a joint press release and would have both looked much better. Dennis's move hasn't been intelligent."

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, 'Alonso's relationship with Briatore now seems irretrievable, an appalling state of affairs for Renault, for whom Alonso is contracted to drive next year. Briatore is understood to have instructed lawyers to examine the validity of Alonso's actions.'

[MrKipling]

All this talk of Renault pulling out, I just read a quote on Crash.net from Mosely saying, "One manufacturer is spending a sum [on Formula 1] greater than half its total annual dividend. This is unsustainable and sooner or later the shareholders will notice."

Could it be the regie? You don't win World Championships without spending vast sums of money. Apparently Renault had 300 people on their engine team in 05.

[Matra et Alpine]

All this talk of Renault pulling out, I just read a quote on Crash.net from Mosely saying, "One manufacturer is spending a sum [on Formula 1] greater than half its total annual dividend. This is unsustainable and sooner or later the shareholders will notice."

Could it be the regie? You don't win World Championships without spending vast sums of money. Apparently Renault had 300 people on their engine team in 05.
Renault are the SMALLEST of the manufacturers and smaller than some "privateers"

It'll be Ferrari who have ALWAYS paid way much more into winning than anyone else......

[MrKipling]

Yeah, but that's kinda my point, if they're the smallest manufacturer they'll be paying a greater proportion of their profits into F1.

Also, their undoubtedly sparkling motor sport heritage, the fact that they're not really prolific in many disciplines, or have a sustained presence - would suggest they only enter to win and that has to mean a big spend.

[Matra et Alpine]

Yeah, but that's kinda my point, if they're the smallest manufacturer they'll be paying a greater proportion of their profits into F1.
You're confusing the team and the company.
The Renault F1 team are one of the smallest, lowest budgets.
The Renault COMPANY are one of the biggest

Also, their undoubtedly sparkling motor sport heritage, the fact that they're not really prolific in many disciplines, or have a sustained presence - would suggest they only enter to win and that has to mean a big spend.
NO, they enter to win and do it intelligently.

Alpine-Renault took the Le Mans race with a FRACTION of the Ford investment in the GT40 :)

What Renault do is be smart with their money.
So they don't do WRC because their expertise was in tarmac special cars, so trying to win WRC would require them to invest in knowledge and engineering they don't have the background in.
They don't' try to compete on the world stage in many formulae. Beyond their one-marque ( which are break even opportunities ) they are ONLY in F1. Not diluted trying to do GT or Le Mans.


They really operate like the Lotus of old. Colin not only expected his cars to have components do more than one job, but every person in the organisation too.

Being "better" doesn't always come from spending but by acting -- smart.

[spi-ti-tout]

We should have an F1 crash derby to solve this.