Briatore questions if Red Bull are supplying equal cars

Flavio Briatore is at large in the Monaco paddock, his larger than life boat, Force Blue is moored in the harbour and he's got some things to say about the current F1 scene.

Currently still serving a ban for the Singapore race fixing scandal of 2008, Briatore is still involved behind the scenes in the management of Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber.

On the latter he has raised the question, speaking in today's Gazetta dello Sport, of why it is that Webber has all the bad luck at Red Bull. With Webber this year noticeably keeping a lid on the feelings he vented about the team last season, one wonders how helpful Briatore's intervention here will be.

"I hope Red Bull is a big enough team that it can guarantee the drivers equal cars, " he said. "But every time something happens, it happens to Mark.

"I understand that you need a bit of luck but if the same number keeps coming up you wonder what's under the roulette wheel.

"I don't doubt Horner's honesty, but what's going on sounds strange."

It was around Monaco last year that Webber inked his 2011 contract with the team, but there is no sign of a renewal for 2012 at the moment.

Adrian Newey has said publicly that he wants Webber to continue with the team, but the situation looks pretty fluid.

"I'm hoping Mark continues next season," said Newey. "Apart from being a great person, his contribution has been significant. He's been a pillar of the team from the start. Seb is very perceptive in his feedback in some regards and Mark is very perceptive in other areas. We listen to both and it helps the car.

"So far the gap between Sebastian and Mark [Webber] has been bigger than last year. It's certainly not a case that Mark has been driving any slower – that's for sure. Mark's just taken a bit longer to adapt to the Pirelli tyres but the gap is closing."