Former F1 team boss: "If this continues, Chinese will buy up the best companies"

Flavio Briatore is celebrating his 70th birthday on Sunday, but that will all be different than usual. That's the least of the worst, because the flamboyant businessman fears that he will have to deal with big losses as an entrepreneur.

In conversation with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera he tells. "I'm at home like most people, videoconferencing with my colleagues. I enjoy the time with my son Nathan Falco. I tell him that he is lucky to be alive. It is important to give him values to take with him".

Briatore afraid of Chinese

Briatore is an entrepreneur and runs a chain of restaurants, spread over several countries. "They're all closed, of course. But the corona crisis is a disaster for the whole economy, not just for the catering industry. If this continues, the Chinese will buy the best companies in Italy in a few months' time", the former team boss of Benetton and Renault expects.

Briatore would like to point out that the coronavirus has a really big impact on contemporary life. "This virus is forcing us to reconsider. We need to anticipate it, not just react to it. We have to learn to live with the coronavirus," says the 69-year-old millionaire. "We have to minimize the impact because our lives have changed forever."

Briatore sees Ecclestone become a father again.

The years are starting to count for Briatore, although he doesn't want to stop for the time being. "Today I comfort myself with the thought that Bernie Ecclestone will be a father again at the age of 89," he laughs. "At first I thought it was a joke."