The Alpine Formula 1 team has sought to clarify Flavio Briatore is "fully in charge of the team" despite not officially being registered as its team representative in the wake of Oliver Oakes' exit.
Briatore controversially rejoined the Enstone team he led to world titles in the 1990s and 2000s last summer on a consultancy basis, as Renault boss Luca de Meo's executive advisor in F1.
But as he is not a member of staff at Alpine he is not technically registered as responsible for the team with F1 stakeholders, despite assuming the responsibilities of team principal following Oakes' shock resignation last week.
Instead, Alpine racing director Dave Greenwood has been assigned as team representative "for administrative purposes with all relevant stakeholders", Alpine has said.
"Whereas Flavio Briatore is fully in charge of the team, including duties previously held by Oliver Oakes," it stressed.
This essentially means Greenwood is the reference for F1 stakeholders at races, including this weekend's Imola round, but Briatore continues to be the most senior figure, makes key decisions, and is de facto team principal.
It includes being ultimately in charge of the Enstone base although his presence there is limited - as it was for Oakes given he was a regular trackside presence - and that is essentially run day to day by a management team that includes operations director Ian Pearce.
At the track, the buck stops with Briatore even if others - such as Greenwood - will manage team activities and be the point of contact for the FIA.
Briatore would also be considered the team's main public-facing figure at race weekends although different team members get put up to face the media in modern F1 for press conferences, technical media sessions and post-race debriefs.
In any case, Alpine does not have any official media sessions scheduled at Imola, and has not been placed in the FIA team press conference on Friday.
While Briatore has assumed the responsibilities of team principal, it is considered likely in F1 that he will look to appoint someone to take that role on a permanent basis, even though - as it was with Oakes - Briatore would still retain ultimate control and decision-making authority as executive advisor.
Oakes left Alpine abruptly for personal reasons. It was announced on the eve of the team confirming it would replace Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto for the next five races, although the two events were unconnected.
The remarkable coincidence left the team, which has been so prone to upheaval in recent years, facing fresh instability.
Alpine's lead driver Pierre Gasly said it was obviously "big news" and a "special week" but he believes there is still "stability" in terms of who he works with at the team, and its broader plan, because "it's not all down to one person that will unsettle the whole foundation we have".
"The headlines are not really showing any of the good work that we're seeing or that I'm seeing at the factory or even within the racing team," Gasly said.
"And it's important to keep the guys focusing on the actual work we are doing behind closed doors because that's really good.
"Obviously the noise outside is always going to be there because when you have changes like that, it's always going to be talked about.
"But from what I'm seeing at the factory and the people working together, the staff, the new people coming in, there is a lot of potential.
"Flavio has brought a lot with him, directions are very clear and we'll see some rewards and dividends over the next few weeks and months, and I'm very hopeful for next season.
"It's just important that we just move on from this special week, let's say, and just focus on the business as usual."
