Ex F1 supremo Bernie's fingerprints all over Briatore Alpine move

[John S]

Seems Mr Eccelstone is still held in high regard around the F1 circus.

https://f1i.com/news/512909-ecclestone-recommended-bandit-briatore-to-desperate-de-meo.html

[Jericoke]

Be prepared for a lot of qualifiers as I talk about these two!

I believe that Eccelstone brought a lot to Formula One.  There's no guarantee it would be the commercial juggernaut it is today without his influence.  As a business man, he seems to be among the best.  As a human being... not so much (maybe that's what makes someone a good business person?  I don't know).  I'm glad that in the 2020s we're more accepting of sidelining people  who are good at certain things, but also deplorable in how they treat other human beings.

I'm not surprised he still has his thumbs in the sport, and probably influences more behind the scenes than we know.  I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it is a thing.

As for Briatore, like Eccelstone, a world class business person but not exactly the sort of human being we like in polite company.  He's the last team principle to guide a team that isn't run like a megacorporation to victory (Brawn being a weird exception of a megacorporation team suddenly being a shoestring team).  I don't know if that skill translates to modern F1 where guys like Horner, Brown and Wolff are more concerned with corporate culture than holding individuals responsible.  I feel like Briatore really could get the most out of someone who wasn't getting the job done.  I'm not sure if that skill works in modern F1 or not, but maybe as an advisor he will have that opportunity to get to the individuals at Alpine who need a little more accountability.

Personally, I'd rather Eccelstone, Briatore (and Symmonds) be done with F1 beyond being fans.  The sport needs to develop new people to take their places, not reboot old successes that came with questionable costs.