Mark Webber’s manager has refused to back the Australian’s stance against Red Bull’s imposition of team orders at Silverstone last weekend.
Britain’s Sun newspaper says Australian Webber, 34, “put his job at risk” by openly ignoring boss Christian Horner’s instruction to end his challenge on teammate Sebastian Vettel towards the end of the British grand prix.

“I wasn’t happy with that (order) because you should never give up in F1,” Webber said on Monday.

Although the winner of six grands prix effectively handles his own career with his partner Ann, former Renault boss Flavio Briatore is still involved as a manager.

He told Italy’s Sky Sport 24 that he thinks Red Bull was justified in asking Webber to hold station.

“Welcome to F1,” Briatore is quoted as saying. “I would have done the same.

“If you’re playing for a world championship, you have to take decisions and drivers need to understand that it’s not your car and it’s a team of hundreds of people. They (drivers) need to respect that,” he added.

Briatore’s other charge, Fernando Alonso, won the British grand prix but the flamboyant Italian does not believe Ferrari can chase down Vettel.

“He (Alonso) might be second or third in the end, but he has no chance of winning because the championship is over already.”

Mark Webber has admitted to deliberately ignoring Red Bull’s imposition of team orders in the closing laps of the British grand prix. The Australian revealed that he received four or five calls from his engineer to back away from teammate Sebastian Vettel, before team boss Christian Horner sternly issued the terse order to “maintain your position”. Briton Horner said immediately that while Webber will be frustrated, he “should be fine” with the team strategy. “I am not fine with it, no,” Webber clarified. “I ignored the team as I wanted to try and get another place.” The situation has rekindled memories of last year’s in-fighting about equality between Vettel and Webber, and brought into renewed focus the fact that the latter’s contract is yet to be renewed for 2012. “Well, I cannot change that — that’s part of such actions,” championship leader Vettel told F1′s official website after the Silverstone incident. Asked if the situation might affect Webber’s contract negotiations with Red Bull, Horner – who admitted he was “surprised” with the driver’s attitude – said at Silverstone: “I sincerely hope not. “It’s something he and I will talk about in private,” added the team principal.

Ferrari escaped penalty in Wednesday’s team orders disciplinary hearing because there was not enough proof, FIA president Jean Todt has confirmed.

Former Ferrari boss Todt, whose team order at the A1-Ring in 2002 famously triggered the imposition of the ban, admitted he suspects a similar order was in effect when Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso swapped places at Hockenheim.

“I tend to agree as well,” said the Frenchman when told that many people believe July’s events constituted a rules breach.

“Before you say you are guilty, you need to be able to prove that you are guilty,” said Todt in a video interview with the BBC.

He said the Maranello based team “denied” Massa had slowed down to let Alonso past as the result of a team order.

But, away from the FIA’s headquarters at Place de la Concorde, Ferrari would clearly like to see the team orders rule repealed.

The governing body has vowed to reconsider the regulation, and team boss Stefano Domenicali agreed: “This is an important step towards transparency.”

Ferrari argued on Wednesday that Felipe Massa decided to let Fernando Alonso pass him for the race lead at Hockenheim because the Brazilian was angry.

As was rumoured before the World Motor Sport Council’s disciplinary sitting in Paris, the Maranello based team rejected the charge that it imposed an illegal team order that deprived Massa of the German GP victory.

Carlos Gracia, president of Spain’s motor racing federation, was present for the hearing, and later revealed the apparent thrust of Ferrari’s argument to Spanish radio Cadena SER.

“Massa was told that he was slower than Alonso to motivate him,” said Gracia.

“Angered by the message, Massa decided to slow down, and this led to the suspicions (about team orders),” he added.

Gracia also revealed that he has spoken to Alonso, who knows “nothing” about the imposition of a team order.

New radio evidence might indicate that Ferrari will have a difficult task convincing the FIA that it did not deploy illegal team orders at Hockenheim.

The famous Italian team will face the governing body’s new disciplinary panel in Paris in September, after Felipe Massa moved over for his teammate Fernando Alonso during the German race.

Until now, the only apparent evidence of the imposition of the team order was race engineer Rob Smedley’s radio call to his Brazilian driver: “Fernando – is – faster – than – you — can you confirm you understood that message”.

Smedley later apologised to Massa, telling the 29-year-old he was “very, very magnanimous”.

But new radio evidence would seem to reinforce suspicions that the “is faster than you” language was in fact a pre-arranged code that Massa understood as a direct order to pull over.

F1′s official website has published a video edit of the German race that depicts Smedley relay a conventional message to Massa about Spaniard Alonso’s superior pace.

“You need to pick up the pace, because Fernando is faster,” the British engineer is heard to tell Massa.

And another message to Massa during their genuine on-track battle was: “Pretty close here, he’s (Alonso) gonna go (through) — you’re going to have to defend”.

It has also been suspected that Alonso requested the team order, after he said “this is ridiculous” whilst trying to conventionally overtake his teammate.

And he is heard to say during the official video edit: “I am much faster than Felipe.”

His engineer Andrea Stella replied: “We got your message, we got your message.”

Renault has proposed a deal that would see Robert Kubica stay at Renault in 2011, according to a French publication.

Auto Hebdo said the matter could be finalised shortly after this weekend’s British grand prix due to the imposition of a mid-July deadline.

And Italy’s Autosprint believes Kubica could even stay with Renault beyond 2012, but the 25-year-old reportedly “wants guarantees” about the Enstone based team’s funding.

“We are determined to have Robert with us,” team boss Eric Boullier is quoted as saying.  “He knows our ambitions and our potential.”

(GMM)

Apr.21 (GMM)  Flavio Briatore has revealed he has no intention of attempting to reconcile his broken relationship with former F1 colleague Max Mosley.

In his last year of FIA presidency in 2009, Mosley oversaw the imposition of ousted Renault team boss Briatore’s lifetime ban over the crashgate scandal.

But Mosley has since turned 70 and is now effectively retired, replaced by Jean Todt who has halted crashgate by agreeing to end Briatore’s ban in 2013.

Italian Briatore, now 60, also celebrated a birthday this month, and is currently at home with his model wife Elisabetta and their newly born son Falco.

But he told the Italian magazine Chi that he is not interested in making up with Mosley.

“He sent me a text message to congratulate us on the birth of Falco, but Mosley is part of my former life.  In my future there will be no place for him,” said Briatore.

“I’m happy for Jean (Todt),” the Italian added, “my friend of 20 years.  Thanks to him, the FIA can now quietly and serenely breathe new air.”

Briatore, who has always maintained his innocence despite conspirators Pat Symonds and Nelson Piquet admitting to plotting the deliberate crash of Singapore 2008, said he is not about to forgive the stain on his reputation.

“It was very bad for my story.  I suffered an injustice.  But the truth, the power of the truth, wins every time,” he insisted.

The Italian, who turns 60 in a few days, successfully overturned the FIA’s imposition last year of a lifetime ban, but the governing body is now working on an appeal. Flavio Briatore has admitted he might return to formula one after 2012.

Briatore, having stepped down not only as Renault boss but also as chairman of the London football club Queens Park Rangers in the wake of the ‘crashgate’ scandal, has ruled out returning to the sport as a manager.

But his friend, the F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, said a few days ago: “I think he could take up a role in the promotion of formula one.”

And Briatore has now told Italy’s Sky Sport 24: “I was thrown out as though a criminal. I will never come back to formula one as team manager, but perhaps (I will return) after 2012 in another role.”