Alpine needs a 'democratic dictator' - Briatore

Flavio Briatore says he has no regrets about ousting Jack Doohan from Alpine's race seat in favour of highly rated and heavily sponsored rookie Franco Colapinto.

"He (Doohan) had five races to prove himself," the 75-year-old told RTL, even though the Australian was replaced after round six in Miami. "After five races, we looked at the results. And I didn't like them.

"You only stay in a company if you do a good job. If you do a bad job, you get fired. Over a thousand people and their families depend on it.

"I'm just protecting the people who work for me," Briatore added. "That's why I always choose the best possible driver for the car."

Colapinto's team debut at Imola was far from perfect — including a major crash in qualifying — but Briatore remains positive.

"If you look at Sunday's times, you can see that he drove a similar time to (Pierre) Gasly. This is the first time our cars have been so close."

The swap continues a turbulent period for Alpine, marked by a string of leadership changes and the recent departure of team boss Oliver Oakes — amid speculation of behind-the-scenes tension with Briatore.

Briatore insists there were no clashes and says Oakes' exit came as a surprise. Still, the former Renault team boss seems comfortable with the situation, with Dave Greenwood currently listed as the official 'team representative' in the eyes of the FIA.

Briatore, still acting as 'executive advisor', is not formally employed by Alpine and would need FIA approval — and likely a UK tax obligation — to become full team principal.

"In a Formula 1 team, you need a dictator, maybe a democratic dictator," Briatore explained. "You need someone who is accountable."

He also revealed an increased presence at Alpine's Enstone headquarters. "I'm now in Enstone three days a week instead of two," he said. "Six directors report to me now. Before Oliver, there were 25. We had to change that."

Long known for running lean operations, Briatore said he recently scrapped plans to improve Alpine's paddock image.

"We don't need a nicer pit facility," he told Auto Motor und Sport. "We need a faster car. From now on, we'll only spend money that helps performance."

One thing is clear: since Briatore joined Alpine, results have improved.

"It's no longer a truck like last year," he said. "But we need to understand why we sometimes make it into the top ten and sometimes fall short. Because it's not the engine.

"We know our engine costs us between three and four tenths of a second — always roughly in the same range. That doesn't explain our fluctuations. We need to focus on other things and not hide behind the engine excuse."