Briatore Disagrees with Mark Webber's Secret Injury

Flavio Briatore told the media that Mark Webber should have kept his injury in the later stages of the 2010 Formula 1 season a secret until the end. Instead, the Australian driver revealed in his book – published after the championship finale at Abu Dhabi – that he tackled the last 4 rounds of last year's campaign with a fractured shoulder caused by a cycling fall before Suzuka in October.

Before the Japanese Grand Prix, Webber was leading the championship before teammate Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Four races later, the Aussie was finishing the 2010 title race in 3rd place.

“It would have been better to leave it with no excuses at all, or to have said it when it happened,” said Briatore, Webber's manager, according to Finland's Turun Sanomat, citing Italian media. “The truth is that Mark lost the championship only because of the mistake in Korea. Otherwise, he would be champion.”

Webber's “secret” caused quite a stir inside the Red Bull garage also, as his team manager Christian Horner showed his disappointment over the situation after the book came out.

Talking about his second client Fernando Alonso, manager Briatore argued that the Spaniard will come back stronger in 2011 and the latest management changes made at Maranello shows that Ferrari will try to build its team around him for the long run.

“Fernando is very motivated and Ferrari have promised to give him a car that he deserves which is in front of the others. In addition to that, the organisation changes made are a sign of Ferrari's trust in their driver,” said Briatore, according to Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.