Briatore hits back at Mosley
Flavio Briatore has warned Max Mosley to drop the insults, bearing in mind the revelations about his own private life.
The row between the FIA president and the Formula One Teams’ Association intensified over the course of the British Grand Prix weekend, with Mosley dragging it down to a personal level.
Mosley described a certain element within FOTA as “loonies”, and in particular claimed Renault team boss Briatore wanted to be the new Bernie Ecclestone by taking control of the sport.
But that only provoked an angry response from Briatore, who drew on last year’s infamous expose of Mosley’s sex life when he was caught involved in a sado-masochistic orgy with five prostitutes.
“Max is going personal all the time. I’m too much of a gentleman to go personal,” snapped Briatore.
“If he wants to go personal, I have a lot to say about Max. I know. He needs to stop insulting people.
“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 he is talking about lunatics and stuff like that, he needs to watch himself, to just do the best job possible for him, the teams and not go personal, insulting me, the people from FOTA, the people from ACEA (European Car Manufacturers’ Association). It’s enough.
“If there is somebody who needs to be very quiet in their personal life, it’s him because for sure he is not a (good) example, to be president with what he has in his personal life.
“He needs to stop making it personal all the time.”
Briatore, who arrived at the race at Silverstone in a helicopter with Mosley and Ecclestone, jokingly remarked that “everybody had a parachute”.
However, the flamboyant Italian maintains nothing was discussed, that the time for talking is over and FOTA are pressing ahead with their plans for a breakaway series
“Our position is very clear. We sent out a press statement last week and nothing has changed. This is firmly our position,” added Briatore, referring to FOTA’s announcement of a breakaway series.
“We have tried to compromise (with Mosley), we have opened the door, tried everything, but we have had the door closed in our face.
“We have tried to make sure we race as Formula One teams in a formula with one rule, but this has not been possible, and this is the reason why we are not negotiating any more with anybody.”
It is understood Briatore was quite emotional following Thursday’s landmark FOTA meeting in which the teams chose to go their own way.
Mosley has since suggested Briatore is merely after power, however, the 59-year-old claims it is world motor sport’s figurehead who is the man chasing control.
“I see myself exactly like I am. I am in FOTA. I believe in FOTA – I was one of the first to believe in FOTA,” insisted Briatore.
“I believe FOTA is strong. We want a championship with the best teams in the world, the best drivers in the world, and we want the people in F1 who have the knowledge of being in F1, not GP3 or GP4!
“We want real teams, not empty boxes.
“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.
“The only people who have invested in Formula One are FOTA, Bernie and CVC (the private equity fund that owns Formula One’s commercial rights), nobody else.
“On top of everything, I’m sure if you ask Bernie, he loves Formula One.
“I’m not sure if somebody else loves Formula One, that they are only using it to exercise power.”
Despite a close friendship with Ecclestone, one that includes them as owners at QPR, Briatore maintains that is not suffering.
Dismissing suggestions Ecclestone will shift sides to run the new series, Briatore added: “I don’t think so.
“Bernie is a friend of mine, still a friend of mine, and maybe you have a difference of opinion.
“Sometimes in business you have a different opinion, but friendship is friendship. I’m friends with Bernie, and I want to be friends with Bernie for a long time.”
