Search the Community

Italian police have seized Flavio Briatore's yacht. A week after the banned former Renault boss hosted Bernie Ecclestone on the 60-metre Force Blue on the Monaco harbour, police boarded it on Thursday. They had followed the yacht with high speed boats to the port of La Spezia, near the northern city of Genoa, with the 60-year-old Italian, his wife Elisabetta and new son Falco all on board. Local prosecutor Walter Cotugno ordered the boat be impounded on the suspicion it is improperly registered as a charter. Investigators suspect Briatore has registered it in the Cayman Islands, with a hire price of 275,000 euros a week, in order to obtain a tax break and to avoid paying sales tax when anchoring in European harbours. They suspect the yacht is not chartered at all and in fact is used only by Briatore's family. Source: GMM

Flavio Briatore has denied likening Jenson Button last year to a concrete bollard, but admits he does not highly rate F1's reigning champion and current championship leader. When a younger and less focused Button struggled at Briatore-led Benetton in 2001, the Italian said his British driver was so slow at Monaco it seemed he was scouting for a new place to moor his yacht. And in 2009, when Button was driving a Brawn and running away with the title amid the double-diffuser controversy, Briatore said the 30-year-old was a "paracarro" -- an Italian word for a concrete roadside post. But one year later, Button is not only the reigning world champion, he has also impressed the F1 world by showing well alongside the highly rated Lewis Hamilton and winning two of his first four races at the wheel of a McLaren. Briatore is quoted as saying in Italian reports: "I never said he (Button) was not good, but for me he is not among the five fastest drivers in the world." Source: GMM

Flavio Briatore does not think Michael Schumacher will ever again demonstrate the form that netted him seven world titles until his initial retirement. Three years after vacating his Ferrari cockpit in 2006, Schumacher has so far struggled to match his teammate Nico Rosberg at the wheel of Mercedes' 2010 car. Pundits are split on whether the 41-year-old is past his prime or simply taking time to get up to speed. Briatore, no longer involved in F1 in the wake of last year's Renault crashgate scandal, was team boss at Benetton at the time of Schumacher's first back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. Italian reports quote the 60-year-old as saying the German "will not revive" the form of his first career. "I always said that Michael would find it tough against Rosberg," said Briatore. "This year is going to be uncomfortable for him because there have never been so many good drivers fighting to win grands prix," he added. Source: GMM

Flavio Briatore has revealed he has no intention of attempting to reconcile his broken relationship with former F1 colleague Max Mosley. In his last year of FIA presidency in 2009, Mosley oversaw the imposition of ousted Renault team boss Briatore's lifetime ban over the crashgate scandal. But Mosley has since turned 70 and is now effectively retired, replaced by Jean Todt who has halted crashgate by agreeing to end Briatore's ban in 2013. Italian Briatore, now 60, also celebrated a birthday this month, and is currently at home with his model wife Elisabetta and their newly born son Falco. But he told the Italian magazine Chi that he is not interested in making up with Mosley. "He sent me a text message to congratulate us on the birth of Falco, but Mosley is part of my former life. In my future there will be no place for him," said Briatore. "I'm happy for Jean (Todt)," the Italian added, "my friend of 20 years. Thanks to him, the FIA can now quietly and serenely breathe new air." Briatore, who has always maintained his innocence despite conspirators Pat Symonds and Nelson Piquet admitting to plotting the deliberate crash of Singapore 2008, said he is not about to forgive the stain on his reputation. "It was very bad for my story. I suffered an injustice. But the truth, the power of the truth, wins every time," he insisted.

Even in the wake of 'crashgate' and the ensuing saga about his motor racing ban, Flavio Briatore is still making headlines for the wrong reasons. The 59-year-old Italian had retained his role as chairman of the London football club Queens Park Rangers, but it now emerges that he has stepped down. Alongside Bernie Ecclestone, he bought into the club in September 2007, but in that time Briatore became known as the mastermind of 10 managerial changes and little progress on the field. "My three years as chairman have been an exciting and incredible experience. I'm proud to have helped save this historical club and to have contributed in paving the way to its future success," he said. Briatore's departure has resulted in the family of wealthy steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal increasing its stake in the club, while Briatore and Ecclestone retain shareholdings. It also emerges that Briatore is set for a London High Court battle with the former partner of his luxury UK fashion label Billionaire. According to the Times, designer Angelo Galasso is claiming multi million pound damages because Briatore promised him a formal 20 per stake in the company. "I'm really, really disappointed," said Galasso. "Flavio kept saying 'trust me, trust me'. But he didn't respect the deal. He didn't respect me." Briatore's lawyer did not reply to a request for comment.

Wow.... News Article Sounds like an admission of guilt in spite of all the grandstanding from Briatore.

Flavio Briatore is unlikely to be extradited to Singapore. Renault's former managing director Flavio Briatore and the team's former executive director of engineering Pat Symonds could be extradited to Singapore to face criminal charges in connection with the race-fixing claims during last year's grand prix, but legal experts think it unlikely. Reports claimed the pair could face legal action in Singapore after they were accused of asking Nelson Piquet Jr to crash in order to help his team-mate Fernando Alonso win the race. A lawyer said any extradition would depend on two points. "One, are they based in countries with which Singapore has an extradition treaty? And, two, is what they've done considered an extraditable offence?" Nicholas Narayanan told Singapore Law Watch. Briatore is an Italian citizen while Symonds is a UK citizen. Singapore has an extradition treaty with the UK but not Italy. The pair could be charged with three offences under Singapore law, according to the lawyer: causing malicious or willful damage to property, endangering a vehicle and criminal conspiracy to commit a serious crime. Singapore could request extradition from a Commonwealth country for someone charged for offences which are deemed "extradition crimes". However, it is unlikely that any charges Briatore and Symonds might be asked to answer would be considered as such. Moreover, the country would be loth to attract the bad publicity any such move would attract.

The days of Flavio Briatore and Renault boss are coming to an end. According to the commentator of motor racing for SporTV, Lito Cavalcanti, Briatore will be fired by the French squad before next Monday for ordering the crash of Nelson Piquet in the Grand Prix in Singapore last year, an act that benefited the Spaniard Fernando Alonso, another driver of the team. No later than Monday, Flavio Briatore should be fired by Renault. Of course, he will receive a note thanking him for good and loyal service. This will avoid the humiliation of being banned from the circus of Formula 1. But the fact is that there is no more doubt that he'll be out of Formula 1 in 2010 - said Lito Cavalcanti. According to the commentator, after the International Automobile Federation (FIA) has offered to award immunity to the whistleblower Nelsinho Piquet and Renault's technical director, Pat Symonds, Briatore was left alone in the middle of the crossfire. The fact is that Briatore is now the only person who is still subject to punishment if Pat Symonds should accept the whistleblower award that is being offered. In fact, he hinted in his testimony that at times he had more to tell than he was being asked but just would not say anything at that moment - the commentator concluded. The leading contender to replace Flavio Briatore is the Frenchman Alain Prost, world champion in Formula 1. Prost's name has been mentioned in several quarters as Briatore's potential successor at Renault, but quite where this leaves Flavio's position at Queens Park Rangers remains to be seen.