Flavio Briatore believes that the newly-announced partnership between Alpine and Gucci will be “perfect” for the squad’s future, with the team’s Executive Advisor hailing the deal as “good for Formula 1”.
It was confirmed last month that Gucci is set to become title partner to Alpine in 2027, a collaboration that will see the Enstone-based outfit race under the name of Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team.
They will also compete in Gucci colours, with the luxury fashion house creating Gucci Racing which they have stated will be “a new business and experiential platform built around the values of performance, precision, discipline, and excellence at the intersection of luxury and sport”.
Briatore is no stranger to working alongside a fashion brand, having previously led the team when they were known as Benetton in the 1990s. However, when asked during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend whether the Gucci partnership felt like Benetton 2.0, the Italian explained that there are some differences this time around.
“At the time, Benetton was not a luxury brand – it was a brand,” said Briatore. “We created a winning team with the brand Benetton.
“Gucci is one of the big deals I've done in all my time in Formula 1. [In the past] we’ve done [deals with] Telefonica, with ING. This one was really difficult to do, because there were so many parties involved.
“I'm very happy, because it upgraded the team as well. When we announced the deal, in three days there were one billion visitors on the website.
“I believe it's good for Formula 1. We have two big luxury brands in Formula 1. We have Louis Vuitton on one side, and Louis Vuitton is a sponsor of FOM. This is like a spectator, but in the arena, Gucci is in the arena. Gucci is in the car, they’re the title sponsor.”
The upcoming partnership means that Gucci will replace water technology company BWT as Alpine’s title sponsor. Briatore paid tribute to the outgoing partner, before detailing why he feels that the Gucci tie-up will prove beneficial for the squad’s development.
“I want to as well say thank you to BWT,” he continued. “We have an incredible relationship with Andreas [Weissenbacher, CEO of BWT] and with all the group at BWT.
“But the position of the team I want to [have], I believe, for growing very quickly, for the image, for as well financially, the deal with Gucci was perfect. It was a really super deal.”
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