Briatore: “Auto GP can be a winning concept”

Coloni and Briatore

Auto GP World Series had a very special guest for the opening round of the 2012 season: former F1 top manager Flavio Briatore showed up in the paddock on Sunday to visit his longtime friend Giuseppe Cipriani and Series boss Enzo Coloni, the two being friends since the years of Coloni's F1 commitment.

Briatore, who was in Monza with his wife Elisabetta and his 2 years-old son Nathan Falco, watched Race 2 from a private lounge on the main straight, and enjoyed the show provided by the drivers on the Italian track. After the race he was happy to share his thoughts on the Championship and on the feeder series scenario.

"I fully support the concept of an Auto GP World Series with affordable costs for teams and drivers, it's something motorsport really needs. If you look at the feeder series situation right now, you see that in some championships the budgets are rocketing to very high figures. That way, promising drivers that are lacking the right economical support could never get the chance to prove themselves on proper machinery, and we could lose some future champions without even knowing that. Auto GP can fill that gap well, furthermore providing an international stage. I already saw some interesting names in this race, I hope that more will join during the season".

Briatore also shared some advices on the future of the Series: "I think one of the key points Coloni has to keep an eye on is to keep updating his cars as he's done until now. And I'm not just talking about the technical side, that can be important for drivers but it's not all you have to look for. There's people at home watching the races on TV, and race organizers should never forget that. People wants to see a big show and beautiful, modern cars. I think that keeping this in mind and remaining up to date with what fans want, Auto GP World Series can aim very high not only as a feeder series, but also as a championship with his own identity, where the best drivers could race for more than one season".