One Formula One team principal has been left feeling “really angry” with Michael Schumacher’s brother. It comes after the recent Italian Grand Prix, with Ralf Schumacher having opened up about his relationship with Alpine head honcho Flavio Briatore after the race.
Max Verstappen bucked the trend of five McLaren victories in a row, with the Dutchman taking the win ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. It’s unlikely to do much to resurrect his title chances, but it was a timely reminder that Verstappen can still compete with the runaway championship favourites.
Despite this, Ralf was quick to praise Norris’ showing during an appearance on the Backstage Boxengasse Podcast, before rather abruptly switching to a conversation about Briatore. He said: “I know Flavio Briatore isn’t talking to me at the moment, he’s really angry with me because he misunderstood, because I simply said, OK, people like Flavio and, incidentally, Christian Horner alone have no future as the model, or you have to drive the McLaren model.
“One does marketing and takes care of the people, or also brings in the staff that Andrea Stella needs. However, this position has become so important that they must also concentrate fully on the future of the car, and that’s what I meant by that, and that also applies to Christian Horner, not just to Flavio Briatore, and it has nothing to do with age. I like Flavio, and of course, he may not be able to do this for another 100 years, but times have simply changed.”
Despite the criticism, Briatore will have some big decisions to make in the coming weeks and months, given that they’re one of four teams yet to confirm their two drivers for the 2026 season. Pierre Gasly will be one half of the pairing, but Franco Colapinto’s future at the team is believed to be up in the air as things stand.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 during the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Briatore explained: “For the moment, I believe Franco is doing a good job. He was a bit inexperienced in the beginning, like a lot of the rookies, young drivers.
“Now, in the last three, four races, he’s much more consistent, no mistakes, and maybe it’s Franco, maybe we’ll see. We have another four or five races to choose [from], and that’s when we’ll see.”
