Alonso: Red Bull are “too dominant”

2011 British Grand Prix

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Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Valencia, 2011

Fernando Alonso says Sebastian Vettel could have won all eight of the races so far this year.

Speaking to journalists at Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix he said: “We need to wait and see if either Ferrari or McLaren has made a big improvement which would allow us to fight with Red Bull this weekend.

“At the moment, their car has been too dominant and, if it had not been for his mistakes in Canada and China, we would be talking about eight Sebastian wins in eight races. We have not seen this sort of dominance since maybe Michael [Schumacher’s] time in 2004.

“Hopefully, here in Silverstone we can see a turn around in this situation. There is always hope and there is the motivation to win every race, but we need to make a step forward in terms of performance.

“All we can do is concentrate on our own job, do the best we can, try and win every race, but in terms of the championship, we need some help from those ahead of us in terms of them making mistakes.”

He is sceptical that the new restrictions on blown diffusers will reduce the gap between Ferrari and Red Bull: “I think it will affect everybody more or less the same.

“We have done our simulation programmes to look at the effect and clearly it will cost us some downforce under braking, which means it will also cost us in terms of lap times.

“We probably won’t have a real picture until Saturday and Sunday, as I do not expect the situation to be so clear in Friday practice.”

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    50 comments on “Alonso: Red Bull are “too dominant””

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      7th July 2011, 19:08

      We love when the season is competitive. I’m a Vettel fan, but it would be greater if his car suffers in some tracks. But let’s admit Monaco was a good way to show resistance ( a shame for that final SC). Then in Canada pressure was enough and Button won. It was a good race (when it finally started). But this season has a clear champion. It’s going like Button’s at Brawn. Even when they lost reliability the advantage in score was too much

      1. I don’t think Button’s advantage in 2009 was too much to overcome, Vettel lost many points after making mistakes.

        1. Button/Brawn were not really able to improve the car much after the start of the year, making them lose the big advantage the further the season went.

          They got a head start, but had a good fight on their hands in the second half of the year.

      2. Vettel just got lucky only because he got dominant car. He dominant all races because he got fantastic RB7 machine. Not to say he;s a good driver yet, we have lots of very good driver such as schumi, alonso, lewis, rosberg, button, kubica…so on. If kubica driving RB7 this year, trust me he will become 2011 champion. :p But obviously vettel will be champion this year simply because of “luck” he drive a monster RB7.
        Like in 2009 where button also lucky, he dominant half of the all races, but in the end they got big fight from RBR, Ferrari n Mclaren. 2009 is button’s lucky year, 2011 is vettel’s lucky year. 2010 is great year where all the winner is different, only after italy n so on then alonso n vettel keep winning.

        1. And Schumacher was also just lucky to be in the Ferrari at the right time?
          You are simply not right. If Vettel wasn’t there, would RBR be as dominant? If they had 2 mediocre drivers they wouldn’t be. The whole package needs to be there, but Vettel is a very good driver – the talent was obvious already from his very first F1 race in the BMW after Kubica’s Canada accident.
          Button and Brawn was good fortune, and a lovely surprise in F1, Newey, Vettel and RBR dominate now and will continue so for some years, unless the rules are changed radically to hit Newey’s weak spots (if he has any). Of course Vettel is lucky to be with RBR, but they chose him over many other available talents – and not without reason.

          1. U r not right too Palle. U cant say schumi lucky during his era, where he still get huge fight from other teams. Unlike vettel this year it is very clear and obvious RB7 bring lucky to him. Since 1st race till today last valencia, RB7 are always 1 sec ahead of other cars. He always have comfortable run without pressure from other driver, just because RB7 is very fast enough from other cars. I so agree that if some other professional driver drive the RB7 this season, e.g. hamilton perhaps, he sure gonna dominant all race too. Well if only there’s a chance to switch seat a while maybe can proove it, at least. Vettel just win by luck this year. But i do praise RB7 designer to build that great machine. U cant say just with vettel they are complete package. If alonso there, or schumi, or hamilton, they are still a complete package as well. If vettel drive ferrari or mclaren this season im sure he too will strugle to fight RB7.

            1. Well I’m sorry but that is ridiculously wrong. RB’s advantage hasn’t been so great in race trim, where Vettel had to drive brilliantly in Spain and Monaco.

          2. Hey… plz stop compare each f1 driver here. They r all good n professional driver. Come on its a Formula 1 car people, do u guys think we can immediately master the f1 car once u jump in for 1st time? F1 driver are all fully fit n fully trained for this fast machine. Let just praise the team, RBR team especially. Thanks to them for creating such a fast reliable f1 car, a very competitive, n so far no other team can stop them. This rb7 just too good for other team. If u like rb7 designer praise them, if u hate rb7, swear them. LOL!!! But in term of f1 driver, i would say any driver who drive this rb7 will keep win n win. Wish to see Robert Kubica in this car, like to see him become world champion. Maybe hamilton will move to rbr next year. We’ll see how good he handle the rb7 machine.

            1. Lewis and Vettel? Hurmmm i think 2007 history will back again, maybe. :) Remember Alonso and Lewis crisis 2007?

            2. They won’t have an RB7 next year.

    2. Stop crying alonso, if it was ferrari that would won race after race this year, you’d be like too bad we have a better car.

      1. I don’t think he’s complaining that the Red Bull is too dominant, but merely stating that they’re too dominant for his team to challenge for the victory. Anything for a dig…

      2. Lol, crying?

        More like saying it as it is.

        For you to think he is crying, or moaning, means that you really need to learn to read.

        1. Perhaps Kariem only read the headline…the “too difficult” in quotes does make it sound like he is saying it like it is not good for the sport, but when you read further, and as infy points out, FA is just saying it like it is.

      3. Stop crying alonso, if it was ferrari that would won race after race this year, you’d be like too bad we have a better car.

        +72.346.234,50

      4. It isn’t Alonso who’s crying but us fans thanks to the boredom of seeing and expecting only one team and bloke winning day in and day out.

        “Where has all the action gone…long time ago…”

    3. It’s the car but its not just the car. If RBR were only performing as well as Webber’s results show, we would be having a heck of season right now. The up and down fortunes of Ferrari and McLaren show that they are not executing and not getting everything out of their cars. Alonso and Hamilton, as the quicker drivers in their teams, have to pull up their socks, and convert raw pace to race comeptitiveness. And they have to be better than Vettel, because fighing from 3-6th on the grid is a lot tougher than starting from pole and running away into clean air. That’s not too much to ask, is what they get paid the megabucks for.

      1. Agreed. What Vettel has at the minute is race pace to match his qualifying performance – where a lot of drivers don’t have the Q performance there in the first place. Good point about Webber though – with Vettel he’s learning more about what it takes to win a race, every time he wins a race.

        Heck, they used to say a driver reaches his peak at 30, so that’s pretty daunting.

      2. Thats some fail logic.

        If webber is the cars true pace, then Massa is Ferrari’s true pace. Thus Alonso is getting the max out of it, just like Vet is getting the max out of his.

        1. He said IF Red Bull’s true pace was that of Webber’s, we’d be having a close championship. Not that actually he is at the true pace of the car.

          He also said that Mclaren and Ferrari haven’t been consistent like Red Bull hovering between being able to match Vettel and struggling to outpace Renault and Mercedes.

      3. I agree that it is beyond the “Red Bull too dominant” factor at this moment in the F1 game. It’s mostly the killer combo of the RB7 with Vettel in it.

        At best, the boy seems to have learned from his few mistakes of the season such as Canada. He did say he hadn’t build enough of a gap during the race which he ended up regretting as he lost. This could mean he will be much more ambitious to keep the herd away on Sunday should he get pole and should the risk of rain subsist.

        The other top team drivers have to start getting some of Vettel’s hunger and thirst at this stage. It’s what is making the difference between a very comfortable first and a second tied place in the WDC.

        1. It’s what is making the difference

          I don’t think hunger has anything to do with it. Otherwise Rubens would be leading in his Wiliams…

          It’s not holywood, Vettel just has a quicker car. And can use it.

          What strikes me as odd, is that Webber last year was always within a tenth or two of Vettel, now he is closer to a second behind. Where did that come from and why isn’t Red Bull trying to sort it out?

          1. I’m sure they’re quite happy with that gap to be honest. I wouldn’t be surprised if the RB7 was designed completely around Vettel if I’m being honest. Ew, I hate being the cynic…

          2. Webber him self has admitted that he can’t really get the tyres working the same way that Vettel can and that is his main problem.
            Red Bull probably is trying to sort it out, but there is not much they can do when it is the rubber that is the problem.

            1. Accidental Mick
              8th July 2011, 12:25

              Just a thought. Webber is one of the tallest drivers on the grid and Vettel among the shortest. Does that mean that the engineers have more space in Vettel’s cockpit to optimise where they position the ballast?

            2. @Accidental Mick
              probably, but the advantage isn’t that much. Alonso is a lot taller then Massa, yet he outperforms him every single time (nearly).
              It is hard to tell, but it is always an advantage to be short and light compared to a driver who is tall and heavy.
              I think the teams put most of the ballast below the drivers seat, but i don’t know at all how the seize and weight of the driver will affect this if it is at all such a big disadvantage as we might think, since those 10kg difference, or whatever is between them sounds like quite a lot. But it is not like Vettel’s car is any lighter then Webber’s. It is ONLY the position of the ballast that might be a problem.
              But the weight distribution is also fixed so it can actually only affect how high the center of gravity is in the car.

    4. It is the car after all (unfortunately too dominant). Remember the Spain when Alonso took the lead and had the clean air like Vettel has done so 7 times so far this year if I remember right) but then the car made the difference. And it would be even easier if Vettel was not held behind Alonso for the first stint and a half.

      1. True, but Mclaren’s pace was probably better than Red Bull’s in that race. So I don’t think it was a dominant weekend.
        The real problem in this season is not Red Bull’s dominance, but the fact that Ferrari and Mclaren don’t have the consistency to fight for the champioship. I mean, in one weekend Ferrari seems competitive enough to challenge Red Bull, but in the other weekend Mclaren looks strong and gains a lot of points. In this battle for second place Vettel is the one who is gaining most.

    5. Perhaps Alonso might choose his comparisons more carefully, or at least his words to describe it. As it stands with this, he appears to be calling the Whaaaaaambulance, and throwing out excuses.

      In reality, look how long it took both Schumacher and Ferrari to turn a dog into a sparkling magical pony that beat almost everyone.

      Just hope someone soon brings those points up with him and then asks if he’s willing to spand at least that much time, effort, and support to help make the car and team equal to either Shumi’s or current Red Bull dominance.

      1. he appears to be calling the Whaaaaaambulance

        Is that an ambulance driven by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley?

        1. Whinge-trained Rugrats.

        2. I LOVE it. :D

      2. In reality, look how long it took both Schumacher and Ferrari to turn a dog into a sparkling magical pony that beat almost everyone.
        Just hope someone soon brings those points up with him and then asks if he’s willing to spand at least that much time, effort, and support to help make the car and team equal to either Shumi’s or current Red Bull dominance.

        He did just extend his contract with Ferrari to 2016 did he not?
        Keeping that in mind, I’d say he’s willing.

      3. Laranja Mecanica
        8th July 2011, 19:27

        Schumacher spent incredible amounts of time training and testing everything in every possible way at Ferrari and it made a difference. Now nobody is allowed to do that anymore. To me it is just as absurd as if the athletic teams were forbidden to train before the Olympic Games.

    6. Douglas 62500
      7th July 2011, 22:22

      It looks like it really is, that now Alonso, Massa, Hamilton & Button are really up against Adrian Newey now…

      1. It seems to me, that the only guy who’s regularly beaten Newey in a straight fight, is… Michael Schumacher. ;)

        Well, Jenson did it too, but that was a one-off.

        1. Yeah Jenson’s mechanics used the duoble diffuser.

    7. Let’s hope he is doing that right now in a philosophical way to pressure his team. Obviously, the current team is not as half as good as the one Schumi had had in every respect. In 2010 on average Ferraris were about .35s slower than RBR’s and in 2011 even more so it does not look like they are improving compared to the last year. Maybe he is playing an underdog strategy…?!?

    8. Weasel Chops
      8th July 2011, 0:45

      I think it’s a fair comment, he was racing in 2004 and is in a good place to compare the years.

      I dislike how Alonso’s comments which largely state what everyone else is thinking get cast as moaning or whinging.
      I much prefer his realistic appraisal of the current situation than McLaren’s overly-optimistic promises of competitiveness which ultimately disappoint.

      1. I dislike how Alonso’s comments which largely state what everyone else is thinking get cast as moaning or whinging.

        I don’t get it either :)

      2. +1. I can’t see it as moaning either. He is just being realistic. And i don’t like the guy, but i am not going to desperately have a dig at him every single time he opens his mouth. That is just stupid.

    9. The only difference is that Shumacher worked hard for those wins, beating Webber is not that hard.

      1. Well if Vettel isn’t being made to work hard (which means you missed Spain and Monaco), then he’s doiing the best job and everyone else has to pull their socks up.

      2. But then beating a team mate who is not allowed to be ahead can’t be that hard now can it?

        1. Indeed, Vettel’s superiority disallows Webber from being ahead.

          1. Not really. Webber hasn’t really been in a position to even really challenge him. Keep in mind that RBR wouldn’t really mind either RB7 crossing the line first, increases their chances of wrapping up the Constructors Championship.

      3. Laranja Mecanica
        8th July 2011, 19:34

        You can bet FA and some other guys would be working extremely hard at it if they were allowed. But incredibly enough they aren’t. Of all the myriad absurdly moronic rules in today’s F1, the testing ban is tops.

    10. The other issue this year is that there has not been one clear consistent competitor. In 2006 Alonso won or was second in the first 9 races, but he had consistent competition from one driver – Schumacher. ie if FA didn’t win MSC was there to take points off him. This year the rivalry has been so split and diverse that Vettel’s/RBRs superb dominance is even greater.

    11. Not as frightfully optimistic as Alonso’s usual pre-race speech but who can blame him?

      I would argue that Canada was certainly Vettel’s to lose but he really had very little chance against Hamilton in China, the DRS just killed his chances really.

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