Flavio Briatore’s return to the Alpine F1 team 15 years after leaving when the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix scandal was exposed is the latest astounding decision by the beleaguered team. Team principal Bruno Famin confirmed he will work closely with Briatore, who is an advisor to the whole Alpine F1 organisation. Briatore’s role is characterised as being focused on what are called ‘top level areas’. So that includes driver decisions, assessing the current structure and advising on strategic matters. Briatore has never taken full responsibility or apologised for his part in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, where Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed to cause a safety car that helped team-mate Fernando Alonso to win. His appointment suggests the current structure needs to be assessed, but an honest assessment might turn the glare away from Enstone and Viry, where the cars and engines are produced by teams of very capable people, and lock onto those at the top of Renault who expect success