Alonso shines as Ferrari falter in 2011
2011 F1 season review
Alonso led at Monza but it couldn't last
It did not bode well for Ferrari’s season that it took them three attempts just to come up with a name for their new car. The original title ‘F150′ was dropped following objections from Ford, who sell a pickup truck with the same name.
The 150° Italia, as it was eventually named, may not have had the handling properties of a truck but nor was it a car with which Fernando Alonso could avenge his 2010 championship defeat.
There’s no disputing where Ferrari placed the blame for their lack of performance. While Alonso inked a long-term deal to stay with the team until 2016, technical director Aldo Costa was fired two days after the Spanish Grand Prix.
This had been a particularly humiliating race for Ferrari: a new rear wing was tried in practice, only for it to be swiftly banned by the stewards.
In the race Alonso brilliantly wove a path to the lead at the first corner and improbably stayed there until lap 18. But he finished a lap down as the 150° Italia struggled on Pirelli’s hard tyres.
| Best race result (number) | 1st (1) |
| Best grid position (number) | 2nd (1) |
| Non-finishes (mechanical/other) | 4 (2/2) |
| Laps completed (% of total) | 2,148 (94.79%) |
| Laps led (% of total) | 77 (6.8%) |
| Championship position (2010) | 3rd (3rd) |
| Championship points (2010) | 375 (396) |
| Pit stop performance ranking | 4th |
The phenomenon recurred at most tracks: the Ferraris hovered around the third row of the grid, unable to get heat into their tyres quickly enough for a flying lap. On race day they generally fared better until they had to switch to the harder tyres.
Silverstone was a significant exception, and one which may provide an pointer to their 2012 form. At the race where the exhaust-blown diffuser restrictions were temporarily made much more stringent, Alonso took the lead and held it to the end of the race.
He may have been gifted the lead thanks to Sebastian Vettel’s slow pit stop, but Alonso was pulling away from his pursuers late in the race. With exhaust-blown diffusers significantly restricted next year, this bodes well for the Scuderia.
Another year to forget for Massa
Even when the car wasn’t up to the job Alonso was at his tenacious best. He consistently produced top-drawer performances and regularly put his Ferrari in among the McLarens and even the Red Bulls. He finished ahead of Mark Webber on several occasions.
Ahead of the Korean Grand Prix Alonso said he was “extremely happy” to have Felipe Massa as a team mate. Despite the gulf in performance between the two, Ferrari seem content to keep things that way for at least another season. Massa was out-scored by Alonso even more comprehensively this year (257-118) than last (252-144).
Massa had some misfortunes in 2011, not least the numerous collisions with Lewis Hamilton, most of which were not his fault. But they do not explain him scoring less than one-third of Ferrari’s constructors’ championship points.
Last year Massa’s problems were explained away by him not being happy on the Bridgestone tyres. But the switch to Pirelli this year appears not to have been the cure-all he was hoping for. He often had to use up an extra set of the soft tyres in qualifying, which further hindered him on race day.
Just one win: Alonso at Silverstone
With the championship a lost cause, the team used the final races of the year to develop their 2012 car.
Among the most conspicuous changes was a new front wing which vibrated violently at times, though seemingly only when fitted to Massa’s car. This prompted speculation Ferrari were trying to catch up ground lost to Red Bull in developing wings which move under pressure.
Ferrari have struggled to come to terms with the new-look Formula 1 – this is the second time in they’ve ended a season with a single win in the three years since the overhaul of the rules on car design. President Luca di Montezemolo has railed at the restrictions on testing and what he believes is excessive reliance on aerodynamics.
But with little change coming in those areas next year, Ferrari will just have to beat Red Bull at their own game.
2011 F1 season review
- The 2011 F1 season: The complete F1 Fanatic review
- Your 2011 F1 predictions revisited
- 2011 F1 statistics part 3: Stats and facts highlights
- 2011 F1 statistics part two: Vettel’s domination
- 2011 F1 statistics part one: car performance
- New 2011 rules produced best racing of last four years
- What F1 Fanatics really thought of the 2011 season
- Sebastian Vettel voted F1 Fanatic Driver of the Year
- F1 Fanatic’s article highlights of 2011
- Dominant Red Bull join F1′s top teams
Images © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989) said on 20th December 2011, 16:42
this the link
Eggry (@eggry) said on 20th December 2011, 17:41
Ah, Maranello is really warm place. It’s shame Fernando divorced…
StephenH said on 20th December 2011, 17:31
Pound-for-pound, Fernando Alonso is the best driver in the sport today.
End of.
Jibber Jabber said on 21st December 2011, 12:20
Are you talking about the famous talent/weight ratio?
Seriously, what annoys me about Alonso is not so much his absolute belief that he is the best, but his demand that everyone around him also believes this and acts accordingly. If they don’t, he gets a touch of the tempers, as we have seen over and over again. He’s like an insecure lover who asks every ten minutes ‘do you still love me?’, until they get no response, at which point they flounce out of the room in tears.
Yes, Alonso is good. Yes, he would merit another WDC. But I do wish people would stop going on as if winning is his absolute God-given right, just because of the enormity of his ‘natural’ talent.
Riffa (@) said on 21st December 2011, 14:16
but his demand that everyone around him also believes this and acts accordingly. If they don’t, he gets a touch of the tempers
Riffa (@) said on 21st December 2011, 14:17
Aww I did that backwards. Sheesh. Guess it’s easy to tell the noob around here lol
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989) said on 21st December 2011, 14:33
that’s the normal thing if he consider himself more gifted than many drivers who are winning WDC thanks to their cars then winning is his absolute God-given right
matt88 (@matt88) said on 20th December 2011, 19:14
i hope that in Maranello are delivering him a truly competitive car to suit him, i want to watch a real title fight between the best drivers in the best cars.
TY said on 20th December 2011, 20:58
am i the only one here that think that alonso is still the best driver on the grid?
Riffa (@) said on 20th December 2011, 21:58
Nope.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989) said on 20th December 2011, 22:10
no you are not
Squib said on 21st December 2011, 1:03
Nope, definitely not!!
And I still find it biblically surprising when anyone suggests otherwise!!!
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 22nd December 2011, 8:18
Disappointing to see such an uncompetitive Ferrari, really disappointing. Alonso really drove the hind legs off the thing, I’m surprised he didn’t succumb to reliability problems, given how much he was pushing. In my top 3 drivers of the season. I appreciated how he came out fighting at the beginning of each weekend with a morale boosting quip, always reported here.
Massa. Massa…hmm. I gave him the benefit of the doubt last year but it now seems he peaked in 2008 and that’s the best we will ever.see. From a principle point of view I think his time at Ferrari isn’t doing him or the team any good. However, having such a subordinate driver on board does carry an obvious advantage.
They’re not going to win the WCC anytime soon, but given how much FOM pay them, I doubt that matters much.