Haug rebuffs Briatore over McLaren jibe

McLaren will make Renault Formula One team boss Flavio Briatore eat his words this season, according to Mercedes motorsport director Norbert Haug.

The Mercedes-powered team failed to win any grands prix last year, for the first time in a decade, but have high hopes now double world champion Fernando Alonso has joined from champions Renault.

Briatore was recently quoted in the Italian media as saying Alonso's arrival would leave McLaren with no excuses if they failed again this year.

"If guys like Flavio Briatore tell the world that McLaren has run out of excuses now that Alonso has joined us, then it shows he takes us seriously," Haug said.

"We'll prove him wrong. Maybe Flavio mixed us up - after all, it was his team looking for excuses when the FIA banned their mass damper.

"Guys like Briatore should never forget what we did in 2005," added the German. "He was lucky - he did not beat us, we beat ourselves. I don't want to take anything away from Renault, but we clearly had an advantage."

McLaren won 10 races in 2005, two more than Renault who still ended up as champions.