Fernando Alonso Will Be World Champion - Flavio Briatore

Flavio Briatore, Renault Team Boss believes that Fernando Alonso is going the win the world championship.

The flamboyant Italian was the team boss of Renault when he scouted Alonso and he guided him to his first 2 world championships in 2005 and 2006.

Lewis Hamilton, Alonso’s nearest competitor has moved 10 points ahead in the standings after another win at the USGP.

“Fernando will win, I’m 100% sure,” Briatore said in a newspaper interview. “He knows what he needs to do. Last year there was a moment when it looked like he would lose the title. Everybody thought he was going to lose it. But pushing together we ended up winning."

“To win, he must do the same thing he did in the last four races last year. Focus on his work in the car, not let outside voices distract him.”

Briatore added: “I think Fernando, above all, is a champion. Like everybody, he is having difficulties to adapt to a new team. He has gone from using Michelin tires to using Bridgestone, while Hamilton already knows the tires from GP2.

“He has experience and, if the McLaren stays ahead of the Ferrari, he must remain calm, focus on himself, forget about the rest, and that way he will win the title.”

Eleven Teams Will Compete in Formula One in 2007

Again in 2007, eleven teams will compete in Formula One.

A few changes and notes of interest from last season include:

• Champion Fernando Alonso moves from Renault to McLaren.
• McLaren second driver is Lewis Hamilton who replaces Pedro de la Rosa. Pedro de la Rosa remains with McLaren as a test driver.
• Rookie Heikki Kovalainen moves into the seat vacated by Fernando Alonso, and notable rookie Nelson Piquet Jr. and veteran Ricardo Zonta will test for Renault.
• Ferrari's Felipe Massa is officially the number one driver, relegating Kimi Räikkönen to an unfamiliar number two seat. Räikkönen moves to Ferrari from McLaren following the retirement of Michael Schumacher.
• The new team for this season is Spyker, the Dutch sportscar maker. They purchased Midland F1 in September. They will be running with Ferrari engines.

Below are the teams and their drivers, with their primary driver listed first. Drivers in their first full season are designated with (R).

• McLaren -- Fernando Alonso -- Lewis Hamilton(R)
• Renault -- Giancarlo Fisichella -- Heikki Kovalainen(R)
• Ferrari -- Felipe Massa -- Kimi Räikkönen
• Honda -- Jenson Button -- Rubens Barrichello
• BMW Sauber -- Nick Heidfeld -- Robert Kubica(R)
• Toyota -- Ralf Schumacher -- Jarno Trulli
• Red Bull -- David Coulthard -- Mark Webber
• Williams -- Nico Rosberg -- Alexander Wurz
• Toro Rosso -- Vitantonio Liuzzi -- Scott Speed
• Spyker -- Christijan Albers -- Adrian Sutil(R)
• Super Aguri -- Takuma Sato -- Anthony Davidson(R)

Flavio Briatore calls Formula One "very boring"

Here is an excerpt from the story reported on Bloomberg.com.

Flavio Briatore, who led Renault SA to the past two Formula One titles, said races should be shortened from their current 1 1/2 hours because his French team and Ferrari dominate the motor sport.

"The last 30 minutes are very boring,'' Briatore said in an interview in London. Formula One has to "improve our performance for TV because the income comes from TV.''

"If the race is normal the way we operate, the two quick cars are in front and it's not so exciting,'' he said. "It is good only if something unexpected happens, or if it's raining.''

source: Alex Duff and Marco Langmann (Bloomberg)

Read the full story: Briatore, After Title Wins, Says Formula One Is `Very Boring'