Renault boss Flavio Briatore says his image of an F1 playboy is a myth created by the press.

Briatore has been the focus of attention from the F1 press since he was parachuted in by Benetton to turn around the team back in 1988.

He ruthlessly poached Michael Schumacher from Jordan and turned Benetton into a world championship winning outfit. However, his permanently tanned persona and the high-profile relationship with former girlfriend Naomi Campbell have overshadowed his genuine achievements in Formula 1.

Speaking in an interview on the Renault website, Briatore said: "It's the press that has built up this image of Briatore as a carefree, happy-go-lucky guy. They needed something different in F1.

He added: "I repeat, the image that has stuck to me in the paddock doesn't bother me. I'm no fool and I know what there is behind the appearances. The important things for me are the people who work with me and those who know me. They are the ones who have to be happy and confident."

He also reckons that it took a long time to be accepted in the F1 paddock by the other team chiefs.

Speaking about how he was first received in the paddock, he said: "With a great deal of disdain and suspicion to begin with. Wearing my cap the wrong way round upset a few people, for sure. But when we started winning, people had to take me seriously."

However. Briatore admits that he struggles to understand the conservative nature of some of his fellow team bosses.

He said: "I don't necessarily understand them. What's the point of selling gloom and austerity? It's a dream the spectators are looking for."