Known to be almost like a father to Alonso – as the Spaniard revealed himself during the course of his second stint with the Enstone based team – Briatore suggested that the 2-time world champion will have even greater success at Ferrari than what he had accomplished at Renault.
Following the footsteps of another great champion, Michael Schumacher, who also took off as a world champion under Briatore's wings to become multi-year champion with Ferrari, Alonso will make a great contribution to the Scuderia in the years to come, argued the 59-year old Italian.
“I think that Ferrari has made a great deal, and that Alonso will get lots of satisfaction. For him, after all, moving to Ferrari is the high point of a fantastic career. His most exciting quality, for the team he races for, is the performance consistency: he is always prepared, always at the limit on every track. He is charismatic with the engineers and he is a hard worker. He never gives up. He's a fantastic, quick, intelligent, incisive racing driver. A gladiator on the track,” said Briatore in an interview with Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
In addition, he wanted to thank the Spaniard for dedicating his maiden podium of the season to him – following the Singapore Grand Prix – even if that will probably enforce a penalty from the FIA in the near future.
“Fernando has been very nice, dedicating the podium to me was very pleasing,” added Briatore.
Talking to the media prior to the Japanese Grand Prix on Thursday, Alonso admitted that he consulted with his former team manager a lot before finally deciding to join the Scuderia in 2010.
“I spoke with Flavio and he was very happy for me because he knows what Ferrari means and he is extremely happy for my career now,” revealed Alonso.
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