Pat Symonds says Flavio Briatore made 15-win Formula 1 driver feel so ‘unloved’ at Renault

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Flavio Briatore is one of the most interesting to grace Formula 1 in the modern era.

He started his F1 career with Benetton before they became Renault and the pinnacle of his time with the team was Fernando Alonso’s two world championship wins before leaving the sport under a cloud.

Pat Symonds was the latest guest on the Beyond The Grid Podcast and spoke about his time working with the Italian businessman.

Symonds was initially part of the Toleman team – working with Ayrton Senna – before they were purchased by Benetton.

He stayed with the team – aside from a brief stint working on the Reynard F1 project – up until they eventually became Renault, working with the likes of Senna and Michael Schumacher.

Symonds saw first-hand how Briatore worked with his drivers and admitted that his treatment of Jenson Button didn’t get the best out of the British star.

He spent two seasons with the team after his debut campaign with Williams before being let go at the end of 2002.

His time with the team didn’t go to plan although he proved later in his career how quick he really was.

Pat Symonds says Flavio Briatore made Jenson Button feel ‘unloved’

Jenson Button made his Formula 1 debut at Williams in 2000 after a strong performance in British Formula 3 the year before.

He had a solid rookie campaign but Williams had IndyCar star Juan Pablo Montoya lined up for 2001 so Button was loaned to Benetton for the next two seasons.

Button replaced Alex Wurz after he was outclassed by Giancarlo Fisichella but struggled in his first season with the team, only scoring two points.

There was an improvement in Button’s performances the following year, but Symonds has admitted that Briatore didn’t help the future world champion settle in.

Years later, Button described Briatore as ‘angry’ and ‘bitter’ after he compared the driver to a concrete post during his time at Brawn GP.

Symonds explains Button’s tough Benetton and Renault stint

Talking about the 44-year-old’s time with the team, Symonds said: “We’d been through some drivers and when Michael [Schumacher] left, Flavio [Briatore] was quite affronted by it.

“So, his solution was to take both of the Ferrari drivers and unfortunately they were expensive and that made a big hole in our budget and that was a bit of a turning point which rattles on down the line to when Jenson [Button] was with us.

“Having won the championship in 1994, 1995, we’d obviously increased our income, we needed to spend it wisely and some of it we did in the wind tunnel, etc.

“As we moved into the late 1990s, really we were in quite a difficult position.

“Now, because Rory [Byrne] had left and Rory had been such a brilliant designer of the cars, I have to say that the 1999 car, the 2000 car, the 2001 car, they really weren’t the best cars.

“And I think Jenson coming in, new to Formula 1 in a car that was quite difficult to drive, I think it was very difficult for him.

“Jenson was a guy who needed support and Flavio was not the sort of guy who supported drivers.

“Yeah, he supported Michael, but if there was a little chink, Flavio would be in there and with a lot of drivers that was a good thing, they needed a bit of a gee up, with Jenson it absolutely didn’t work.

“I think Jenson felt very unloved in the team which wasn’t true, we actually really, really liked him.”

Jenson Button went on to bigger and better things after spell working for Briatore

After Button worked with Briatore and Symonds for two years, he signed for BAR with Williams sticking with Montoya and Ralf Schumacher.

He finished third in the championship in 2004 before the team became Honda in 2006, but it was the sale of the team to Ross Brawn that transformed Button’s fortunes.

The ingenious design of the car gave them an immediate advantage over the rest of the grid and Button’s six wins in the first seven Grand Prix gave him the edge he needed to win his only championship.

A seven-season spell with McLaren followed where he achieved eight more victories, but the team’s fortunes began to falter towards the end of his time with the team.

He stood in for Fernando Alonso in Monaco in 2017 and that was Button’s final farewell to the sport, although he continues to compete in the World Endurance Championship to this day.