Ferrari needs to rethink its basic upper management structure if it wants to compete with Red Bull and Mercedes for titles.
This year, the Maranello team impressed early on with its highly competitive 2022 car - but the title challenge collapsed under the weight of reliability, pitstop and key strategic mistakes.
Berger, who had two separate tenures at Ferrari in the 80s and again in the 90s, thinks team boss Mattia Binotto has too much weight on his shoulders.
"You need several shoulders on which the load is distributed," he told APA news agency, "like Red Bull with Helmut Marko, Christian Horner and Adrian Newey.
"It’s the same with Mercedes," the 63-year-old, who is now boss of the DTM series, added. "It’s an excellent team that I’m sure will be back in the fight for the championship next year.
"But with Ferrari, they stand in their own way," Berger insisted.
However, he is not among those who are calling for Binotto to step aside.
"Binotto is doing an excellent job," said Berger. "He made the car, which wasn’t competitive very long ago, and the team into a super-fast, competitive team.
"He’s a good leader, but he’ll have to give up some areas of responsibility to good people."