Flavio Briatore's problems laid bare as Piranha Club sharpen teeth

There will be some nervous F1 bosses worried about their teams’ plight during the summer break.

The Piranha Club - the notorious name for the cut-throat world of top F1 chiefs - does not take prisoners.

Christian Horner has already been removed by Red Bull and other F1 team principals will know their performances are being scrutinised too.

Our experts identified which F1 boss should be most nervous - and the spotlight fell on Alpine’s Flavio Briatore.

Lewis Larkam: Alpine are in a real mess. Leadership instability and poor on-track performance has been the story of a challenging and hugely disappointing 2025 season so far.

Pierre Gasly’s displays have been the only shining light in an otherwise forgettable campaign for the French squad, who are falling further and further adrift of their rivals at the very bottom of the constructors’ championship.

Like Red Bull, Alpine have a second driver problem. There's also a lack of clear direction at the top, and they appear unable to get on top of their 2025 challenger which is now the slowest on the grid and often found floundering around at the back.

Alpine have been out of sorts for several years now and head into F1’s new regulation cycle full of uncertainty and risking brand damage. A switch to Mercedes engines should at least give the team a boost next year, but it won’t solve all of their problems.

Connor McDonagh: He’s only been in the job a matter of weeks, but Laurent Mekies will surely be nervous about the situation at Red Bull. Red Bull have shown zero signs that they know how to improve the RB21 or make it more friendly to drive for either Max Verstappen or Yuki Tsunoda.

The car has clear limitations, and despite upgrades being introduced weekly, there has been no sign of improvement. Red Bull have lost some high-profile personnel over the years.

Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, and Rob Marshall have all joined rivals during Verstappen’s F1 championship-winning run. Replacing them is a huge task.

Mekies will also have a big decision to make around Pierre Wache. Wache is currently Red Bull’s technical director. It was widely believed that Wache had significant support from Christian Horner.

However, with Horner now gone, will Wache be in the firing line if he can’t prove to Red Bull – and the Verstappens – that he can turn things around?

Red Bull’s form will be a cause for concern, and the fact that they’re building their own F1 power unit for the first time in 2026 will give them an extra headache.

Derry Munikartono: Alpine’s 2025 campaign has been nothing short of a mess — and whoever ends up leading this team will find themselves under intense pressure.

It’s been a season of constant turbulence, with changes in the driver line-up, a new team principal, and a car that’s been the least competitive on the grid. The shake-up reached its peak when team principal Oliver Oakes was shown the door — a move that came at the same time Jack Doohan was replaced by Franco Colapinto.

Into the vacuum stepped Flavio Briatore, long-time Renault advisor and now the ‘de facto’ team boss. Briatore’s experience and track record suggest he can steady the ship, but Alpine still needs a permanent leader to steer the F1 project forward.

Whoever takes that role will have the unenviable task of turning around Enstone’s team fortunes — and fast.

Rachit Thukral: Flavio Briatore must be doing all he can to strengthen his ties with Renault’s top brass given Alpine’s struggles. After all, the manufacturer has never shied away from removing underperforming leadership and Briatore must be next on the firing line if things don’t improve.

To be fair, 20 points by mid-season would have been good enough for eighth in 2024. But F1 has never had such competitive 10 teams in history and the stability in regulations have left Alpine scrapping for whatever is left.

The 2026 reset will keep spirits up, especially after previous seasons showed that it can be competitive even with an underpowered car, but the current results are still alarming for a factory outfit.