Briatore hits back at Mosley

FOTA chief advises FIA president to stop insults

By Rachel Griffiths Last updated: 22nd June 2009

Briatore: Warned Mosley to drop the insults

If there is somebody who needs to be very quiet in their personal life, it's him.

Flavio Briatore
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Flavio Briatore has warned Max Mosley to drop the insults, continuing the ongoing feud between the Formula One Teams' Association and the FIA.

The dispute intensified over the course of the British Grand Prix weekend, with Mosley describing a certain element within FOTA as "loonies". He in particular claimed that Renault team boss Briatore wanted to be the new Bernie Ecclestone by taking control of the sport.

Briatore made an angry response, warning Mosley not to drag the row down to a personal level and referring to newspaper allegations about the F1 chief's private life.

"Max is going personal all the time. I'm too much of a gentleman to go personal." Briatore said.

"I don't want to personally describe what Max is because in his private life we have already had a demonstration of what he was in the News of the World.

"If there is somebody who needs to be very quiet in their personal life, it's him."

Briatore, who arrived at Silverstone in a helicopter with Mosley and Ecclestone, jokingly remarked that "everybody had a parachute".

Power

The ongoing row is a consequence of FOTA's announcement to press ahead with plans for a breakaway series. Briatore claims that after repeated attempts to compromise with Mosley, the time for talking is over.

"We sent out a press statement last week and nothing has changed. This is firmly our position." Briatore said.

Mosley has suggested Briatore is merely after power; however, the 59-year-old claims it is world motorsport's figurehead who is the man chasing control.

Briatore said: "The people in FOTA are people who love Formula One, are people who have invested money in Formula One, and we can't forget that.

"I'm not sure if somebody else loves Formula One, that they are only using it to exercise power."

Briatore claims that his close friendship with Bernie Ecclestone will not suffer. Dismissing suggestions Ecclestone will shift sides to run the new series, Briatore remained adamant that their friendship would stay firmly in tact.

"Sometimes in business you have a different opinion, but friendship is friendship." Briatore insisted,

"I'm friends with Bernie, and I want to be friends with Bernie for a long time."