Briatore launches a scathing attack on Ron Dennis

Ron Dennis

Flavio Briatore last night slammed rival Ron Dennis, saying he only had himself to blame for the way McLaren imploded last season and then blew the drivers' title in the last race to hand the crown to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

The Italian also slammed Dennis for allowing Hamilton's struggle with Alonso – who won the world championship twice with Renault and has now rejoined the team – to turn into anarchy.

Briatore even claimed that there was so little support for Alonso (right) within McLaren that when he won a race, the Renault mechanics celebrated more than their McLaren counterparts.

Flavio Briatore

"I know about what Hamilton said about Fernando," Briatore said, "and that he taught him how not to behave as a world champion. But whatever happened, none of it was Fernando's fault. He was just managed really badly.

"It is not possible to have the drivers 100 per cent in competition against each other because you destroy the team. And in the end, we see the result.

"It was almost impossible for McLaren to lose the drivers' championship but in the end they managed it.

"Fernando tried to do the best possible. But he is the kind of guy who needs to have the right ambience in the team. He needs support like everybody else and he didn't have it there.

"Fernando is an amazing guy and my people at Renault were very happy when he came back. I could see it in the smiles on their faces.

"Last year, whenever he did well, our mechanics supported him before the McLaren mechanics. He never fitted into their team but now he's happy and smiling again."