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Alpine's executive advisor, Flavio Briatore, has denied any wrongdoing in the infamous Crashgate scandal of 2009. He revealed that he never spoke to Nelson Piquet Jr., who alleged that Briatore told him to crash deliberately to help his teammate Fernando Alonso win the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
The controversy erupted in 2009 when ex-Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. alleged that he deliberately crashed on lap 14 of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to help his then teammate Fernando Alonso win the race.
In the race, Alonso had pitted moments before, and the safety car deployed after Piquet Jr.'s crash put him at an advantage over others. However, after Piquet Jr. was dropped by Renault in 2009, he revealed that he had crashed deliberately to help Alonso win.
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Piquet Jr. accused the then-managing director of Renault, Flavio Briatore, of orchestrating what is now known as the 'Crashgate Scandal.' According to Piquet Jr., Briatore told him to crash at the right moment and change the results.
However, years later, Briatore has denied any involvement. Talking to Corriere della Sera, he said:
“He [Nelson Piquet Jr.] and I never spoke. I didn’t even speak to him much when he was driving for me."
On Nelson Piquet Jr.'s testimony, the FIA deemed Flavio and former Renault technical director Pat Symonds as masterminds of the scandal. While Briatore received a lifetime ban, Symonds got a five-year ban. However, both bans were later reversed in the French court.
Meanwhile, in 2024, Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo hired Briatore as executive advisor for the company's rebranded F1 team, Alpine Racing.
In the aftermath of the scandal, Felipe Massa filed a lawsuit in 2023, seeking a potential reversal of the 2008 championship outcome, arguing that had the Singapore crash been properly investigated at the time, the race results and championship might have changed. In 2008, Massa lost the championship to Lewis Hamilton by a single point.
Johnny Herbert opposes Flavio Briatore's return to F1
Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has publicly stated that Flavio Briatore shouldn't be welcomed back in F1, given his past involvement in the 2008 Crashgate scandal. Alpine rehired Briatore in 2024 as executive advisor after his lifetime ban was reversed.
Talking to independent.co.uk, Herbert said:
“I didn't agree when Flavio Briatore came back, and I still don't agree that he's back. But he is back, and he's in the battle. He's now head of the Alpine team and running it. Those decisions have been made, as I said; don't agree. I don't think it's the right thing; he's back.”
In 2025, under Briatore's leadership, Alpine fired rookie Jack Doohan after six races to promote reserve driver Franco Colapinto. Moreover, Alpine's team principal, Oliver Oakes, resigned from his role hours before Doohan's sacking.
