Haug: McLaren will prove Briatore wrong

Briatore said earlier this month that McLaren are set for another tough year following their first win-less season in a decade in 2006.

"It will be a tough year for McLaren," Briatore was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport. "I see them having difficulties. They've always had fantastic drivers like Raikkonen: they always announce them early to demonstrate they're changing, but this year the book of excuses has come to its last page."

But speaking in this week's Autosport magazine, Haug reckons the Italian team boss will have to eat his words.

"If guys like 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. "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," added Haug, referring to the setback Renault suffered last year when the FIA ruled their damper system was illegal.

McLaren have high hopes for the 2007 season after having signed two-time champion Fernando Alonso from Renault.

And Haug is adamant that the British team and Mercedes will be able to fight back and win both titles.

"If we build a car like we did in 2005, then we can," Haug said. "Guys like Briatore should never forget what we did in '05. 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. And we've never stopped working - the rest of the world should realise that."