Flavio Briatore would not put Alonso and Vettel in the same team

This week, Luca di Montezemolo, President of Ferrari, excluded any potential appointment of Sergio Pérez alongside Fernando Alonso for 2013. The Italian, however, did not leave the journalists from Sky Sports News wanting more when he stated: [Sebastian Vettel] is young, he’s a very good driver, and he has a lot of experience, so theoretically, if you were to ask me for a name, I might mention his.

The contract of the German with his current team, Red Bull, indeed comes to an end in 2014, and while some are excited at the idea of a partnership between Vettel and Alonso, who is signed with Ferrari until 2016, others are not so enthusiastic, like Flavio Briatore: “I would never put Vettel with Alonso unless it is decided that drivers win the championship together,” the Italian declares in the Italian press. “We have already had examples in Formula One: Prost with Senna, Mansell with Prost, Alonso with Hamilton, experiences that divided the teams and cost a fortune to pay the drivers. I would put next to Alonso a driver who has the potential to become world champion,” adds the former director of the Renault team, perhaps alluding to the young and promising Sergio Pérez.

But clearly, these are not Ferrari’s intentions. Briatore therefore advises the men of Maranello to change nothing: « I would keep Massa for another year. I’ve been through this before: thinking I had a slow driver, I didn’t put in another even slower one. Massa is an excellent driver and there’s no need to compare his times with Alonso’s. » Statements that are probably not innocent, knowing that the Italian maintains a role in the entourage of Fernando Alonso, who is known to be today the best ally of Felipe Massa since he casts very little shadow on him.