F1 championship winner Flavio Briatore in shock heart operation

Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 championship winner in shock heart operation

Fernando Alonso’s boss and former Renault manager undergoes operation

Shay Rogers

Friday 29 March 2024 18:57

A former Formula 1 championship winning boss has undergone a heart operation to fix a potentially dangerous issue.

The figure at the centre of the matter won seven total championships with Benetton and Renault between 1994 and 2006.

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He is also Fernando Alonso’s manager and has been ever since the two met in 1999 – two years before the Spaniard made his F1 debut with Minardi.

Alonso is coming to the end of his current deal with Aston Martin at the end of 2024 and may have his eyes on a seat with rival team Mercedes.

It will be down to him and manager Flavio Briatore to negotiate a new deal now that Italian has undergone successful heart surgery to remove a tumour.

Flavio Briatore is Fernando Alonso's manager

Fernando Alonso has worked with Flavio Briatore since 1999

Is Flavio Briatore healthy now?

Speaking in a video on his Instagram, Briatore addressed the response to the health problem and stressed the importance of taking prevention measures.

"Hi everyone. Today I want to talk about prevention. 10 days ago, I went to San Raffaele hospital for a check-up and at that time they found a benign tumour in my heart,” he said.

“The doctors intervened immediately and I'm here, telling you about it. The main thing, guys, is to do the prevention, the check-up, every year.

“I did it two years ago and I didn't have this benign tumor and this year I did. We must not neglect ourselves, prevention is essential.”