Briatore to take lesser role in 2009

Flavio Briatore

(GMM) Flavio Briatore on Thursday said he has earmarked an assistant so that he can scale down his role at the helm of the Renault team in 2009.

"Next year I will no longer be responsible for everything," the 58-year-old is quoted as saying by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Briatore, in charge of the former Benetton squad since the Renault takeover earlier this decade, said a team director will take care of the French team's day-to-day operation.

"I will concentrate on the most important elements," he said.

In the same interview, Briatore suggested Fernando Alonso is likely to stay next year, but was less confident about the future of the Spaniard's current teammate Nelson Piquet.

"Fernando is with us; he presented himself to nobody," he said, adding that the issue will be discussed with 27-year-old Alonso in more detail at the end of the season.

On the struggling rookie Piquet, Briatore said: "He has not had a good season so far. He does a tidy job until qualifying, but suddenly things do not go as well. We will see."