"It's absolutely disgusting": F1 influencer rages at Flavio Briatore assuming the role of Alpine team principal

F1 influencer, Tom Bellingham, claimed that he was 'disgusted' by the appointment of Flavio Briatore as the Alpine team principal. The French team caught everyone off guard when it announced that Oliver Oakes had resigned from his role as team principal after the 2025 Miami Grand Prix.

The Brit had taken over the role last year, after the summer break, but left the position due to 'personal reasons'. With Briatore already acting as the Executive Advisor, he assumed the role of team principal until they appointed someone permanently.

However, the Italian, assuming the role of Alpine team principal, did not go down well with most of the fans which was evident by a passionate rant from F1 YouTuber, Tom Bellingham. In a clip shared on P1 with Matt and Tommy's Instagram, the British influencer spoke his mind and said:

"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.

Flavio Briatore had previously led the Enstone-based outfit in previous iterations of Benetton and Renault and taken them to world championships.

Flavio Briatore comments on Alpine's driver lineup in 2025

Alpine Executive Advisor, Flavio Briatore, stated that the French team found the need to rotate its driver lineup as they believed they had a competitive car and needed to match the closeness of the midfield in the 2025 season.

As per RacingNews365, the 75-year-old said on the driver pairing:

"With the field being so closely matched this year, and with a competitive car, which the team has drastically improved in the past 12 months, we are in a position where we see the need to rotate our line-up."

Alpine will have a new driver pairing from the Imola GP, as Franco Colapinto replaces Jack Doohan in the seat alongside Pierre Gasly. The Aussie driver was demoted to the role of reserve driver after failing to score a point in the last six races and two Sprints in the 2025 season so far with addition of racing in the season finale last year in Abu Dhabi as well.