Boullier and the “ghost” of Briatore

At the end of 2009, Eric Boullier was named Renault team principal F1 Team, several months after the crashgate scandal and the ousting of Flavio Briatore. At the time, a strong manenstone, the Italian also had his very particular style, not coming from the world of motorsport.

When he arrived in Enstone in January 2010, Eric Boullier knew that he was succeeding a colorful man. “I had in mind the ghost of my predecessor who was calling out to me,” explains the man who is also boss of Gravity Sport Management, in the columns of AUTOhebdo.

He also confides that he wanted to remain himself in order to contrast with the Italian's style. “I removed everything that could remind me of him, I changed my office, my management style. The only way to erase everything, at least to make it different, was to remain myself. I had nothing to lose. »

Today, Eric Boullier says he wants to continue on the path he has traced for a year. ?The hazing wasn?t easy but I?m happy to have come out of this first year intact! Gaining the respect of the team is not a small victory, it was my main challenge. If it hadn't worked, I would have gone back to what I knew how to do and that's it. If it bit, I'd stay and we'd see for how long. It's been a year and I'm still here. »

Find the full interview with Eric Boullier in AUTOhebdo n°1787 : the Frenchman discusses his discovery of the world of F1, where you have to "be everyone's friend", the underside of Renault's withdrawal as a manufacturer, the "logical" renewal of Vitaly Petrov, his respect for Robert Kubica…