Flavio Briatore believes Ferrari missed out on an opportunity to sign Max Verstappen, the "only real driver people want to see", says the flamboyant Italian.
Briatore, who oversaw championship wins by Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso at Benetton and Renault, says it was a blunder on the part of Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne not to secure the services of the 20-year-old Dutchman who extended his contract with Red Bull until 2020.
"I don't know what (Sergio) Marchionne will do, he is unpredictable," said Briatore.
"But with Raikkonen you will never win the constructors' title," the former team boss told Italy's RAI radio.
"To win you need two good drivers, and Ferrari does not have that," he insisted.
"I would sign Verstappen with my eyes closed. He is the only real driver that people want to see -- a gladiator that they do everything to penalise in every race."
Briatore praised Lewis Hamilton however for his triumph this season as he claimed his fourth world title.
"This year he was more motivated on the track than in the disco," said Briatore who, as the proud owner of the Billionaire Club franchise, knows a thing or two about discos.
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Celebrating Ferrari's 70-year journey in North America at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc…
Alpine F1 has announced the appointment of former Ferrari and McLaren engineer David Sanchez as…
Visa Cash App RB aims to make a splash at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix…
It wasn't so long ago that we thought Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari at the…
Sebastian Vettel will pay a fitting tribute to the great Ayrton Senna later this month…
The bets are on about Adrian Newey’s next move following Wednesday’s confirmation of his departure…