Apr.24 (GMM) Flavio Briatore has backed Luca di Montezemolo's claim that an Alonso-Raikkonen pairing at Ferrari would not be wise for the Italian team.
Fernando Alonso, disappointed at the pace of his 2008 package, has been making noises about a team switch for next year, with speculation hinting strongly that his first preference is Ferrari.But Ferrari president Montezemolo this week reacted that the Spaniard's arrival might "damage" the team."It is always very difficult to have two really good drivers in a team," Renault boss Briatore told reporters at a sponsor press conference in Spain."When your two drivers are equally good, the teammates become their greatest enemies."Drivers like Fernando, Schumacher or Raikkonen are complicated, and putting them together does not always produce positive results," he added.With respect to Alonso's current teammate Nelson Piquet, Briatore insisted that the best strategy for F1 is to establish a "degree of hierarchy" while "working for both" drivers."Take last year, with Alonso and Hamilton -- at the end McLaren lost the drivers' championship, and the reason was the rivalry," he said.Briatore refused to respond to whether he was 'relieved' that Montezemolo has ruled out hiring Alonso for 2009."I am here to talk about Renault," he told the reporters. "If you want to talk about Ferrari, I will even pay for your journey to Maranello."
