Formula One supremo Flavio Briatore, 74, ‘rekindles relationship with his 44-year-old model ex-wife’ in the sport’s latest high-profile romantic reunion

Formula 1 has been hit by its latest off-track love drama, with reports suggesting Alpine’s special adviser – and former QPR owner – has rekindled a romance with his ex-wife, who is 30 years his junior.

Flavio Briatore was team boss of Renault and Benetton for 20 years before resigning in 2009 after his involvement in race fixing for the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

After being banned from FIA-sanctioned events, Briatore later sued the governing body in the French courts and was successful in January 2010, being awarded 15,000 euros in damages. Both parties later reached an amicable settlement.

Despite being openly critical of the state of the sport in the mid-2010s, Briatore later returned to Renault – which now competes under the Alpine name – by appointing the team’s CEO, Luca de Meo, as a special advisor.

Now rumors from Italian outlets Dagiospa And Gazetta dello Sport have suggested that Briatore may have rekindled his relationship with his model ex-wife Elisabetta Gregoraci.

It could prove to be the sport’s latest romantic drama after it emerged that teenage British Formula 1 star Oliver Bearman was involved in a love triangle with one of his fellow drivers, amid claims he has split with his girlfriend Estelle. Ogilvy.

Bearman was thrust into the spotlight earlier this year when, at the age of 18, he became the youngest Briton to ever race in an F1 Grand Prix.

The teenager had finished seventh on his debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after being called up by Ferrari replacement Carlos Sainz when the Spaniard was diagnosed with appendicitis.

According to The sunBearman, 19, and Ogilvy have since split and the aspiring model has reportedly started dating another rising F1 star.

Ogilvy, a law student, is now said to be in a relationship with Franco Colapinto.

The 21-year-old Argentinian has driven three times for Williams so far, finishing twelfth on his debut at the Italian Grand Prix.

Colapinto, who replaced Logan Sargeant until the end of the season, has since finished eighth and eleventh.

It is believed that the Argentinian previously dated Ogilvy, before the relationship ended and she started seeing Bearman.

It is now claimed that the romance has been rekindled after Ogilvy and Bearman split in July.

Suggestions that romance is back came after Ogilvy re-followed Colapinto on Instagram following his split from Bearman.

Briatore and Gregoraci are said to have first fallen in love around 18 years ago in 2006, before getting married two years later.

They would have a son, Nathan, in 2010, but seven years later they announced their divorce, seemingly ending their romance.

Although Briatore had regularly fanned the flames by referencing flirtations between the newly divorced couple, the couple remained apart, according to Italian reports.

Since then, Gregoraci had been linked to Florentine entrepreneur Giulio Fratini, although La Gazzetta suggests that, judging by social media, their relationship may be on the decline.

Fratini posted a photo of the couple in February 2023, but that’s the most recent photo of them on any of their Instagram timelines.

Briatore, meanwhile, posted a photo of himself and Gregoraci and his son Nathan, Klum and their daughter Leni, with the caption: “Family selfie at the Monaco GP.” Gregoraci appears regularly on his timeline.

Of course, there isn’t much to say about this, as some prefer to keep their relationships out of the private eye, but there are more clues.

In an interview on the Italian program Questione de Stile, Gregoraci joked about her ex-husband: ‘Are we divorced? No, because I didn’t notice!’

The pair obviously maintain a close relationship thanks to their son, and it is believed that they have done everything they can to maintain a strong sense of structure and closeness for Nathan’s sake.

It is believed that this included family dinners, birthdays and even holidays together with their son, and both live in Monte Carlo, not far from each other and are believed to dine together regularly.

Yet La Gazzetta further reports that friends of the couple indicated that this closeness ‘goes beyond mere co-parenting’.

In Briatore’s personal life, he has fallen in love with some high-profile names; he was engaged to Naomi Campbell in 1998 before splitting in 2003, and later that year he began a relationship with another supermodel: Heidi Klum.

The two even had a child together, although Briatore later allowed Klum’s partner Seal to officially adopt their daughter in 2009.

Earlier this year, Briatore announced that he had successfully undergone heart surgery to remove a benign tumor.

The 74-year-old Italian businessman made the announcement Instagramwhich showed that the tumor had been noticed during a routine check-up.

Briatore said he has since been discharged by doctors following the “perfectly successful” surgery, which saw the mass removed after a minimally invasive procedure.

“Today I want to talk to you about prevention,” Briatore said.

‘Ten days ago I went to San Raffaele hospital for a check-up and that’s when they found a benign tumor in my heart.

“The doctors intervened immediately and I’m here to tell you about it.

‘The most important thing, guys, is to do the prevention and control, I do that every year.

‘Two years ago I did not have this benign tumor and this year I did. We must not neglect ourselves, prevention is essential.’

Briatore was general manager of the Benetton Formula 1 team in the 1990s when a young Michael Schumacher won two world titles with them.