Briatore lays into Button

Renault team boss likens championship leader to concrete post

Last updated: 17th April 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Briatore lays into Button

Briatore: Outburst

It is very unfair for Flavio to comment as he has just because he is very bitter

Jenson Button
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Flavio Briatore has aimed a surreal barb in the direction Formula One man-of-the-moment Jenson Button, Renault's team boss likening the world championship leader to a concrete post.

The Italian was speaking in the wake of Tuesday's decision by the FIA to declare legal the diffusers on the cars of Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams, a move he thinks has cost the sport credibility.

All three teams have made a strong start to the season, with the new Brawn GP outfit dominant despite their relative lack of pre-season testing.

Button - who has won the opening two races of the season - and team-mate Rubens Barrichello sit atop the drivers' championship table while Ferrari and McLaren, who have dominated the sport in recent seasons, have scored only one point between them.

Meanwhile, Briatore's own team, world champions in 2005 and 2006, have fared only marginally better thanks to four points Fernando Alonso picked up in the Australian Grand Prix.

But despite Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix being only the third of 17 races this season, Briatore believes it is already too late for the usual heavyweights to catch up.

He added that F1 will suffer as a result of the decision - the outspoken Briatore also using the opportunity to lay into Brawn GP's drivers.

"Our (McLaren, Ferrari and Renault) drivers are or have been world champions, and then you have a driver (Barrichello) who was almost retired, and another who is a 'paracarro' (Italian for a roadside concrete post) fighting for the championship," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I don't know how we can say we have credibility.

"It is impossible to recover the ground we have lost on those teams. In three or four races the championship will be decided and I don't know what the interest of the TV viewers will be when Button has 60 points and (Williams' Kazuki) Nakajima 50.

"It will be better to listen only on radio and watch something else."

Bitter

Briatore's outburst brought a swift response from Button, who labelled his former team boss as "bitter".

"It is very unfair for Flavio to comment as he has just because he is very bitter," said the Englishman, who drove for Briatore in 2001 and 2002 before being replaced by Alonso.

"He should also not forget that he tried to employ me for this season.

"He is obviously a very angry man after the diffuser issues and is very disappointed they have not produced a car that is as competitive as ours.

"We have produced as competitive a car as we have because of the workforce back in Brackley and you cannot take that away from them.

"It is unfair to say that as they have worked very, very hard in difficult circumstances."

Bernie Ecclestone was also moved to comment, F1's commercial rights boss advising Briatore to focus more on racing and less on politics.

With teams now hastily modifying their own cars in order to meet the new precedent, Briatore also questioned the wisdom of the decision at a time when Formula One is attempting to cut costs.

"We have spent 15 million euros on KERS, another 10 on the diffuser, so we have five left for travel and to pay the employees," he added.