Briatore: Sprints can be held every weekend.

      Flavio Briatore is ready to support the ideas voiced by Stefano Domenicali, including holding more sprints and fewer practice sessions — in short, doing everything possible to make things interesting for the fans. This is what the acting head of Alpine F1 said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport…

      Question: People are increasingly talking about the changes Formula 1 wants to make: holding more sprint races and reducing the number of practice sessions. Do you agree?

      Flavio Briatore: I completely agree. The fans are our heroes, they support Formula 1, as hundreds of thousands of people come to the circuits in any weather, regardless of conditions. It may rain, it may be cold or hot — the stands are not empty, and we owe it to the public. Formula 1 is often stingy in this regard, it does not always appreciate this, but I believe that now a movement in the right direction is starting.

      Question: Do you think the right decision is to increase the elements of the show?

      Flavio Briatore: Yes, because Friday practice sessions interest nobody. But if some competitions take place already on Friday, the start of the weekend will become more attractive to the public. I believe we could hold sprints at every round of the season. We gradually tested how spectators react to such races, found out they like it, so we need to take the next step.

      Question: Are you not surprised that in Monza the stands are packed to the rafters, despite Ferrari having difficulties this year?

      Flavio Briatore: No, I'm not surprised. Ferrari wins or loses, but in Italy it has historically happened that they passionately love motorsport. But I'm surprised that Formula 1 races attract so many people in the USA as well, although a few years ago that was unimaginable.

      Question: How do you assess Alpine's performances this season?

      Flavio Briatore: We knew this year would be tough for us. And I'm not surprised that on track those expectations were confirmed. We had no choice: either we try to make progress working on the 2025 car, while understanding that the maximum we can hope for is to try to score some points, or we fully focus on preparing for 2026. Which is what we did.

      Question: At the start of the year you replaced Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto. Do you think that was the right choice?

      Flavio Briatore: Young drivers find it very difficult to achieve stable results in a debut season. Franco encountered certain difficulties, but we probably overestimated his capabilities, although recently he has been coping not badly.

      We still have time to decide what choice to make for next year: we intend to continue working with Pierre Gasly, but we want to have as strong a driver pairing as possible. But of course it's clear that young guys have a hard time at the start of their careers…

      Question: Does that also apply to Kimi Antonelli?

      Flavio Briatore: Yes, to all of them. Franco found himself at the center of the Argentine press, Antonelli is in the same position in Italy. It's all great, but for young drivers it creates additional difficulties. Some start well but then begin to fall away, others, on the contrary, gradually improve after unconvincing results in the first races.

      They all enter Formula 1 very early, perhaps a year or two earlier than necessary, and there is a risk of burnout. It's always nice to see rookies on track, there is always great media interest in them, but you will need patience with them.

      Question: But this weekend the pressure is mainly provided by Ferrari: do you think this team can pull off some surprise and try to win the Italian Grand Prix, as they did last year?

      Flavio Briatore: Yes, definitely. They had decent practice sessions, and this race requires a creative approach, so Ferrari has some chance to stand out and they will try to use it.

      Question: How do you explain Lewis Hamilton's difficulties in his first season at Ferrari?

      Flavio Briatore: He is an excellent driver, there's no doubt. But the difficulties he encountered in adapting to this car show how difficult it is to pilot the machinery of this generation. Of course he did not expect there to be so many problems, and I don't know what they are connected with, but we'll see what changes next year when the cars are different.

      Question: What do you think about the 2026 technical regulations?

      Flavio Briatore: The new regulations are very complex, and this will lead to the fact that at first it will not be easy to understand what is happening on track for us and the fans. There is a lot of talk about 2026, but the point is that we will begin to understand the balance of power only when the first tests start.

      We will regret some things, because under the current regulations teams' capabilities are quite comparable, and the races are incredibly spectacular, yet we all spend huge sums on developing new engines and new cars. But we will get answers only on the track.