Briatore now in conflicting roles as Doohan’s Manager and Team Boss after recent threats

Alex Gassman
Flavio Briatore and Mick Doohan

Jack Doohan is racing for the Alpine F1 team in 2025. His manager is Flavio Briatore who’s also the Executive Director of the team. Briatore decides when drivers are given the boot.

Before the season has even begun, Flavio has already fired a warning shot across Doohan’s bows. This begs a couple of questions; isn’t this a massive conflict of interest on Briatore’s part? And how can Doohan be happy with his manager’s dual role?

Doohan was shoehorned in to an Alpine seat for the final round of the 2024 championship at Abu Dhabi after Esteban Ocon, who he replaced, announced he was driving for HAAS in 2025. Alpine decided to end their relationshop with Ocon early, so Doohan, Alpine’s reserve driver, got the call.

Jack Doohan’s father is Mick Doohan, 5-time Motorbike World Champion. Mick is no stranger to the motorsport paddock and will know what it takes to make it to the top of a given discipline in the sport.

As Jack was starting to make his way up the motorsport ladder, Mick would have wanted the best chance of getting him all the way to the top. And despite his controversial past, the Doohans decided to go with Flavio Briatore as Jack’s manager.

Briatore’s involvement in F1 is riddled with controversy, most notably the “Crashgate” scandal during his time managing Renault.

But perhaps Doohan saw no better option. Breaking into F1 is a monumental challenge, especially without significant sponsorship backing which Jack Doohan lacks. But Briatore’s influence and connections would have been influential in their choice to hire him as a manager.

And it has to be said, in a sport where only 20 seats exist, it’s hard to argue with the results. Briatore achieved for Jack what many aspiring F1 drivers only dream of—getting his client a spot in the world’s most exclusive racing series.

Yet, now that Doohan is in F1, the dual role of Briatore as both his manager and the team’s Executive Director presents undeniable complications. Whilst it’s Oliver Oakes who is the Alpine Team Principal, Briatore in his role as Executive Director is the one calling the shots on which drivers get a seat in his team. 

A manager should be a driver’s staunchest advocate, working solely to advance their client’s career. Briatore, however, also has Alpine’s interests to consider, which may not always align with Doohan’s personal goals.

In December, in an interview with French Newspaper Le Parisien, Briatore stated “We’ll start the year with Pierre and Jack, I can guarantee this. Then we’ll see during the season.

“I must put the team in a position to get results. And the driver is the one who must materialise the work of nearly 1,000 people behind him. Everyone works for just two people.

“If one of the drivers is not moving forward, is not bringing results, then I replace him.”

This shot across Doohan’s bows came shortly after Alpine announced that they had hired the Argentinian young-gun Franco Colapinto as their reserve driver.

Colapinto is a highly rated young talent who had an impressive, if slightly crashy, start to his F1 career with Williams in 2024. But Franco also brings substantial sponsorship deals to the team from Latin companies. 

After Briatore’s comments, there’s been much speculation about Doohan’s future in Alpine. But undoubtedly much of that stems from the South American media outlets and Colapinto’s own management who are eager to see him promoted.

Image licensed under CC BY 2.0

Briatore Alonso Fisichella

Briatore's been here before

This isn’t the first time Flavio has found himself in the position of poacher turned gamekeeper with one of the F1 drivers he manages, and his history might offer an insight into how this situation could unfold.

He has been involved in managing Fernando Alonso’s F1 career for over 20 years, including when he was team principal of Renault in the early 2000s. He saw Fernando win the 2005 and 2006 World Championships and could celebrate with him as both his manager and team principal.

But Alonso wanted to move on from Renault despite winning two titles with them, and even though Briatore in his team principal role wouldn’t have wanted Alonso to leave, in his manager role he helped him secure a contract at McLaren.

Conversely, at Renault in 2004 he showed no hesitation in cutting Jarno Trulli, who he managed, from the team. Despite taking a win in Monaco, Trulli lost 3rd place at the final corner of the team’s home race at Magny-Cours and many think that was the final nail in the coffin for their openly fractuos relationship.

What can Doohan do?

For all the questions around Briatore’s dual role, you can’t ignore his results so far as Jack’s manager. He’s secured the Aussie a seat in F1. For a driver with limited financial backing, Doohan probably wouldn’t be in F1 without Flavio.

But Jack will be feeling the pressure from both Flavio in his team principal role, and the reserve driver Colapinto. He can’t just go and find another manager; if he did then he might find himself without a drive faster than he was given one. Plus that costs money, and Doohan is unlikely to be on a substantial salary.

So Doohan must prove himself on the track. If he can deliver consistent performances and show resilience under pressure, he might win Briatore’s favor and secure his place in the team. History shows that Briatore rewards results, and Doohan’s best chance of success lies in demonstrating his worth where it matters most—on race day.

Join the oversteer48 Inside Line

I’ll send you a weekly email with inside info on the latest F1 news & race results. 
Read by over 9,000 busy F1 fans each week.

Buy me a coffee

If you found my website useful in planning your next trip, feel free to buy me a coffee to say thanks. It helps keep me motivated to write more guides!

Alex Gassman

I‘m Alex. I write F1 and motorsport travel guides based on my experience as racing driver and full-time motorsport nerd. I’ve traveled the world watching F1 and other racing series.

I started oversteer48 with the aim of helping other motorsport fans who are planning on watching some racing themselves.

leave a comment

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Join the Inside Line

I’ll send you a weekly email with inside info, analysis and updates on the latest F1 news & race results. 

Read by over 9,000 harcore F1 fans each week.