– After his brief but intense stint in Formula 1, Davide Brivio has long since returned to MotoGP, now as team manager of Trackhouse-Aprilia. However, the impressions from his time at Alpine still resonate today.
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His job in Formula 1 was “completely different, another world,” he reveals in an interview with MotoGP.com. In fact, Brivio describes the pinnacle of four-wheel racing as a significantly more complex environment than MotoGP. It’s on a much larger scale: more personnel, more components, bigger organizations.
At the same time, that was exactly what attracted him: the different approach, the enormous technical depth, and the engineering behind the vehicles. Nevertheless, there are fundamental parallels: drivers and riders are high-performance athletes who must be physically and mentally prepared to the point.
What distinguishes MotoGP and Formula 1
Brivio highlights communication during the race as the biggest difference. In Formula 1, the driver is in constant radio contact with the engineers: “There is continuous communication about tires, temperatures, everything.”
In MotoGP, on the other hand, the rider largely decides alone from the start signal: “When the light goes out, it’s up to the rider. That’s perhaps the biggest difference.”
Brivio also sees clear structural differences. While Formula 1 is strongly organized as a team sport, with two drivers working closely together and jointly refining setups, MotoGP remains more individual.
Although there is also a lot of teamwork here, the dynamic is different: “We are used to saying the biggest competitor is your teammate,” the Italian knows.
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Another aspect is the workload. Formula 1 drivers are much more involved in media work and technical meetings, while MotoGP riders, in his experience, have a bit more freedom here.
Davide Brivio thanks Valentino Rossi
A key figure in Brivio’s career within MotoGP was Valentino Rossi. With the nine-time world champion, he celebrated great successes at Yamaha, including four world titles. Looking back, he expresses gratitude: “I owe everything to Valentino, because everything I have done in my career comes from him.”
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Together, they not only celebrated victories but also sustainably changed the mentality at Yamaha. Rossi taught the team what it really means to want to win. These experiences were crucial for Brivio’s further path, also for his later commitment at Suzuki.
“Suzuki brought me in because of what I did with Valentino. They thought I could bring that to Suzuki,” Brivio explains in retrospect. There he finally led Joan Mir to the world championship title in 2020.
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Today, Brivio benefits in his role at Trackhouse from exactly this versatility. The combination of MotoGP experience and Formula 1 insights makes him one of the most interesting masterminds in the paddock with a clear understanding of what connects and separates both worlds.
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