Flavio Briatore, former Renault F1 boss, recovers after successful heart surgery

Briatore, 73, announced in a post on Instagram he had been discharged from hospital in Milan following the successful operation and was beginning his recovery.

"Following a routine check-up I underwent heart surgery because I had a benign mass which was removed with a minimal invasive procedure, using an endoscopic technique," Briatore said.

"The operation was perfectly successful, and I warmly thank Professor Francesco Maisano, the Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Team and the fantastic 1st Q department of San Raffaele (Hospital)."

Briatore became manager of the Benetton F1 team in 1990 and oversaw Michael Schumacher's two world championships, while Fernando Alonso also twice took the title following Renault's takeover.

The Italian co-owned QPR between 2007 and 2010, having bought into the west-London club alongside Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshmi Mittal.