Montezemolo warns Alonso over conduct

I gotta be honest, I always thought this story was the usual 'mountain out of a molehill'. Here's the smoothing the waters release;

So, all is well with the world......

Cheers,
Ian
Ferrari: no crisis in Fernando Alonso relationship - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com

 

Ian here is Joe Sawards take on it, one I tend to agree with a good read.

 

No sir, Senna did not have the best car in 91, the Williams was better and he still won the title. Same with Prost in 86. The difference between a very good driver and a truly great driver is just that. For that reason I cannot rate Vettel above Alonso and frankly most people don't, including the team bosses.
Formula 1 team bosses vote Fernando Alonso as best driver of 2012 - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com

He nearly pulled off the miracle last year and in 2010. Vettel has had clearly the best car on the grid for four years counting this one and only just managed to beat Alonso in two of those years. The man is good but also very lucky.

Without testing, the driver has less to do with car development which is why a team with a master aero guy and a properly working wind tunnel can develop the car. Ferrari can't even get thier wind tunnel data right. How can you develop anything under these conditions? LDM pissing and moaning about Alonso telling the truth doesn't help anything. If Alonso leaves, it's Ferrari's fault and they will likely end up far worse for it.

 

Excellent article Steve, thanks for posting it.

Luis, you are right on, Vettel is a fantastic driver, but until he seats himself next to a Kimi, Hamilton, or Alonso, IMHO he won't be in the same League as you mentioned. I think Vettel is still getting better, where as someone like FA maybe at his peak. I do agree that Alonso is the best driver currently and on one lap Hamilton is the quickest.

Regarding Testing, this is a joke, why they cannot test but have constant rule changes shows how dumb the FIA have become.

 

I don't recall reading too much whining from them about correlation with tunnel data this season. As noted elsewhere, they're using the highly regarded Toyota tunnel while theirs is upgraded.

FWIW, their (FIA approved) test with the 2011 car is to complete a program of correlation testing... They know its the latest they can use so presumably have been running it in the tunnel and want to see how close they are.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Steve,
Nice post from Saward. Ive been saying FA is no longer a young driver, but a veteran and he is now beginning to see that he is starting the later part of his career. If anyone thinks he is going to just hang out at Ferrari with his passion to win - have another drink.

He is frustrated and that is now an understatement. If he gets the right offer to join a WINNING team Ferrari wont matter. Why should it.

The 'team' matters but ultimately as driver, you have to take care of yourself. Nothing new about that.

 

Exactly, great Post!

 

I wonder which year model tires they're allowed to use in the wind tunnel on the 2011 car, and which tires on the 2011 on the track test?

I recall reading early in the season that the 2013 60% scale wind tunnel model tires from Pirelli were causing problems because they didn't do as good a job at scale deflection and shoulder behavior when compared to the real 2013 tires because of the new carcass construction for 2013; several of the teams ended up with front wing and rear downforce correlation issues because the 2013 wind tunnel model tires were throwing them off. The 2012 wind tunnel model tires gave much better correlation to the on track results.

 

Yes and I for one would fully support a move to a more competitive team. He has to be careful though as things change quickly in F1, but Ferrari definitely appear lost.

Where should he go? With a new engine next year Ferrari might have a small advantage?

1. Red Bull is currently the best and Newey is still there.
2. Mercedes appear to be slowly moving forward and one can expect that their new engine will be a good one, but they already have a strong driver line up.
3. Lotus ... hmmm, heck I don't know about this team. Have they got the depth to keep making competitive cars or were they just lucky this year?
4. McLaren are currently more lost than Ferrari and I believe have Honda engines next year. The last Honda engine was a dud proven by the switch to a Mercedes engine suddenly making that team competitive ... but there is more to the package than just an engine.
5. Ferrari, yes currently lost but I believe Rory Byrne is returning and Ferrari used to have a history of taking full advantage of an engine spec change.

Thus IMO McLaren or Ferrari or a complex number 2 situation at RB are his only valid options and well I'd be nervous about the complex situation at RB. He has to be a firm number 2 there, no matter what they publically say.

McLaren and Alonso didn't get on last time, it was not just Alonso and LH but the whole team IMO.

So if Byrne can replace the current dud designers and still make competitive cars, Ferrari is his best choice ... but they have 2014 only to prove it.

Tough choice!
Pete

 

"This is why we watch...."

+1

+1 on both the team & the jockeys. The "powertrain" (as we're now being told it's called from next year ) is, literally, anyone's guess....... A true wildcard here, although if Fpiloto is to be believed, they've already won the title next year.

IMO, they're a little better than just lucky. However, losing Allison is gonna have more of an impact than they're admitting to.

Not until 2015 apparently. [They have a contract for Merc powertrains next year IIRC.]

+1 on a tough choice!.... However, while I too believe Rory is working on the '14 car the current guys aren't *that* bad..... Again, IMO, the "fire everyone from LdM thru Stefano down to the the tea lady" brigade simply don't understand how hard it is to compete, let alone win, in F1 these days.

Cheers,
Ian

 

True, the current car is a lot better than the McLaren.
Pete

 

I agree with almost all of that.

Remember, Lotus was Renault and he won two titles there - if Briatore went back, I feel certain that Alonso would want to drive for him again. However, I wonder if Briatore might see himself as more of an Ecclestone successor than a Boullier replacement if he got involved in F1 again.

2014 will be a very interesting year. If Ferrari is again uncompetitive, Alonso might take a chance going anywhere just to get out of what he might then perceive as an inherently uncompetitive team. I can see him trying to rebuild his own Renault team by displacing Raikkonen. No idea who Ferrari might replace Alonso with after that... probably not Raikkonen.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

All the comments regarding Alonso got so much air time, that a few other comments by LdM got overlooked:

SPEEDWEEK Formel 1 - Di Montezemolo: «Ferrari ist kein Getränkehersteller»

Here some translations of things LdM said:

- Since the current rules focus on aerodynamics, RB made a good decision to bring Newey on board to get the most from the regulations. In my eyes these rules are wrong and need to be changed.
- Luckily change is coming. In 2014 we will have a totally different F1.
- We do not produce soft drinks. And I'm saying this with respect to all who manufacture soft drinks.
- We are not a sponsor, we design and built cars on the highest level (for the roads).
- F1 must be a clean sport without tricks, like the one we had to endure over the past few years.


Whoa! I love the man!

 

You may have missed the media blurb about when Alonso, the winner of the Italian GP, is standing on the podium waving to his adoring crowd and the commentator sez "This is what Seb wants".

Thats why he is a commentator and Seb is a WDC.

 

what tricks?

 

Here it is in full in English.

'FIA lacked courage over Merc test' | Planet F1 | Formula One | News, Standings, Results, Features, Video

The Mercedes test made headlines as did the team's punishment which saw them banned from July's Young Driver Test.

That test later became a trial for the new Pirelli tyres in which all the teams were allowed to run their race drivers for a day, making Merc's punishment a bit more severe.

However, di Montezemolo doesn't believe it was enough especially in light of Merc's three grand prix wins.

"(Next season) we will finally have testing again and not a farce like what we saw this year with one team doing illegal testing without even paying the right penalty for it," he said in an interview with Corriere della Sera.

"In this case, I would have expected more clarity and courage from the FIA.

"On the other hand, the benefits gained by the team that carried out the secret banned testing are watched by everyone: before then, it had not won a single grand prix, then after the test it won three out of five races.

"These are the sort of serious incidents that affect F1's credibility and alter the Championship."

Touching on another area that will "sooner or later" have a major impact on the sport, the Ferrari President spoke of Bernie Ecclestone and life after the F1 supremo.

"Sooner or later a generational change always occurs. It's not too long until we reach the post-Ecclestone era for reasons of statistics. As for the rest, I don't want to talk about it.

"We will have to prepare for a new cycle, capable of tackling the urgent matters and the need for a new F1.

"I believe the management of this sport, which let's not forget is not just a show, should be entrusted to a group of men open to new ideas, who know about racing but also about marketing and communications and are sensitive to the demands of the fans, those who come to the circuits and therefore pay for the tickets and those who watch on TV, while being able to involve the sponsors and not alienate them.

"But be careful, I don't want to have discussions with Ecclestone, I have had some in the recent past, because he was too talkative on the subject of Ferrari, but surprisingly silent on the subject of the illegal tests carried out by Mercedes."

He added: "I know Bernie's strengths and weaknesses, but let's be very clear on one point, no one else will ever do for Formula 1 what Ecclestone has done."

Another man who is doing something for F1 is former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt who replaced Max Mosley as head of the FIA, motorsport's governing body.

And it's a job that di Montezemolo concedes is not an easy one.

"When he was in charge of the race team here, he didn't just do a good job, he did a great one. At the Federation, he has a different job," said the Italian.

"It's not easy, he inherited a divided institution full of tension, from Max Mosley. He has a political mandate, he needs the consensus that will allow him to develop transparency, also when it comes to the rules, in a world as complex as F1."

 

Woohoo!

LdM is on a roll!

 

I know. It's great!

 

LOL sounds like the grapes this season are a bit sour to me ..

 

I can't help but think the fact that Domenicali is Italian is considered a very attractive trait to upper management. He simply isn't up to the task as far as I'm concerned.

 

yep...definitely

 

It's getting on to gold watch time for Luca.

 

IMO Ferrari should try to retain Raikkenon again.

He is a bit more mature. His driving and judgement are better. He could win at least one more championship.

 

Maybe they could get Schumacher, Brawn and Todt back. They have a pretty good track record with Ferrari.

 

How come LDM hasn't mentioned that the other teams have now done the testing Mercedes did INCLUDING on the new tyres that Mercedes DIDN'T test and that Mercedes had poles and wins before those tests AND since?

Selective memory?