2010 F1 season preview: Ferrari
Ferrari's Santander deal has brought Fernando Alonso to the team
Ferrari’s 2009 campaign was their least successful since 1993 and left the team with a lot of wounded pride.
But they could put that behind them very quickly in 2010 with a competitive-looking car and a strong new driver line-up.
Car design
So far the F10 has looked like the car Ferrari need it to be – a substantial step forward over the F60.
Last year’s car started the season without a double diffuser. The layout of its gearbox prevented the team exploiting the rules as effectively as rivals such as Brawn could. Ferrari were livid about the FIA’s verdict in favour of double diffusers and were still criticising the decision when they launched this year’s car.
Ferrari cut their losses with the F60 early last year to concentrate on the F10. Significantly, aero chief John Iley who was responsible for the F60 left during last season.
Like several other 2010 cars it features the distinctive ‘high nose’ look of the RB5. Rumour has it it also features an engine which is mounted at a slight angle to free up more room for the diffuser (though they are not necessarily the only team to have tried this).
Ferrari have oozed quiet confidence since testing began. They’ve not concerned themselves with topping the times every day, have done a lot of long runs, and covered 500km more than any other team. They’ve looked particularly competitive on long runs.
Driver line-up
If all goes according to plan this season should mark Fernando Alonso’s return to a regular front-running car after two years in the midfield at Renault.
It’s a fresh start after enduring Renault’s miserable performance last year, compounded by the unravelling of the Singapore scandal. He drove some of his greatest races in 2006 to defeat Ferrari – can he produce the same levels of excellence now he’s wearing red?
Felipe Massa, meanwhile, is making a recovery of a different kind as he makes his return to F1 racing following the head injuries he suffered in Hungary last year.
Prior to that crash Massa was a on a clear upward trajectory. He emerged from Kimi Räikkönen’s shadow in 2008 to lead the team’s title fight against McLaren, and had some good races in the improving F60 before his crash.
The question now is whether his injury and enforced absence from the cockpit has blunted his edge. There’s no doubting his hunger to return to action, though – he’s seized every opportunity to drive one of Ferrari’s fleet of older F1 cars during the off-season.
Strengths
A very strong-looking car and two competitive drivers: the basic ingredients are very sound.
Ferrari’s capacity to develop a car during the scene has always been strong – after all, the F60 did win a race in the end. It has been bolstered this year by the addition of a new simulator.
Weaknesses
Post-Schumacher Ferrari have continued to win races and championships but have not scaled the heights of performance they reached in 1999-2004. There are signs they haven’t quite settled down yet.
As well as Iley’s departure last year Luca Baldisseri was relieved of his track-side duties following some errors in qualifying sessions which left Massa and Raikkonen stranded in Q1 on occasions, as well as Raikkonen’s notorious switch to wet weather tyres on a dry track at Sepang. Engine expert Gilles Simon has also left, to work for Jean Todt at the FIA. In his place comes Luca Marmorini, who worked for Ferrari earlier in his career before joining Toyota.
The individual strengths of their drivers are not in doubt but their ability to work constructively together is. Alonso has always reacted badly to team mates out-performing him, whether it was Giancarlo Fisichella at Renault (very rarely) or Lewis Hamilton at McLaren (more often).
Massa has plenty of experience of tough team mates – Alonso will be the fourth world champion he’s shared a team with. But the pair have had their moments in the past, such as the row after their wheel-banging dice at the Nurburgring in 2007.
Poll: championship position
Fourth for Ferrari last year was the first time they’ve been outside the top three in the championship since 1993. Where do you think they’ll finish this year?
Where will Ferrari finish in the 2010 Constructors' Championship?
- 1st (55%)
- 2nd (31%)
- 3rd (10%)
- 4th (3%)
- 5th (0%)
- 6th (0%)
- 7th (0%)
- 8th (0%)
- 9th (0%)
- 10th (0%)
- 11th (0%)
- 12th (0%)
- 13th (1%)
Total Voters: 2,253
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2010 F1 season
Bertie said on 4th March 2010, 23:04
Keith seriously you work hard.
Hallard said on 5th March 2010, 14:40
2nd that. Kudos, my friend…
Viki said on 7th March 2010, 10:19
Hey guys…its gonna be a ferrari’s year…Alonso will win WDC title…Mc laren & hamilton will be eating their hearts out…
Xenia said on 4th March 2010, 23:24
Agreed, great summary Keith. Look fwd to the rest!!
Ratboy said on 4th March 2010, 23:32
wow some one really doesnt like them to think they’ll finish lower than the new teams!!
Unless they predict Ferrari to be kick out of the constructors like Mclaren in ’07
Fernando said on 4th March 2010, 23:34
When it was last contructor´s championship McLaren won?
And last McLaren driver won the championship? Oohh Yes, that year that Fernando Alonso was relegated 5 positions after Hamilton´s Daddy complained at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Not true? Even with those tricks, very British i have to say, as the Spygate of that year, at the last race Fernando was one position behind of the Championship. Without the Ferrari´s team rules he would be champion again. What i found in the… newspapers? next day? AT LEAST, HE (FERNANDO) DIDN´T WIN. Very polite and very british. Good luck this year.
Fernando said on 4th March 2010, 23:45
At least McLaren paid a prize: 100 million $ and no Championship. Great year¡¡¡¡ :D
Patrickl said on 5th March 2010, 0:56
Alonso got beaten by a rookie. Get over it. There are worse things in life to still hold a grudge over.
YeaMon said on 5th March 2010, 2:53
Yea…that’s why he finished HIGHER in the WDC rankings.
Calum M said on 5th March 2010, 7:47
Hamilton was 2nd on win countback over Alonso. It is very strange that Hamilton’s rookie season was so strong that the only two schoolboy errors (coming of at Chinese pitlane and coming of at European GP) ultimately cost him the title, although the rare Mclaren technical glitch at Brazil wasn’t helpful either. People were dead harsh about these mistakes and forgot he was a rookie.
I remember my brother getting very annoyed at Alonso not falling back and letting Hamilton get through for extra points!!
D. said on 5th March 2010, 5:25
You must be kidding. They had the same point total at the end, both 1 point less than Kimi.
phil c said on 5th March 2010, 5:48
The reality is Mclaren screwed up, they lost the title because the couldn’t tame two ruthless champions.
I personally believe alonso is a better driver through experience. Hamilton is super aswell, interesting to see how he will go over the next couple of years.
DC said on 5th March 2010, 7:29
“Patrickl says: Alonso got beaten by a rookie.
D. says: You must be kidding. They had the same point total at the end, both 1 point less than Kimi.”
Actually, I find this very interesting that so many people continue to claim Hamilton beat Alonso when that obviously didn’t happen. Even Hamilton said the same thing in a Johnny Walker interview Keith posted here. I was so dubious I thought the interview was faked, until Keith pointed out that it really was Hamilton.
Why is this so commonly repeated when ten seconds of research disproves it? Is it simply because Hamilton did so much better than expected?
Patrickl said on 5th March 2010, 10:11
Well, Hamilton finished ahead of Alonso in the WDC. How is that not beating?
Especially from a rookie against the double WDC.
Also, apart from a couple of rookie mistakes, Hamilton was clearly the faster driver of the two.
seven89x said on 5th March 2010, 12:09
That was Alonso’s third year in a row when he finished at 100+ points. Plus, he had to adapt to the new Bridgestone tyres. Hamilton entered F1 well-prepared, no doubt, but don’t place him at the top of the piramyd just because he’s British.
david said on 6th March 2010, 12:52
After Hamilton went out Ron said ,”We were not racing Raikkonen, we were racing Alonso.”
After this kind of ‘equal treatment’ the only surprising thing is that Hamilton only managed to beat Alonso on win counts. Quite remarkable to get 100+ points in this environment
About the McLaren $100m fine, it was McLaren who cheated, so don’t blame it on Alonso, he was just the scapegoat.
I speak and write perfect Spanish (I’m not Spanish, and no Alonso fan – in fact) and although Alonso and Marca are no angels and deserve lots of criticism; the British press went way too far over these events. Most of their ‘translated’ reports of the Spanish news were heavily manipulated, miss-translated , to say the least.
hollus said on 5th March 2010, 7:13
Relax Fernando!
That subject has been beaten to death sooo many times, and honestly, nobody behaved like a saint in the whole thing.
Neither dir Alonso, and I say this being spanish (from Gijon), a huge fan of his since the F3000 times and with a model of Alonso’s 2006 Renault less than a meter away.
The good thing is that now we get a rematch… in different cars, both showing lots of promise.
Let the season begin!
red bull tastes like crap said on 5th March 2010, 9:41
i am from gijon too. And like you said, we’ll see who comes on top this year. They seem evenly matched. My personal opinion is that hamilton is a little faster on a quali, and alonso a little better managing races. But that’s just my opinion, we’ll have a clearer view this year, i hope.
Sush Meerkat said on 5th March 2010, 7:27
This is the Ferrari Preview, not the “What have Mclaren won?” article.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 5th March 2010, 8:46
Fernando what on earth prompted this rant?
The Comedian 39 said on 5th March 2010, 9:15
Jealousy I guess.
steph said on 5th March 2010, 9:29
The lasting effects of the 07 season I’m guessing. It’s still a painful subject for many I guess.
Rubel_Frm_BD said on 6th March 2010, 9:26
It is also same for Ferrari, where massa paid the prize of a super race and a supe season. but lost out by just some help from(?) a big crook like Glock.
It is so disapponating that massa lost it by doing 100 time better than Hamilton, ho just drive a very stupid race and force driver like kimi to retire to get point.
Hamil(*******)Ton
IDR said on 5th March 2010, 9:46
You should ask Fernando for his Surname… Just in case! :-)
red bull tastes like crap said on 5th March 2010, 9:48
not believeing that a rooky driver could be faster than him, if not given an unfair advantage. That’s how winners think. If they thought any other way, they wouldn’t be winners. Now in alonsos’s mind, there is a reason why he was beaten sometimes, so in his mind now, he knows he can beat hamilton without the disadvantages he had at mclaren.
very strong as well as fragiles, the brains of world champions.
R.E.M. said on 4th March 2010, 23:43
They’ll be WCC.
But I honestly think they’ll be trumped by Vettel. Kind of what Hamster did to Ferrari in 2008.
Macca said on 5th March 2010, 3:24
If Vettel wins the WDC then Red Bull will win the WCC. Webber is not that far behind Vettel, if he’s behind him at all.
Ace said on 6th March 2010, 7:28
Very good point.
Scribe said on 4th March 2010, 23:58
I voted 1st, an as a McLarren fan that hurt slightly, but this just looks likes a Ferrari year.
I think Lewis could yet get the drivers, the Mp423 not being quite the car the F2008 was at times, I think it will be incredibly tight, I think Ferrari will take the contructors because Felipe Massa could well prove to be the superior driver to Jenson Button, which will be the crux of the battle between the teams.
Rubel_Frm_BD said on 6th March 2010, 9:57
I m sure about the potentiality of Massa. I think in 2009 if massa are there then ferrari will be atleast in 3rd place in constructor.
I wish massa and the F10 all the best.
James said on 5th March 2010, 0:06
I’m pretty sure the odds are impossible of them finishing 13th, now ;)
Dave in NZL said on 5th March 2010, 0:35
Don’t forget McLaren finished last only a couple of years ago…
Tom Watson said on 5th March 2010, 0:40
Yeah but there are only 12 teams Dave ;)
ukk said on 5th March 2010, 20:00
one never knows what FIA can come up with :-) If Ferrari manage to **** them off sufficiently anything between 13th and 17th is possible :-) Quite unlikely though even if the horses continue to whisper against the hand that once fed them :-)
Icthyes said on 5th March 2010, 0:58
I think McLaren will win it but Ferrari will be their main contenders.
2010 will be a real test for Ferrari to get back to the old levels of competitiveness. Many are just expecting them to turn up and be at the sharp end, but whilst they probably will they will be doing so under massive amounts of pressure. If I were solely a Ferrari fan, I would worry most about the development race.
VXR said on 5th March 2010, 1:25
Even with Fernando, Ferrari aint what it used to be, and that Ferrari engine (like the road going versions) has a bit of a drink problem. Maybe if you ‘have to’ build economical road cars (Renault), you will always be superior to the likes of Ferrari in that particular department.
I think Ferrari are slightly worried on the fuel economy front, which doesn’t bode well for Sauber or STR either.
Todfod said on 5th March 2010, 1:51
Well… I guess its a battle between fuel economy vs. power. Renault might be fuel efficient, but is the RBR aerodynamically quick enough make up for both the lack of power and the reliability issues that have plagued them last year?
I think if the slightly quicker Mercedes engine is more fuel economical than the Ferrari engine, then things would swing away from the favour of Ferrari.
Patrickl said on 5th March 2010, 10:16
Actually the fuel efficiency makes up for the difference in power already.
Ferrari will have to start with more fuel on board. This will negate their power advantage over Renault.
I’ve seen claims that Ferrari might need 5 to 10kg of fuel extra for a race distance. Doesn’t sound like a lot but that could be several tenths difference in laptimes.
Of course, in qualifying trim, efficiency doesn’t matter.
claudio said on 5th March 2010, 14:23
I have heared a lot about the consume of Ferrari/Mercedes/Renault engines. But it is all about rumors. I would like to throw a challenge (Keith?). Unfortunately I don´t have time or data to do it myself. What do you think of taking the cars´s weights of the last championship and add the pitstop time to them. Would be very interesting to compare diferent teams with diferent engines and diferent teams with the same engine. With this data in our hands, we could infer better what would be the “real” advantages of each engine (taking into account that aerodymics plays a major role in this equation).
red bull tastes like crap said on 5th March 2010, 9:54
yes keith, nobody on the british press is talking about the difficulties ferrari is finding, on fuel consumption. although in italy and in spain, you could hear people a little concerned about it, even though at ferrari, they seem very confident. Have you heard anything. james allen doesnt know much.
Ylan Marcel said on 5th March 2010, 2:03
Atention! This is the world champion car!
theRoswellite said on 5th March 2010, 2:54
No one should expect Ferrari to go walk-about this year.
With the resources always seemingly available it comes down to personnel, and the car certainly seems to be on track for early success.
How will everyone on this site rate the driver pairings? (Did I miss that Poll?)
I would give Alonso/Massa a slight edge over Hamilton/Button in pure speed, even though I would personally choose the latter if I was selecting a team to work with.
Alonso has shown no real sign of slowing down, and I’m sure we all pray that Felipe returns to the track with his old form.
My one concern for Ferrari…how fragile are they? (and not just the drivers) How will the whole team perform together, and will there be recriminations if expectations are not met?
Best of luck to the Prancing Horse, F1 wouldn’t be the same without Ferrari.
James Ferrarista said on 5th March 2010, 3:51
Last year (2009) Ferrari beating by MCLaren with one single point. And what I remembered last year, Ferrari scoring point with one single man (Kimi). If Massa don’t crush, I sure 100% McLaren will be the 4 championship finisher, absolutely behind The Legendary Ferrari…
Patrickl said on 5th March 2010, 10:18
That makes absolutely no sense at all.
It’s a new season with new cars you know? They even have new drivers at the teams.
Ninjenius said on 6th March 2010, 11:41
I think I get the gist of what you’re trying to say.
It was pretty much a “one single man” situation at McLaren too. I mean Kovaleinen didn’t exactly contribute much did he? He got the same points as Massa and drove the full season!
Tomcat173 said on 5th March 2010, 4:54
Interesting caption under the first pic Keith – “Ferrari’s Santander deal has brought Fernando Alonso to the team”.
Do you have confirmation that Santander only became a sponsor contingent on Alonso joining Ferrari? ..or are you simply joining the dots together?
Nirupam said on 5th March 2010, 10:57
Ferrari would have hired Alonso anyway (Alonso confirmed this a lot of times that he had a 2011 Ferrari contract in place), may be this sponshorship deal expedited the deal. But yeah, the caption could have been much more signifacnt had it been “Ferrari’s Santander Deal saved Alonso one more year in midfield” :)
Prisoner Monkeys said on 5th March 2010, 4:56
It’s a terrible thing to say, but I hope Ferrari have a dud season. Given their arrogance of late and they wany they attacked the new teams simply because they existed, my feelings for Ferrari are currently at an all-time low. They need a serving of humble pie and a good long think about why they’re in Formula 1. They need to start racing again – instead of trying to beat everyone off the track – before they can claim the title of World’s Greatest Racing Team as their own once more.
I’d also really like to stick it to the Spanish press and the way they’ve pretty much given Alonso the drivers’ title before testing had even ended. It’s a shame Massa has to suffer, though.
phil c said on 5th March 2010, 5:53
Sour grapes… Ferrari comments were justified, without them F1 and its appeal losses considerably. These new teams are useless, and will be lucky to survive the year. The FIA, has achieved nothing but ruin the sport over the last 5 years.
Ferrari and Alonso will win the title.
VXR said on 5th March 2010, 8:49
” without them F1 and its appeal losses considerably.”
Which doesn’t give them the right to publish comments about teams that may, one day, be quicker than they are.
Brazil are the only football team in the world to have taken part in every world cup tornament. Do they publish derogatory comments about Australia or New Zealand? No, they do not.
Would the world cup be meaningless without the participation of Brazil? No, it would not.
rampante said on 5th March 2010, 10:15
Try and sell it without them. Viewing figures have always show a big drop if they get knocked out.
VXR said on 5th March 2010, 19:44
Does it make the world cup meaningless because viewing figures go down when Brazil are knocked out?
Calum said on 6th March 2010, 19:50
Even if the world cup final was Scotland (I wish!!) v Ukraine, or any other set of “lesser” footballing nations it would still be the most viewed game of the tournament,
Tommy_F said on 5th March 2010, 6:09
Ferrari will be World Champion in 2010!!
And they were right about the new teams, one didn’t even make it, and another launched an unpainted car with a sticker and a wheel put on backwards. F1 doesn’t need mobile chicanes. Ofcourse if it were Provdrive or Lola thing would’ve probably been different.
VXR said on 5th March 2010, 8:41
“and another launched an unpainted car with a sticker and a wheel put on backwards.”
You obviously have no idea about some of the ‘howlers’ that Ferrari made in the past.
red bull tastes like crap said on 5th March 2010, 9:56
lower that at 2003? it seems impossible to me.
steph said on 5th March 2010, 14:58
“I’d also really like to stick it to the Spanish press and the way they’ve pretty much given Alonso the drivers’ title before testing had even ended. It’s a shame Massa has to suffer, though.”
Agree but it’s the same everywhere (esp with tabloid press and casual fans); dismiss Button and think Hamilton will win easily, Rosberg won’t stand a chance at all and Vettel will blow Webber away.
david said on 6th March 2010, 13:01
Which Spanish press has stated this, please give sources. Even ‘El Marca’, the Spanish sensationalist tabloid is not going that far.
Please give sources
F1Fan said on 5th March 2010, 5:26
Alonso should win the WDC this year. Best driver in one of the best cars.