Briatore: Ferrari Will Have to Support Only One Driver in Title Fight

Until figuring out whether it’s worth returning to Formula One in the future in a position other than team manager, Flavio Briatore issued some thoughts on what’s happening in the Great Circus in present days. Obviously, since his only “true friend” in the series after the crash-gate remained protégé and client Fernando Alonso, the former Renault manager reflected on the Spaniard’s chances of becoming world champion again.

Alonso is currently 2nd overall in the drivers’ classification, where he sits level on points with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, both 2 points behind championship leader Felipe Massa. Having two drivers battling for the F1 crown is nothing short of impressive for Ferrari, but Briatore thinks the Scuderia will have to pick sides at one point through the 2010 campaign.

“They both want to win the championship, (team boss Stefano) Domenicali must manage this situation. Fernando (Alonso) and Felipe (Massa) are both intelligent drivers, if they battle one another no one will win the title. At one point, Ferrari will have to support only one for the championship,” said Briatore, in a recent interview with SkySport 24.

Team orders are nothing new to either Ferrari or Flavio Briatore, as each has so far won championship titles by supporting a single driver in their team (see the Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso cases, respectively). Given his long-time experience in the series, Briatore insisted however that Ferrari should let each driver compete to his maximum in each race, and only in the late stages of the season decide on their favorite.

“In any team, the true competition is between the two drivers. That’s what one needs to manage. Surely, it’s better to manage two great drivers than having only one strong driver in your lineup, especially with this new points system in which it is fundamental to have both drivers score top results,” added Briatore.