Mark Webber should never have revealed that he drove the last races of the 2010 world championship with a shoulder injury, his manager has admitted.
After his Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel won the title, Australian Webber revealed in a book that he had contested the decisive final four races with a fractured shoulder caused by a cycling fall before Suzuka in October.

Webber, who did not even tell his team about the fall, insisted his injured shoulder did not affect his performance.

But Italian Briatore, who still heads Webber’s management in F1, said: “It would have been better to leave it with no excuses at all, or to have said it when it happened.

“The truth is that Mark lost the championship only because of the mistake in Korea. Otherwise, he would be champion,” Finland’s Turun Sanomat quotes Briatore as having told the Italian media.

The famous Italian also manages 2010 championship runner-up Fernando Alonso, and Briatore backed the Spaniard to be even stronger this year.

“Fernando is very motivated and Ferrari have promised to give him a car that he deserves which is in front of the others,” Briatore reportedly told Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“In addition to that, the organisation changes made are a sign of Ferrari’s trust in their driver,” he added.

Red Bull’s dominance has been curbed because it is no longer fielding an illegal car, according to Lewis Hamilton.

The 2008 world champion said that after the team’s RB6 utterly dominated in Hungary in August, the tighter FIA flexibility tests have obviously affected the pace of the Adrian Newey-penned car.

“Good question,” McLaren driver Hamilton told Bild newspaper on a visit to Berlin this week.

“In Hungary they were 2 seconds per lap faster than the rest of us.  It is simply impossible to have a lead like that.”

When asked specifically if he thinks Red Bull were cheating earlier in 2010, Hamilton answered: “We have always kept to the rules.

“Our people wondered if their car was legal and we asked the FIA.  After that Red Bull had to rebuild their car and take a step back.

“It was a good decision by the FIA,” said the Briton.

He was also asked about the apparent psychological warfare being deployed by his championship rivals at present, particularly by his former McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso.

“It’s normal that, at the end of a season, the mind games begin.  I’m strong enough and ready for it.  I’m not worried, but I think it’s best if you just do your talking on the track,” said Hamilton.

And despite almost writing off his championship chances after Singapore, Hamilton now insists he is ready for the challenge of the final four races of 2010.

“I was back at home in Zurich for one day; I woke up in the morning and went for a run in the forest with rap music on my headphones.  So I’ll be back,” he insisted.