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Former Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa, applauded F1 YouTuber, Tom Bellingham, for criticizing the appointment of Flavio Briatore as Alpine team principal after the 2025 Miami Grand Prix. The Italian had joined the French team as an Executive Advisor to the Renault boss, Luca de Meo, last year and now has officially made his comeback to the sport.
After Oliver Oakes's shock exit after Miami, it was announced that Briatore would assume his duties while managing the duties of being an Executive Advisor. The Alpine team principal has been one of the most controversial figures in the sport due to his direct involvement in the 'CrashGate' scandal, which happened in 2008.
In a clip shared on P1 with Matt and Tommy's Instagram page, Bellingham gave a passionate rant about Alpine's latest developments and criticized Briatore and the sport, saying:
Trending
"It's an absolute joke the fact that he's allowed to be in Formula 1. He shouldn't even be being interviewed on Martin Brundle's Gridwalk, never mind a team principal of a Formula 1 team. I've had the pleasure of trying to get in the paddock with the wrong pass, and it goes [makes a sound]. That is exactly what should happen with Flavio Briatore's paddock pass when he tries to get in.
"Because it's a lifetime ban. It's the worst thing that's ever happened in the sport in terms of ordering someone to crash, putting lives in danger for marshals, the driver themselves, people in the crowd with flying debris that should never have been allowed to happen. 17 years later, they've kept the win, and the guy who got the lifetime ban is back as the team principal of that team is absolutely disgusting," he said.
The viral rant attracted over 27k likes on the post, with one from former Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa, who even commented on the post approving Bellingham's criticism.
Felipe Massa was directly affected by the 'CrashGate' scandal as he had to relinquish his race lead after pitting under the Safety Car and lost out on the chance to win the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
When Felipe Massa spoke about confronting Flavio Briatore
Former Williams F1 driver, Felipe Massa, previously stated that he confronted Flavio Briatore about his direct involvement in the 'CrashGate' scandal in a private lunch.
While appearing on the Track Limits podcast in 2023, the Brazilian reflected (via GPBlog):
"I was in Bahrain; I met [Flavio] Briatore in a restaurant. We went to lunch together, and then I asked him if the crash was on purpose. From the way he answered, it was fake: 'No, we would never do that.' But I saw it in his face. I didn't believe it. Only after that, I thought maybe something was fishy."
The 2008 runner-up went on to file a lawsuit against the sport, as he believed that he was cheated out of his title owing to the 'CrashGate' scandal, which had cost him valuable points in the championship at the time.
