FLAV FIRES MCLAREN SHOT
Last Updated: Thursday, 19, January, 2006, 17:51
Renault team principal Flavio Briatore has criticised McLaren for
signing world champion Fernando Alonso from under his nose.
McLaren surprised the entire sport by announcing they had scooped
up Alonso for the 2007 season while the Spaniard still had a year
to run on his contract
But Briatore, who also acts as Alonso's manager, stated after the
announcement that the Spaniard had struck the deal to join McLaren
in 2007 by himself and without assistance from the Italian.
"The way McLaren handled the issue was not pleasant," Briatore told
news agency AFP. "They should have shown more respect."
McLaren's Alonso deal has sent shockwaves through the paddock and
fired speculation that Renault may even be considering a withdrawal
at the end of 2006.
Briatore has his own ideas for the reason behind the move
though.
"Ron hasn't won the championship for seven years so he probably
just wanted to bring some good news," he said.
