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Flavio Briatore has praised Fernando Alonso's decision to skip this year's Monaco Grand Prix to instead race in the Indy 500. Briatore worked closely with Alonso at the Spaniard's stint at Renault and is still part of his management team.
Alonso announced earlier this month his decision to not race in Formula 1's most prestigious event to instead take on a new challenge, the challenging Indy 500.
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"I'll go to Indianapolis with him," Briatore, Alonso's former Renault boss, told Italy's Sky Sport 24. "The biggest question for him is security, with all those people coming at him in the box.
"Fernando knows Monte Carlo well, but to race with the machine, he has now gives him zero chance of winning. For him, it would be like going there to be a tourist.
"And with a car that does not even go out of the garage, it was decided that he shouldn't break his balls anymore. He wanted to do Le Mans two years ago but Ron Dennis didn't let him. Now there's different people -- it's another McLaren," Briatore added.
Briatore also spoke about Ferrari, who have won two of the first three races in this year's championship: "They surprised everyone," he said. "I thought everyone betting on Ferrari would lose their money, but it's great to have a championship with a Mercedes-Ferrari fight.
"Mercedes still has an advantage, but it's not huge," Briatore added. "The pressure applied by Ferrari caused them to make errors, so if Ferrari can now develop the car, it is likely that at least Vettel will fight for the title."
Fergal Walsh
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