Flavio Briatore is entering politics.
The former world championship-winning F1 team boss has announced the formation of an Italian political movement he calls Il Movimento del Fare.
The 69-year-old said he was motivated amid a "critical moment for our country".
Briatore said it is "totally independent of any current political party" and "at the complete service of the citizens".
He said "successful entrepreneurs and professionals, with their ideas and their vision, will help to restart Italy by creating jobs and attracting investments".
"And we will do it completely for free," Briatore added.
Briatore, closely associated with Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher’s early successes, was expelled from F1 after the ’crash-gate’ scandal of 2008-2009.