Flavio Briatore, a close friend and business partner of Bernie Ecclestone, believes the supremo's exit from Formula 1 last week was conducted in a harsh and inelegant style.
The flamboyant Italian and former F1 team manger, who was banned indefinitely from the sport by the FIA following the infamous 'crashgate' episode which took place at Singapore in 2008, was critical of Liberty Media's handling of Ecclestone's dismissal.
"The whole thing was very inelegant," Britore told the Gazetta dello Sport.
"Everybody know I'm close to Bernie, and we shared the same vision of Formula 1. Berne enabled many people to become successful in the sport and even famous, even people who didn't deserve it."
Briatore praised however the arrival of Ross Brawn at the helm, as F1's sporting director, believing the sport will be in good hands
"I worked with Ross for eight years," added the Italian.
"He's a great engineer, and a great person. But he'll have to make sure that everyone moves in the right direction, and work towards reducing costs."
GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
