Ex-Formula One team manager Flavio Briatore -- a former titan in the sport -- is hospitalized in "stable" condition after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
70-year-old Briatore -- who had been rallying against COVID closures -- was admitted to San Raffaele hospital in Italy on Sunday after coming down with a fever.
His condition was initially described as serious -- but Flavio's team now says he's "good and stable."
Briatore -- who was once engaged to Naomi Campbell and has a kid with Heidi Klum -- had been at odds recently with Italian officials who were trying to close nightclubs to stop the spread of the virus.
He famously owns the Billionaire nightclub in Sardinia -- and fought hard to keep the place open ... saying recently on IG, "It breaks my heart to see an economy slaughtered by people who have done sod all."
But, more than 60 staffers at the club tested positive for COVID over the past few days -- sparking concerns of a possible major outbreak.
FYI, Briatore managed the Renault and Benetton teams in the 90s and 2000s ... and oversaw champion drivers including Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso.