Berger, Piquet, say Ferrari right to favour Alonso

Two former F1 drivers have defended Ferrari’s right to favour Fernando Alonso for the 2010 world championship.

The Italian team faced the wrath of spectators and the media recently after moving Felipe Massa out of the way for Spaniard Alonso at Hockenheim.

Ferrari will again be defending its actions at a World Motor Sport Council disciplinary hearing next month.

But Nelson Piquet Jr believes it is up to his Brazilian countryman Massa to prove that he is the driver Ferrari should be backing.

"It’s hard for Massa that Alonso came into the team later but is faster," Piquet, who was Alonso’s Renault teammate in 2008 and early 2009, told the Brazilian newsmagazine Istoe.

"But Ferrari will not miss an opportunity to give a driver the opportunity to close the gap to the championship leaders," added the ’crashgate’ conspirator.

"If Massa doesn’t want this to happen, then he has to work out a way to go faster than Alonso — there’s nothing else he can do.

"Because if he’d been ahead of Alonso in the championship, it would have been him going past," said Piquet.

Former 10-time GP winner and Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger agrees with Piquet that Alonso is the driver Ferrari should be concentrating on for the rest of 2010.

"Let’s not kid ourselves," the Austrian is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

"Alonso is clearly the better man in the team; their only chance for the world championship.

"(Ferrari president Luca di) Montezemolo went shopping for him and he is going to play this card as hard as he can," added Berger.