Montezemolo wants ‘a winning car from round one’

2012 F1 season

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Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo demanded improvements at the team over the winter after Fernando Alonso failed to win the drivers’ championship in Brazil.

“What happened this year stems what happened the previous year,” said Montezemolo. “On this topic, I will be asking for an in-depth analysis and an improvement in the organisation and work methods, because next year, we want to have a winning car right from the first race, which has not been the case these last two years.”

“Certainly not winning the title is the cause for great sorrow and great regret,” he added, “because we always want to win and we came close.”

“I am proud of the work done by the team in having produced the most reliable car, for never having got the strategy wrong and for making no mistakes at the pit stops. Right to the end, the team did its duty.

“Even if we are the team that scored the most points in the last five races, even if I was pleased to see our two drivers on the podium yesterday, we lacked a car quick enough to get us to the front of the grid and that was the main problem we had all season.”

Montezemolo said Alonso “will react like the whole team” to the loss of the championship.

“The team is working to achieve what I have asked of them, which is to have a car that is quick out of the box and immediately competitive. Fernando will react in his way, pushing even harder, aware that he will be unbeatable in a competitive car.

“As for the car, Fernando is partly right, on condition that, in 2013, we maintain this amazing reliability that has allowed us to come second in the Drivers’ and Constructors’championships. However, he’s right that we need a quicker car.”

2012 F1 season


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Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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79 comments on “Montezemolo wants ‘a winning car from round one’”

  1. Well hire Adrian Newey!

    1. @vettel1
      Rory Byrne >>> Adrian Newey. :D

      1. @kingshark – it was a joke about how everyone thinks Vettel wins because of Newey ;D

        1. @vettel1
          Alonso showed this year he can come within 3 points of the title, without a superior car designer, without a superior car, without a competitive team mate and without a competent team boss. If only the Spaniard had what Vettel had at his disposal this year…

          But we’have been down this road before. ;)

          1. Having an uncompetitive teammate is a factor that would have helped him. Massa didn’t take any points off Alonso.

            And Ferrari may not have been “superior”, but they were competitive throughout the season, and had the best reliability.

          2. He doesnt just win cos of Newey but the car is superior. It just is.

            But thats part of the game. and ferrari need to up it

          3. Q85 – The car is superior because the car was designed n developted by Newey dude!! Any experience driver who drive this car will wins more race than other drivers. Kubica could be WDC if he drive Newey car.

          4. @mighty_mouse – A car is superior simply because it was designed by Newey… where were the titles between 2000-2008 then? Red Bull were good, but not unchallenged. Mclaren were often faster.

          5. David-A – 2008-2009 not a challenging year for red bull. Newey dont have good n competitive car during that period, i can say his idea for a good car not unleash yet that period. People, especially like architect n engineer, like Newey is improve year by year. After 2009 he analyse and see what his car weaknesses, what he need to improve, he try his best to improve his design. So the car he designed n developed since 2010-2012 is superior simply because he got the idea of creating better car than before. Let just say 2010 car is his concept car with great improvement in 2011-2012. Im not fan of alonso or ferrari, im mclaren fan, but i admit alonso is F1 best driver. He scored 3 points less than vettel with slower ferrari, ferrari is slow car whole 2012 season. How shamefull for vettel with superior fast car but only scored 3 points more than alonso with slower car. even slower than mclaren.

          6. @mighty_mouse – Yet this Ferrari had zero mechanical failures in races. Obviously if a car is bulletproof, it will pick up points on rivals who have slightly faster, but unreliable cars. Vettel lost at least 40 points to Alonso due to unreliability, and that’s without considering all that happened to Mclaren, who had the fastest car of all this year (taking as many poles and wins as Red Bull, but losing a pole in Spain, and more potential wins to unreliability).

            Alonso did a great job, I agree. But the F2012 is a hugely underrated car- look at Massa’s results towards the end of the year.

            If you’re going to deliberately ignore the unreliability of the package, and claim it is “shameful” for Vettel to only win over Alonso by 3 points, then it’s even more shameful for both Mclaren drivers to be beaten by Alonso by 88 and 90 points.

        2. @vettel1 vettel dosent win because of Newey? so what happened to Vettel at the start of the season?…poor form?

          1. @me262

            so what happened to Vettel at the start of the season?

            He was either at the top of the championship, or near the top. Vettel’s success isn’t down to the designer any more than other driver’s successes.

          2. @david-a vettel just wasnt very fast in a not very fast blown diffuser-less red bull. Some drivers are fast full stop, others are fast only and if everything falls into place. Webber showed he was more speed capable in a not so perfect car…Newey sorted things out to suit Vettel, thats when Vettel started winning

          3. @me262

            Webber showed he was more speed capable in a not so perfect car

            That’s an often repeated, yet almost completely inaccurate view you have.

            The only races in the early part of the season where Webber was faster were Monaco, Britain and China. Otherwise, you had Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Spain, Canada and Valencia where Vettel was faster, and that’s without even getting into races like Hunagry, Begium and Italy where RBR weren’t fastest, and Vettel was way ahead. Vettel also led the championship after R4 and R5, when RBR weren’t fastest. Webber was never on top of the standings.

            So, yet again, people like you have to resort to lying in order to tarnish Vettel. Webber’s good and fast, but Vettel’s proven himself the faster driver, since 2008, hands down.

          4. @david-a so how does that compare to last year where weber was nowhere? my view will be deemed inaccurate when you have the telemetry data to back the accuracy of your view xD

          5. @david-a heres some data for you – grid positions until Vettels first win
            grid for aus
            1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1mins 24.922secs
            2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:25.074
            3 Romain Grosjean (Swi) Lotus F1 Team 1:25.302
            4 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:25.336
            5 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:25.651
            6 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:25.688

            malaysia
            Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:37.172
            Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:38.102
            china
            7 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:36.290
            11 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:36.911

            are these the lies you were saying i was resorting to?

          6. @me262 – Well, not really. I presented facts that are verifiable by watching the races and looking at the results. Vettel was rarely beaten by his teammate in the races this year, and as I said, he led the championship at different points early in the season, something that Webber never did.

            You by contrast, arguing the usual nonsense about Newey being responsible for Vettel’s success, claim “Webber showed more speed” and that “Vettel wasn’t very fast” but with nothing to back up your point. And all of this, is levelled against a triple champion who beat his teammate (who is still rather good) by over 100 points.

          7. @me262 – So Webber outqualifed Vettel a few times early in the season. You still shied away from the fact that Vettel led the championship early in the season, and the fact that Webber only beat Vettel in 3 races on his speed (China, Monaco, Britain).

            And furthermore, why should we apply the double standard that when Webber beats Vettel, it’s because Webber is faster, but when Vettel beats Webber (As he’s done since 2009 at RBR), it’s only because the car suits Vettel? Sorry, but you’re just going to extraordinary lengths to show your sour grapes at the sport’s youngest triple champion.

          8. I don’t really see what you’re are on about.
            Hamilton only wins when the McLaren is on par as well. Alonso was outperformed by Massa over the last few races. Surely Ferrari built the car for Felipe because… That’s why.

            We had a season this year in which Maldonado won a race, who was nowhere near that all the rest of the season long. Mercedes won in China, even though the car was atrocious for most of the other races. But when Vettel is a tad bit slower than Webber (albeit finishing higher in the standings) it’s a sign Red Bull builds the car for Vettel, and when they don’t he can’t race anymore… Give me a break.

            Besides, ever since the parc fermé rules those qualy times show exactly nothing. In Melbourne Vettel finished second (ahead of Webber) and he would have finished ahead of Webber in Malaysia, if not for problems during the race iirc.

            This black and white stuff is ridicolous. As if Newey was the only one who could build a race winning car in the last 20 years.

          9. @david-a thats right, you watch races and you look at results & gather and you speculate, much like most of us who are not F1 insiders do. No need to call someone else’s view which you don’t share as lies or nonsense is there? Now could you comment on how Webber qualified nearly a whole second (yes 0.93s) slower than webber in the same car in malaysia? or how if you noticed, Vettel missed the Q3 in china and qualified over half a second slower than webber? or did you have to watch the races again?

          10. @me262

            Malaysia – 0.9 seconds? What are you on about? The gap was 0.2 seconds. I assume you’re using Q1, which is hardly ever representative of the top teams.

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Malaysian_Grand_Prix

            China – Yes, Vettel missed Q3 in China. Webber did that in Spain, Hungary and Italy.

            The problem was, claiming Webber was the faster driver, by using 1 or 2 qualifying examples. But it is rendered moot by the fact that Vettel turned around and outqualified Webber this season (11-9), so Mark wasn’t faster, over the course of the season. Also, Vettel outpaced Webber in the majority of races this season, which led to Vettel leading the championship early on, and ultimately outscoring him by 102 points.

            Therefore by claiming that Webber is the faster driver, while ignoring the numerous times Vettel was faster, you are indeed bending the truth. If we go by your logic, we could say “Massa is faster than Alonso”, simply by pointing out the relatively few times Massa has been on Alonso’s pace late in the season.

          11. @me262 – And also, you never addressed the fact that Vettel led the championship after Bahrain/Spain, without the fastest car, despite you claiming Vettel wasn’t very fast without an EBD car. Nor do you have anything to counter the fact that Webber wasn’t faster in many races even at the start of the year (you know, where the points get handed out).

            You’ve proven yourself to be laughably wrong on almost every count.

          12. @david-a – Im not trying to say that webber was the faster driver – but he certainly bridged the gap and then some to Vettel in what was a radical change to the goings on of last year. It was interesting to note that when the changes were brought through for 2012 and with it a level of parity with enormous changes in the handling characteristics of the cars, webber was on par if you will with vettel until bahrain where its as if vettel turned a corner and found the speed that had bee missing from the first 3 races….where he had been qualifying 6th, 7th, 11th – to bahrain – pole position! wala magic vettel re discovers his magic and with it 5-6-7 tenths of a second a lap from thin air; which is what you believe…or what is more likely and what vettel himself said when he proclaimed himself champion in brazil, that his driving ‘clicked’ with improvements and adjustments that were made to his car which subsequently carried on to 4 wins in a row later in the season – back to 2011 form.

            So who does the credit go to? you would be the ‘laughably wrong’ to dismiss the role of Adrian Newey at red bull, afaik Adrians role of ‘free reign’ at RBR compared to his days at McLaren or Williams means there is a lot more of his influences reflected on RBR …and imo that has really made the difference in Neweys impact at red bull. This detail is gravely underestimated when people asses Newey’s abilities. Its no secret he’s happy there and he’s loving it…the money that RBR have thrown at him must be good too..

            In conclusion, imo Vettel enjoys the same treatment that Alonso has at Ferrari, that Schumacher had at all his teams until Mercedes: Red Bull revolves around vettel & vettel is no doubt number 1 dont kid yourself, lets just say their modus operandi is a little (a lot) less transparent than Ferrari’s. Whereas Fangio managed to be in the right team at the right time which is a necessity in F1..to win 5 titles through shrewdness virtue mixed in with a pinch of luck, Vettel has only had to stay put O_0..credit to him he has definately delivered in his reign at red bull. But like all things it will not last forever…which is when if and when the time comes, I will eat humble pie with your gracious laughter echoing my ‘wrongness on every count’ when Vettel wins his next championship with another team with Newey nowhere to be seen ..none of this wish-wash your selling will I buy – only time will tell ol’ chap xD

          13. @me262

            Since when did I “dismiss” the role of Adrian Newey? I actually said near the beginning of this debate that “Vettel’s success isn’t down to the designer any more than other driver’s successes.”. That was in response to you saying “Vettel doesn’t win because of Newey?”, i.e. that Vettel’s success was down to Newey. So why not answer? Why are other drivers so great that their car designers aren’t responsible for their wins, but Vettel’s is all down to Newey?

            The only period of the season, as you will recall, that Red Bull were the fastest car, was the period between Japan-India. The fact that you’re claiming “Vettel wasn’t very fast without EBD” is ignorant of the job Vettel did to be near the top of the standings in the first half of the season, even when mechanical failures were holding him back. Vettel led the championship after Bahrain (a race he won when both Lotuses appeared to be faster than everyone else), and after Spain (where RBR were nowhere). He was second in the standings before his run of 4 straight wins, so I fail to see how Vettel was driving poorly without the “adjustments”.

            We’re talking about a season where at least 3-4 teams were competitive throughout the year, and Vettel won the championship. Undeniable. All you’ve done is nitpick, and shy away from the fact that Vettel was competitive without a dominant car, the fact that he led the championship early in the season, and the fact that he outraced his teammate when the car wasn’t fastest.

    2. To add my point to this debate: McLaren had clearly the fastest car in the opening two rounds, yet Vettel finished 2nd in Australia (ahead of Hamilton) and was running 4th and chasing 3rd in Malaysia before the puncture (which would have put him ahead of Hamilton & Button).

      As @david-a has said, Vettel led the championship after Bahrian and would have retaken the lead in Valencia had he not retired from a convincing lead – the first time someone had dominated so wholly (he never lost the lead before his untimely retirement).

      Webber admitly was quick to adjust to the EBD-less Red Bull but the only reason that was apparent is because Vettel was no longer dominating him in qualifying (in 2011 he out-qualified him 16-3). Vettel still finished ahead of him in the first 10 rounds 5 times; on the face of it that suggests they were fairly equal. However, in two of those races Vettel either got a puncture or retired, so in reality it was 7-3 in Vettel’s favour.

      As for Newey, he is a great aerodynamicist undoubtably, probably the best ever in F1. What is frequently forgotten though is that Red Bull have a great team working perhaps the hardest of all back in Milton Keynes: without them Red Bull Racing simply wouldn’t exist. They produced a car which was evidently hurt by the loss of the EBD around which the RB5 lineage was designed, so for them to be able to turn a car which struggled to the 3rd row in the opening round into one which won the championship is a feat in itself.

      Vettel wasn’t blessed with a race-winning car from the off (unlike 2010/11 where he scored pole in the opening round and probably would’ve won both had it not been for problems in the Bahrain GP) – he had to do “damage limitation” (to mirror what Alonso’s whole championship effort is frequently cited as). Then, when he did have a well-balanced car, he won 4 races on the trot and overhauled a 40-point deficit.

      So to conclude; Vettel hasn’t had it easy this year but he stayed in contention throughout the year so when RBR re-discovered their mojo Vettel was able to utilise it to win his 3rd straight title. Red Bull have thoroughly earned both their titles.

      1. Vettel had it a hell of a lot easier certainly than Alonso and that’s all that matters isn’t it? Take away Grosjean and Hamilton’s collision that took Alonso off and he’d be world champion. And that is not comparable to Vettels red bull DNFs which are part of a package and red bulls fault. Intact in the last 3 races Vettel crashed into 2 cars and a signboard. Seems like Newey created a hardy car after all? Vettel isn’t good enough to warrant this petty debate, it’s obvious the majority believe Alonso to be the best driver this year from can drivers to commentators. Whine n plead all you want but it won’t change that fact lol

        1. Nobody’s “whining or pleading”. Alonso had a great year. But Vettel recovered from what happened in Abu Dhabi and Brazil (and the Senna contact wasn’t entirely Vettel’s fault) to take the results required to win the championship. No amount of “ifs and buts” regarding Alonso’s first lap collisions can change the fact that Vettel is the driver that is a triple world champion, which is the only thing that matters at the end of it all.

        2. @Gosjean – If we’re talking of luck, I’ve totted up a generous prediction of the points lost by both drivers due to crashes/mechanical failures/racing incidents.
          Alonso:
          Spa – 15 points
          Monza – 10 points (assuming he would’ve won which of course was no certainty)
          Suzuka – 18 points (judging by his teammates finishing position)
          Total: 43 points

          Vettel:
          Malaysia – 12/15 points
          Valencia – 32 points (as Alonso obviously gained 7)
          Monza – 8 points
          Total: 45 points

          So even discounting Brazil and Abu Dhabi (where he ended up last) Vettel has still lost an equivalent, if not greater, amount of points. Sure, you can say the reliability is part of the package and I agree with you on that one but even so Vettel has lost his fair share of points also. I personally wouldn’t even cite Suzuka as an example as it was a racing incident at best (actually I think it was more Alonso’s fault for squeezing Räikkönen).

          Where have anywhere me or anybody else said Alonso isn’t better than Vettel? I have an immense amount of respect for Alonso and I acknowledge he is probably the best driver in the grid (for sure in a mediocre car) so I naturally expect the same to be said of Vettel but people like you are never satisfied it seems!

          I recommend you read this article (posted in the daily round-up) so you get a clear understanding of what I’m trying to say. Be it fact or not that most people believe Alonso to be the best driver is almost irrelevant here: what is relevant is the fact that a alarmingly large number of these people appear to somehow be able to justify in their own minds how Vettel is an average driver. Quite simply, there hasn’t ever been an “average” world champion – especially not a 3 time world champion.

    3. @vettel1 They have been trying to for years, but Newey is happy with his family in the UK so fair play to him. I’m now sure that Vettel is not going to Ferrari in 2014 due to his ‘dirty tricks’ comments, and hence the Vettel Newey partnership will be with us for many years to come.

      1. @john-h – it was more of a joke comment ;) I’m sure they’d love to be able to employ Newey but quite simply I don’t see Newey jumping ship for at least a few more seasons, and even then he probably wouldn’t go to Ferrari (although you never know)!

  2. On this topic, I will be asking for an in-depth analysis and an improvement in the organisation and work methods, because next year, we want to have a winning car right from the first race, which has not been the case these last two years.

    I’m pretty sure he said almost the exact same thing at the end of last year! Haha

    1. I think they just copy paste 2010 message

      1. Funny post. Time again for LM’s drama show, and of course no mention of who’s responsible for the personnel there.

    2. They haven’t been slow to get rid of whoever they considered responsible for their most recent defeats. Will another top name follow Chris Dyer and Aldo Costa out of the door?

      1. Its not what is needed right now, unity and continuity is what they need.

        I will suggest something to them tho, dont send pat fry to do interviews about the race. Im sure he is superb at his job, but that bit of it he doesnt do very well. He looks totally at sea.

  3. More pressure piled on the Italian team. Personally, I think it will be difficult for them to start the year as the fastest team, but if they can at least get to within a tenth or two in qualifying of McLaren and Red Bull, and be as good in the race as they have been this year, then it will at least look good for them.

    1. Round 5, Spain: Just how quickly can things change in the world of Formula 1? The three week break between Bahrain and Spain is a prime example. From the top step of the podium to a battle at the lower end of the top ten, Vettel endured a much tougher race in Barcelona. With Alonso securing a popular second place, sixth was far from what he wanted at an event marred by a post-race fire.

  4. As opposed to what, Luca? -“I want a car that handles like a dog so that we can spend the whole season trying to make it driveable.” Was that what he wanted after last year? You don’t say, eh?

    1. Somebody needs to slap di montezemolo across the face. Same song over and over again. I say all the Ferrari bigboys heads should roll… they aren’t going to compete with McLaren or Red Bull next year. It would be hilarious if Alonso somehow became available on the driver market….methinks McLaren would suddenly be reconciling and Perez or Button would get a downgrade.

      1. “…they aren’t going to compete with McLaren or Red Bull next year”

        Why not? They came 2nd in the WCC this year with a radically changed car from 2011’s, beating Mac. They came within 60 points of Red Bull this year, after Red Bull dominated last year. I think to say they aren’t going to compete next year is ridiculous.

        1. @robbie

          They came 2nd in the WCC this year…beating Mac. They came within 60 points of Red Bull this year, after Red Bull dominated last year.

          To be fair I think that is more respective of a) how competitive this season was b) what a good job Alonso did throughout the year and Massa towards the end of the year c) how badly McLaren screwed up d) that Red Bull weren’t as dominant as last year with the banning of the EBD. It’s not really to do with Ferrari’s good car design!
          P.S. – I’m not saying the F2012 was a bad car, just that it wasn’t necessarily better than last years car.

          1. The ban DRS in qualy will help them i feel.

          2. I disagree. I thought the Ferrari was worth it’s 2nd place in the constructors.

            a) The season was really competitive but that means there are plenty of teams to take points and punish you if you have a slow car, yet Ferrari still finished 2nd without being able to rely on the usual big gap between the top teams and the midfield. b) Alonso did a great job and Massa came good at the end but they can’t go faster than the car will let them, they have to have a well designed car to do it. c) Part of car design is reliability. McLaren lost points due to other operational mistakes but it’s reliability issues which really hurt them. Ferrari built a reliable car. d) Yes losing the EBD hurt Red Bull but it just shows that the Ferrari was better designed in other areas of the car for them to catch up when Red Bull lost the EBD.

          3. @vettel1 …for sure, you’re right. I wasn’t saying there weren’t reasons for why they came where they did, nor was I trying to claim the car was better than last year’s, nor that it is a good design. It seems at least decent now. Just that it started out being called a dog by many, and they learned and they tweeked it, and they like everyone had to learn the tires (not sure any team had full knowledege of their behaviour even through the last race), and they ultimately came 2nd. Just saying if they don’t risk changing the car radically for next year and missing the mark (unless they feel they absolutely have to), and rather enhance what they have (if it’s bones are worthy of it), then they’ll start off 2013 much more strongly with much more knowledge than they did 2012 with a brand new learning curve having not lucked into a fast car out of the blocks. I’m not sure if next year’s tires will be throwing a wrench into the works again next year, or if the teams will start off with a better handle on them too.

            Also, just as I think next year will start off diffferently for Ferrari, I also expect that there will still, as with every year, be several reasons why each team and driver will place where they will at the end of 2013. There’s no reason next year’s reasons won’t favour Ferrari even better. We know FA can come within a hair of the WDC in a very competitive season, that teams are going to screw up to his direct benefit at times, and that the field may be close again without a clear dominator next year. All FA might need to garner is a slight handful more points come the end of the day, out of a season that could easily be at least slightly better for FA.

          4. Yeah, good points there too @davea86 For sure a competitive season can mean you are more easily within a shout of the leader, and Ferrari’s car was reliable, wasn’t it. A couple of strong facts in FA’s favour for next year.

          5. @davea86 – Ferrari made a great recovery, no doubt about it. What I was saying is that had this situation been mirrored last year they probably would’ve been nowhere compared to Red Bull & McLaren. I agree entirely that there is no point having a fast car if it can’t do the distance so for sure reliability was a great ally in Ferrari’s constructors championship but the reverse is also true: Ferrari had failed to make a car quick enough in qualifying to challenge the MP4/27 and the RB8.

            Also, about the last part, I think that’s more respective of how much an advantage Red Bull had gained from the EBD and consequently how they lost so much more from its’ outlawing that Ferrari (who hadn’t managed to eek out such a large performance advantage from it).

            Sure, the F2012 turned out to be a competitive car but I think it was actually a backwards step from last year. Perhaps however it is one-step back to go two steps forwards?

        2. Is it ridiculous?? Last year they cited the same problem.. wind tunnel. A problem that should have been fixed. They basically can’t find their arm from their elbow. They have basically been repeating the same rhetoric every year. For the last 3 years theyve had the best F1 driver and haven’t provided him with a race winning car.

          They might beat McLaren or Red Bull on points but not on cars. McLaren and Red Bull finish this year over half a second a lap faster than them. How many times should history repeat itself before what I’m saying isn’t ridiculous?

          1. For the last 3 years theyve had the best F1 driver and haven’t provided him with a race winning car.

            Except for the cars that won 9 races in that time.

    2. What’s needed is an ‘aggressive’ design. *sigh*

      1. My words exactly @john-h. And throwing out a couple of key team members would do a lot to get that right! ;-)

  5. Montezemolo wants ‘a winning car from round one’

    Me too. Domenicali too. Alonso and Massa too.

    1. Well Not just them. Everybody on the grid wants such a car from Round One !!!

    2. People hate the guy so much that they moan about something like this? Him saying he wants a fast car? Really? Is saying that REALLY THAT BAD?!

      1. Right to the end, the team did its duty

        Luca manages the team ‘top down – Gordon Gekko – do your job or else your fired style’ and deserves all the stick he gets on here.

        People don’t need threatening to perform well. They need encouragement and support – two things Luca doesn’t seem to give. Perhaps he should do a ‘root and branch’ analysis of himself sometime?

        Ok… on second thoughts, that doesn’t sound quite right.

  6. Ya, what else is LdM to say. The fact remains, this year’s car was a radical departure from last year’s, and unless they are about to change it again in a big way for next year, they have a great chance of building further on this car, so I think in fact they shouldn’t have to dig too too deep to at least have a car that comes out of the blocks much stronger than the 2012 car did at the start of this season. And if the tires aren’t going to throw a lot of question marks into the mix like they did particularly for the first half of this year, with lingering issues throughout the year, then Ferrari imho could come out absolutely competitive from the start of next year.

  7. Well there is one inherent weakness that Alonso has. He is not a master qualifier like Hamilton and Vettel. But he is an better package overall. The moment Massa was back to Normal form he started out-qualifying Fernando. In fact in the last few races he was probably driving a tad better than Alonso. so much so that he had to give up his positions to him in different forms.

  8. I don’t know what is this ‘bashing’ either. He assessed the strong points (one of the best, if not the outright best, driver on the grid; good reliability; good trackside operations on strategy [the weak point in 2010] and pit stops [the weak point in 2008]; good race pace), the sole weak point (weak one-lap pace) and the targets. What else he should have to do!?

    Actually, as I see Ferrari learned from the mistakes of 2008 and 2010 in terms of upped performance in strategic calls and pit work, I think it is a reasonable thing to expect them to learn how to produce a car which is quick out of the box.

    Apart from the weakness, @tmax menitoned, the fact that Ferrari emphasised developing the F2012 this long into 2012 might also hinder their progress for 2013. Then again, rule changes are minimal so a lot of this year’s development can be carried through to next year.

    1. I think that’s a very positive assessment and probably close to the overall message that Luca was hoping for. It’s just that on a forum like this, a carefully crafted speech often looks ham-fisted, bleeding obvious, jejeune and downright silly.
      I know it’s easy to be cynical and sniping, but soemtimes Luca’s messages do come out that way, and they invite all the catty comments that people can think of.
      Personally, I think he needs to update his hairstyle. That sort of louche, youthfully unkempt, flowing style suits a man about thirty years younger.
      Right, I’m off to lap up a nice saucer of milk.

    2. I think people generally don’t like Luca when he talks, because half the time he’s speaking out of the wrong end of his body and the other half he seems to put his foot in his mouth.
      But you’re right, overall it’s a good assessment of the team, although a pretty obvious one. Ferrari have everything but a truly front running car. Hopefully 2013 is where it all comes together!

  9. Considering the amount of gambles they took with the F2012 at the start of the year and how they basically spent the season making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, next year’s car should, in that respect, be more competitive. They’ve spent time learning from mistakes and radical ideas that most other teams haven’t necessarily done.

    The biggest asset of the F2012 was its great reliability, and it’ll be interesting to see if that becomes compromised in the pursuit for pace (which you could suggest happened with McLaren and Mercedes this year).

    It was interesting reading the translation of Massa’s Brazil podium interview. For the first time in a while there seemed to be a glimmer of confidence and fire that he could take the fight to Alonso or at least give him a run for his money next season – but also a sense that he wouldn’t be allowed to do it (even if he has been faster than Alonso in a few races lately). I also think seeing Alonso lose the title in such a chaotic race at the last minute brought 2008 back for him.

    1. They’ve spent time learning from mistakes and radical ideas that most other teams haven’t necessarily done.

      That should read something along the lines of ‘to a larger extent than the other teams’!

  10. I believe everyone wants a winning car from round 1. It’s called motorsport.

    1. Lewis Hamilton isn’t expecting one, he’s already saying:

      I know what I am capable of, although it won’t take a major effect until halfway through next season

      but I’m sure he won’t mind if they build another Brawn for him.

  11. Perhaps di Montezemolo could give his poor design staff a wind tunnel that actually works?

    1. Perhaps di Montezemolo could build the car himself, and that way he can do more for Ferrari than simply show up and criticise them.

    2. @tdog That will be very interesting to see what happens as a result of their work in Cologne. All things considered they haven’t done bad at all with a broken wind tunnel so with a functioning one they should win it all next year :P

      1. @andrewtanne – Call my a cynic, but “our windtunnel is broken” (alternatively “our windtunnel has not been calibrated properly”) is a favourite excuse of teams who are stuggling and don’t really understand why, but know they have a lot of work to do before they can start making progress.

        1. Sorry, that should be @andrewtanner

        2. It might sound like an excuse, but the fact remains that they shut down their wind-tunnel for MAJOR UPGRADES (not just calibration) a few months ago already, during a live season.

  12. dont all tea bosses want this if not they are in the wrong job ಠ_ಠ

      1. You were right the first time. PG Tips and Typhoo need the best transport available to distribute their product.

  13. About all they can improve on is the car, everything else was bang on. Unfortunately it also happens to be the hardest thing to change in the team.

  14. He “demands?”
    Who does he think he is? Cleopatra?

    1. Almost, I think Cleopatra was sexier, and with better hair… ;)

  15. Marc Gené, 3rd Ferrari driver and Spanish TV commentator has offten addressed Ferrari’s problems in qualifying to an inferior DRS system. “We are able to match race pace with limited DRS use but not qualifying with unlimeted DRS use. Ferrari’s desavantage on qualifying must be due to DRS”.

    Use of DRS in qualy is banned for next seasson. I don´t think there is any revolution needed on car design. Ferrari will be competitive from race 1…. I hope

  16. In 2012, poor old Alonso has young drivers to be hated.. Maldonado @Barcelona, Grosjean @Canada, Perez @Italy. In 2013 he will have even younger to be hated.. perhaps Gutiérrez?

  17. Fernando will react in his way, pushing even harder, aware that he will be unbeatable in a competitive car.

    It probably answers our question about what if Massa starts competitively next year and troubles Alonso. He will still be treated as a no.2

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