F1’s kingmaker Flavio Briatore is now back in action after leaving the sport in disgrace. His part in the 2008 Crashgate made him the subject of several legal proceedings as he was even banned from all Formula 1 races at one point. But Renault has brought the Italian back in full force as a ‘Special Advisor’ to their CEO Luca de Meo. Now, Briatore has always been famous for spotting the talent in up-and-coming racers who went on to achieve great things in F1. He was the force behind Fernando Alonso becoming a two-time World Champion as well. And now, he believes Mark Webber has inherited his talents as the ex-Red Bull racer has started his own managerial initiative by taking on Oscar Piastri.

But much before Webber landed the job of a manager for Oscar Piastri, he had had Flavio Briatore act as his manager during his Red Bull days. Before that, when Mark was a nobody in the motorsport world, Anne Neal had been his manager since 1994. In 2001, Neal announced that she was going to take a step back from driver management, and thus, Flavio Briatore became Webber’s manager with a 10-year contract in 2001. The two had shared an association for a long time throughout Mark Webber’s F1 career, and thus, the Australian must have learned the tricks of being a manager from Briatore.

When Eddie Jordan asked Briatore about his opinions on Webber, he told the Formula for Success podcast host, “If I take a look at Piastri, then it looks like he has [learned some managerial tricks from Briatore]. But Mark is one of the best people I met in Formula 1. He was always loyal, he’s sincere, he’s a friend, and respectful. Honestly, if you tell me, the guy who impressed me more in F1… it’s Mark Webber. He worked with me for 15 years and now, Piastri, I believe, is going to be the next World Champion.”

Thus, Flavio believes Mark has absorbed all the lessons from his former manager and he is now using them to turn Oscar Piastri into a big name in F1. But, what did Piastri have to say about Webber’s help as a manager?

Oscar Piastri showers praise on Mark Webber’s “hindsight”

After a successful stint in F1, Mark Webber bowed out of the pinnacle of motorsports in 2013. Since then, the Australian took part in the World Endurance Championship and acted as an F1 pundit later on. But in 2020, he became a manager for one of the up-and-coming talents of his country, Oscar Piastri. Webber’s company, JAM Sports Management, signed Piastri as the former F1 racer took up the youngster’s mentorship duties.

Speaking on how Webber has helped Piastri enter into F1 and succeed in the sport, the young racer said, “[Mark Webber offers] mostly advice. His hindsight is my foresight in some ways. So, there’s been plenty of occasions, especially at the beginning of the year, where he’s come up with questions that haven’t even entered my mind.”

Speaking on how Piastri learns lessons from Webber’s experience in F1, he said, “He’s [Webber] just got that little bit of experience and added info that you can really learn a lot from and is useful. He’s still got a very keen eye for everything that I’m doing.” Well, Mark Webber must have done something right because his managerial operations have made Oscar Piastri one of the breakout racers of 2024. Now, the 23-year-old regularly races for podiums and his boss even thinks he is “Championship material”!

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