F1 Fanatic

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

Ferrari F10 pictures

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?

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