Montezemolo rebukes Alonso for critical comments

2013 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has rebuked Fernando Alonso for comments the team disapproved of.

According to a report on the team’s website, Montezemolo told Alonso: “All the great champions who have driven for Ferrari have always been asked to put the interests of the team above their own.”

“This is the moment to stay calm, avoid polemics and show humility and determination in making one’s own contribution, standing alongside the team and its people both at the track and outside it.”

Alonso’s comments, believed to have been critical of the team’s recent performance, “did not go down well with Montezemolo, nor with anyone in the team” according to Ferrari. Alonso’s manager was also observed talking to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner during the weekend, provoking speculation Alonso is trying to switch teams.

Earlier today Ferrari announced the hiring of former Lotus technical director James Allison who worked with Alonso during his championship-winning years at Renault.

Montezemolo told team principal Stefano Domenicali, “the Ferrari I saw in yesterday’s race doesn’t sit well with me” at a meeting with the team’s engineers.

The report added: “Montezemolo did not mince his words when it came to asking the team to step up a gear. Each one of the engineers present received a ‘gift’ of a knife, along with an invitation – metaphorical up to a point – to put it between their teeth when thinking how to tackle the second half of the season.”

The Ferrari article pinned the blame for the team’s recent downturn in performance on the alterations made to the tyres following the failures seen at the British Grand Prix:

“Pirelli’s choice contributed to artificially altering the hierarchy in the field, something that has not pleased the president or the men of the Scuderia. This topic will be the subject of further debate in the near future.”

2013 F1 season


Browse all 2013 F1 season articles

Image © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo

Author information

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...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

193 comments on “Montezemolo rebukes Alonso for critical comments”

  1. hahaha, dont mess with the old dog.

    I remember Kimi used to curse the mechanic that interrupt his PR session for trying to get him to LDM ‘s office but Kimi refused and said a few “nice words”.

    And we know what happened next.

    1. I believe LDM also sacked Schumacher for Kimi.
      Anyway Kimi / Massa rode the wave, but Ferrari started to fall apart after MSC, Brawn and Todt left.
      Stefano seems like a nice guy but he doesn’t know how to handle LDM like Jean Todt did – there was micro-management going on before but Todt understood to throw LDM a bone he could chew on for the critical moments and leave the team alone. At least that’s how it appeared to an interested outsider like me.

    2. jimscreechy (@)
      29th July 2013, 19:58

      I worry when drivers have to be so tight lipped they can’t make a quip without being rebuked. I think his comments were very off-the-cuff and meant without criticism or malice, but now we have Luca effectively biting his head off. All to often we have meaningles inteviews with absolutely no insight on what drivers are going through, their thoughts or opinions as they tow the PR line in an attempt to remain corporately responsible. The PR and compliance demands grow, and true opinion is burried in sound bites and sponsorship acknowledgements. I suppose its the price we pay as fans for teams having to fork out for such large salaries. A million pounds buys a lot of conformity these days… God, forbid someone should pay me 20 million pounds to shut up and follow orders; I’d probably never speak again.

    3. Don’t forget what happened to Alain Prost! There can’t be many World Champions who have been fired mid season at Ferrari – but we may soon witness another. If Enzo had still been alive, Alonso would have been strapped to the roller of a tarmac laying machine and be sleeping with the fishes after tea…

      1. If Enzo had been alive ferrari would have won some world championships

      2. You can’t compare Prost with Alonso. Prost used to whine ALL the time, about anything. Alonso has been staying positive for 3 years in a row, always digging down into his reserves of genius to compensate for a crappy car. Ferrari without Alonso in the last few years would’ve been mid-field. They should be extremely grateful instead of going against him. Supporting Massa all the time, yet criticizing their top driver, it’s ridiculous. And not to mention Alonso never made untrue or offensive comments, so Montezemolo is totally overreacting…

        1. jimscreechy (@)
          30th July 2013, 19:44

          Fair point.

        2. +1 True that!
          FA drives the wheels off the car and gives it 150%. Either LDM and SD step up and start delivering or shut-up and listen when FA is critical.

          1. jimscreechy (@)
            31st July 2013, 11:39

            150% ay…

  2. So… Ferrari and Alonso have consistently talked down their performance for the last four years… and Alonso gets rebuked?

    Jean Alesi springs to mind

    1. Actually, Alain Prost ’91 comes to mind.

      Maybe Alonso is *trying* to get himself fired ;)

      1. epic fail… I was thinking about Pirelli and Ferrari and for some reason I wrote down Alesi :P

      2. Absolutely, as Alain Prost fired he moved to Williams SUPERCAR and win 93 F1 with one eye needed only. Teflonso want to be fired so he can move to other team without paying penalties for early termination.

    2. The message can be understood as

      ” i know what game you are trying to play Alonso, and im not gonna tolerate any politician game of yous anymore”

      The only loser from these silly rumors is Ferrari. LDM is smart guy, he gonna stop the bleed before it get any worse.

  3. Pirelli’s choice contributed to artificially altering the hierarchy in the field, something that has not pleased the president or the men of the Scuderia. This topic will be the subject of further debate in the near future

    Would you rather that or have farcical races which pose a huge danger to the drivers? I suppose actually you would prefer farcical races, judging by your ‘opportunist’ decision to participate in the farce that was the 2005 USGP.

    1. Might be mistaken, as I missed Silverstone (that’s the real reason all that happened, the one race I miss!) – but wasn’t Massa one of the casualties of that?

      1. @electrolite indeed he was, which kind of makes it confusing that they wouldn’t respect the change was made out of a safety concern. If I recall correctly Alonso also suffered from a slow puncture but I may be confusing that with the Spanish GP.

        1. I’d argue Pirelli rectified the safety issues (totally agree with that) and then went one step ahead in making the tyres more conservative (changes as well as the kevlar construction). And Luca’s right, you can’t deny the order of field changed with that.

          But who can blame Pirelli… would’ve have been really bad for them if we had another Silverstone.

          1. @electrolite I think the construction change was definitely necessary in time for Belgium because the original steel belted tyres would’ve just crumbled under the loads put through them in Eau Rouge. What wasn’t necessary was a compound change and so Pirelli didn’t change them, so really they’ve done the best they can to not influence the championship too heavily.

            Undoubtably it has had an effect but it was largely unavoidable and really they don’t have any justification for complaining. Safety is paramount.

          2. I could have sworn I saw somewhere that Ferrari was one of the teams tipped to benefit from this change?

            And if they are so much easier on their tires compared to other teams, then how come they were unable run a two stopper like Kimi? They were allowed the same amount of testing and could potentially found the same gains as any other team.

            Had they won, I’m sure there would be no complaints. Mercedes I expect would have been very vocal had they not done so well. They forfeited testing time (rightfully) before it was known it would become a tire test.

          3. Had they won, I’m sure there would be no complaints.

            Yes, obviously, but they didn’t win…they didn’t even come close!

            And if they are so much easier on their tires compared to other teams, then how come they were unable run a two stopper like Kimi?

            Fair point…I think if we’d seen a softer compound they would have faired better. Watching Ferrari’s onboards this weekend, it’s almost as if the tyres weren’t even hot enough – front end in particular not turning in like it should.

            Ferrari were expecting to do well in Hungary, judging by how they kept tyre temps good in the past.

          4. OK I guess I stated the obvious on that one.. I guess I meant to say that it’s funny how they complain after the race and not when the tire change was first ratified.

            After Indy 05 and yesterday we at least know he’s consistent about making mid season changes on behalf of safety!

          5. I think the construction change was definitely necessary in time for Belgium because the original steel belted tyres would’ve just crumbled under the loads put through them in Eau Rouge.

            They definite would have if the teams persisted in swapping them and collapsing the one-directional belt… The problem is, so many small knee-jerk changes were made for Germany that we don’t know which ones actually solved the problem.

          6. @DM0407 : @vettel1 and I have discussed that endlessly but according to Paul Hembery there never was safety issue with the delaminations prior to Silverstone when it was investigated down to swapping of the rears and running lower than Pirelli’s directed minimum pressure as the real cause.

            If it was decided that the steel belts were too weak; why would they need to change so many other things?

            Sure you have seen that Ferrari would be one of the teams to benefit from the change because all kinds of people have been making all kinds of claims back and forth. And surely Kimi made it through a two-stopper but the fact of the matter is that Ferrari and Lotus handled tire wear better than the rest. Now we have less tire wear and Ferrari and Lotus are at a disadvantage compared to earlier whether they are still doing well or not.

            Mercedes is whole different story. Clearly they have benefited immensely from the test which they are trying to play down so hard and honestly hope they will not make more impact on the title fight.

    2. It was a farce because all teams running Michelin thought that because their tires can’t take the load at max speed around the final bend, all others should run slower as well. Remember there was a competition between Mich and Bridg and the former got it wrong on that occasion.

      1. Yes, Michelin “got it wrong” but that was only half the story. The track had been resurfaced with a more grippy asphalt, and neither Michelin nor Bridgestone were allowed to test their tyres on the new surface. But Bridgestone’s subsidiary, Firestone, made tyres for the Indycar series and had done substantial running on the new surface for that series. Bridgestone therefore had a massive knowledge advantage. There was no other turn at any other track similar to Indy’s Turn 13 and so Michelin simply had no data on which to base its tyres. Following two blowouts at Turn 13 it deemed its tyres unsafe and would not allow the teams to race at full speeds through that turn.
        It makes the principle of not allowing the tyre supplier to properly test its tyres seem ludicrous – the recent Mercedes/Pirelli mess being a great example of putting politics over safety.

  4. Pirelli’s choice contributed to artificially altering the hierarchy in the field

    I do agree. Out of the top teams, Ferrari seem to have lost out the most. They had genuine pace… although I’ll be told I’m wrong by anyone who dislikes Ferrarii on that one.

    Each one of the engineers present received a ‘gift’ of a knife, along with an invitation – metaphorical up to a point – to put it between their teeth when thinking how to tackle the second half of the season.”

    That is so Ferrari…

    1. That is so Ferrari…

      Indeed. I wonder if they realise how silly that kind of management sounds in this day and age. I’m guessing some of the engineers were probably trying hard not to laugh.

    2. Perhaps the alternative use of the knife would be to fall on it.

  5. Alonso has been patient enough. He’s waited 3 and a half seasons for the team to catch Red Bull and they seem incapable of doing it. They started the year with perhaps the best all rounder in terms of tyre life/race pace vs. quali pace and now they’re clearly 4th quickest.

    1. Alonso had his chances to win the WDC with Ferrari on two occassions. In 2010 Ferrari was quite competitive but he blew it by waiting for Vettel to run into misfortune. The title was his, had he assumed a normal posture in the race, i.e. fight for the win rather than play for the points or wait for the other guy to blow an engine. The view that he lost it because of wrong strategy adopted by the team does not hold, because he did not make a single attempt to pass the slower Renault, driven by a rookie. Last year, when Ferrari was indeed below Red Bull his performance was excellent, but when Ferrari was at par with Red Bull in the last races, and both were behind Maclaren, his performance dropped and he was slower than Massa and Vettel and lost the title.

      1. The view that he lost it because of wrong strategy adopted by the team does not hold, because he did not make a single attempt to pass the slower Renault, driven by a rookie.

        This is just plainly not true.

        1. It plainly is true, if you look at the lap time data from Abu Dhabi. But in truth it should never have come down to that. Alonso made numerous mistakes all year long which cost him points.

          1. No it isn’t, even now I can clearly remember Alonso doing all he can to pass him. Simply put, it wasn’t in his control.

          2. jimscreechy (@)
            30th July 2013, 10:43

            Sorry, I concur with Mike on this one, what you so “clearly remember” is clearly being clouded by your opinion, perhaps your inclination towards your favourite team, not to mention a foggy memory. Not only was Alonso trying his best to pass, he was on the radio ‘clearly’ making his thoughts on the matter known. Also! this incident was actually one of the defining moments of the season that prompted the FIA to adopt McLaren’s F-Duct into the now sanitised version for overtaking as DRS we have today.

        2. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
          30th July 2013, 8:11

          +1

      2. because he did not make a single attempt to pass the slower Renault, driven by a rookie

        You and I obviously did not watch the same race as one of the main focal points of the race – that FOM spent a large percentage of time on – was the fact that Alonso tried and failed multiple times to pass Petrov.

      3. yuya (@john-locke)
        30th July 2013, 1:29

        I think Vettel and Alonso both did good job in 2010.
        But you are too harsh to Alonso. he had to fight for wins from 2nd row and 3rd row.
        Simply,F10 was slower than RB6. (I don’t mean Vettel didn’t deserve.)

    2. But Fernando is the best car developer on the field ?? Much better than lazy Kimi was..three and years should be enough to prove his ability..

    3. Yep, Fernando consistently puts the car two or three places above where it would end up on its technical merit alone. He’s been shouldering the load while the designers and engineers continue to produce sub-par machinery. Is anyone really surprised that he is finally showing the frustration that he has surely been feeling for quite some time?

      Hiring James Allison as Chassis Technical Director is a step in the right direction, but it’s pretty late in the game for him to make a big contribution to the 2014 car. Their one real hope at this point is that Rory Byrne was able to inject some intellectual mojo into next year’s design.

  6. Daddys not happy with you Alonso, now go sit in the corner and think about what you said while I address my many followers. Ferrari does well to make it’s inner workings look like a strict cult.

    1. “…some were promptly brought back into line by his master’s voice” :)

    2. Off to red Bull then?
      Got his ear tweaked…

  7. Let the games begin!

    Guess Luca is a bit bad his star driver talks to RedBull

  8. “…put the interests of the team above their own…”

    Good luck with that one.
    There is not one of the top drivers who thinks that way – which is one of the reasons they are the top drivers.

    1. @nigel1 I couldn’t agree more. Ferrari cannot change the mindset of their drivers, just like no other team can. The claim that Ferrari drivers always put the team first is as serious as the claim that some of the teams are in F1 to have fun and don’t care about race wins.

      1. It’s Ferrari getting caught up on their own myth.

        Just as ALO (or in actual fact, his manager) is prospecting Red Bull, there’s no doubt that Ferrari are waiting for the time to pounce on Sebastian Vettel. Everyone just wants to win and will do whatever it takes, even if that constitutes ‘waiting for contracts to expire’.

  9. This is why I love Ferrari; nobody is bigger than the team. Alain Prost learnt that the hard way. Let’s see how Alonso reacts now. Whilst he’s a more mature driver nowadays, it’s difficult to forget his little outburst after Indy 2006 at the Renault team.

    1. I wonder if LdM felt he had to push out Schumacher for Raikkonen because of his comments on the 2005 and 2006 cars. I kind of imagined there would be more bashing when Schumacher retired last year with all the sour grapes in 2010.

    2. Steph (@stephanief1990)
      29th July 2013, 19:59

      @cduk_mugello I love Ferrari for that reason too but I don’t know what on earth LdM is on about. Alonso hasn’t said anything harsh or out of order despite Ferrari’s troubles with their cars since he joined the team.

      1. @stephanief1990 True, it doesn’t seem that anything has been said publicly (or at least that the British media has got hold of). Given the way this has leaked out, it’ll be interesting to see how this story develops…

    3. This is why I love Ferrari; nobody is bigger than the team.

      That sounds very romantic, but you can’t deny that Alonso is bigger than the current Ferrari.

      1. @malaclypse I disagree, Alonso is just a driver whereas Ferrari are much more. Similarly, the Schumacher of ’96-’99 was no bigger than the team (those years kind of mirror Alonso’s predicament now). And in my opinion Schumacher was a much greater driver than Alonso.

        1. I’m going to have to disagree there. Schumacher had a poor car in 1996 and he looked underway to finishing behind Alesi and Ferrari behind Benetton for a large part of the season, but in the following 3 years he had the pace to challenge for the title and Ferrari did everything they could (successfully) to close the gap to the dominant team. There was a much smaller number of failed developments, firing of people and all that.

          Compared to any era of Schumacher-led-Ferrari, the team from 2010 on seems to be in shambles.

          1. @npf1

            “…but in the following 3 years he had the pace to challenge for the title and Ferrari did everything they could (successfully) to close the gap to the dominant team”.

            Wait what??!! Did you even watch 97,98,99. Even in 2000 I would argue, that on balance Hakkinen’s Mclaren was better. But first things first: Villeneuve and Frentzen pretty much had Schumi covered on raw pace almost every race. Schu won 5 races due to sheer skill and some bad luck for Villenueve. Spa and Canada are good examples of that. Not only that, just see any on-board of Schu or Irvine that season. The F310B was a handful to drive. Yes, it was better than the rest and better than its predecessor, but a clear second to Williams. It still amazes me that Schumacher drove that dog of a car to almost a championship. F310B was after all Barnard’s design :/

            Next 98. I will concede that Ferrari were better off in this season, but on outright pace Mclaren were miles ahead. Most of the races Schumacher won were due to excellent skill and strategy (Hungary 98!!) and some bad luck on Hakkinen and Coulthard’s part (Monza 98?!). Although it still bothers me that Schumi choked in Suzuka that year and then arguably produced one of the drives of the season.

            99, well let’s leave this one. Ferrari were perhaps on balance equal. But we will never find out because Irvine was clearly not on Hakkinen’s level and that is when the Finn had had the most ridiculous year ever.

          2. First of all, what’s with the attitude? I started watching in 1998, which you could have found on my profile. I also own a ton of books on F1 in the 90s, but it’s entirely possible for me to draw a different conclusion. There is no need to be upset.

            They were successful in introducing updates that closed the gap a little. I’m not at all saying they had Newey’s designs covered. Ferrari right now seem to be unable to introduce successful updates, as opposed to the Ferrari of 97-2006 which managed to improve the car over the season without any issue or contract termination.

            When Ferrari was miles behind at the beginning of the season with Schumacher, they crawled back, with the exception of 2005. In 1996, they started off behind Benetton in terms of pace and never got up to Williams’ speed. In 1997, they made the gap to Williams smaller over the season, even if the car wasn’t that good, it was a lot better than the F310 or the F2005. (Or the B197, for that matter.) The F300 started off a second or so behind the McLaren, but Schumacher’s wins were a lot less lucky than in 1996 and 1997, and don’t forget Schumacher was passing Hakkinen as DC retired at Monza. Hakkinen and McLaren basically won the championship at the Ring, though.

            If anything, 1998 shows what this year should be in terms of catching up. Spa and Suzuka that year made the championship a signed deal, but it would have gone down the wire if DC kept out of Schumacher’s way and Schumacher didn’t stall the engine.

            1999 was a strange season, but when you look at Schumacher’s consistency in 1998 and 2000, I think he would have beaten Hakkinen despite Ferrari’s slumps (Schumacher was a major influence in the car’s development as well, so one could argue the slump would have been less if he didn’t break his leg as well). Irvine winning races with that car shows the potential of the F399, while McLaren had an off-year in terms of reliability and Hakkinen crashed more than in his early years.

            My conclusion is; Ferrari were better at getting closer to the front and improve a car back then. Not that they were on the Newey-teams’ level. @sankalp8

            (Mind you; I’m not disrespecting Newey, Williams, McLaren, Hakkinen, Villeneuve or Hill, but for the sake of post-length, just referring to Newey is easier.)

    4. @cduk_mugello I can’t agree with you there at all . Both factors are important . The team provides the good car and the driver wins the races . It’s always a balance between the two . Alonso is clearly getting frustrated about the lack of working upgrades to his car and entitled to do so as it is a ferrari ,not a red soap box . It’s not the first year this has happened either . Considering Alonso has so far always spoken the “team line ” and came ever so close to winning the title with not the best car around in 2012 , Alonso is more important to Ferrari than Ferrari to Alonso at the moment . This is so if you wan’t to really win championships . If you want to race for fun and keep gloating about how ferrari has the best history , then yeah .

  10. Things are heating up. Alonso to Red Bull doesn’t sound so unrealistic imo.

    And if Alonso leaves, Ferrari should insta sign Nico Hülkenberg

    1. In that instance, I think a whole new roster altogether would be a healthy move… although I would suggest Massa performs so much better as a no.1 driver in a team (alright, he wasn’t really no.1 in 2008, but he might as well have been), a line up like Hulkenberg and even Di Resta would be solid. Those two would definitely bring points home, given a quick car – but Ferrari would want at least one proven race winner, which is where they might have to break their stubbornness.

      1. He was indeed the no. 1 driver in 2008 by Domenicalli’s own admission. He said in an interview that Massa was given no 1 status because he helped Kimi to win the WDC in 2007, so it was his turn to win the WDC in 2008. Apparently it was Montezemolo’s decision to punish Kimi for not being a 9 to 5 company employee. Massa was given the third car, remember, at that time teams had three cars, his feedback only was taken into account for the development of the car, he and Kimi had opposite driving styles so Kimi could do nothing to bring the car to his own style, and insiders say that Kimi was not provided with the same equipment and with an understeering car.

  11. I can understand Alonso’s frustration and it’s no surprise or secret, that his patience has been wearing thin in the recent past.

    He should learn however, that not everyone can be as lucky as Räikkönen to win a title in his first Ferrari season. Even Schumacher needed five seasons until his first success with the Italian team.

    1. i don’t think Kimi was lucky.

      That year was truly complex with mclaren utilizing F2007 data and also got inside information from nigel stephney to get Kimi’s setup data, fuel level and strategy plan.

      To counter those deficit and win the title in the end is by no mean an easy feet.

    2. And that’s what’s bothering Alonso, afterwall he was bought in (Raikkonen was bought out, however you want to look at it) with big money and all the hopes in the world and yet, after 3 full seasons he hasn’t done it yet and this year isn’t looking too good either.

      1. Alexander (@)
        30th July 2013, 10:13

        Yes indeed Alonso is the biggest paydriver of them all.

    3. Raikkonen, lucky and Alonso in one sentence is a bit of too much. How many “thank you” notes do you think Alonso sent to Mercedes for his 2005 Championship?

  12. And so it begun! I can already read the headlines at gossip and conspiracy F1 blogs about Alonso getting fired, taking a sabbatical, going with Red Bull for 1 season in 2015 to win that final title and then retire.

    If Ferrari fires Alonso, I’ll honestly renounce my tifosi faith and give all my Ferrari related stuff to charity. That’s how done I am with the prancing horse by now.

    1. Ohh! Shiny stuff!

  13. Happy birthday Fernando ;)

  14. Remarkable stuff. I doubt any other team would put an article on their website saying ‘the president rang up our top driver on his birthday and ordered him to get back on-message, then handed a bunch of knives to our engineers and told them to stick them in their mouths’!

    1. Haha amen. All the engineers will turn up to the next race looking like The Joker.

      1. You wanna know how I got these scars……?

    2. @keithcollantine It’s hardly surprising though. There’s something in the water in Maranello. Can’t wait to see how Alonso responds, if at all. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who will take it lying down. I’d be curious to know if Alonso was given a knife as well…

      1. Not a knife – Alonso woke up to a horses head on his pillow!

    3. I just looooove how nut Ferrari can be…it’s a wonderful juxtaposition of an old school mindset in cutting-edge technology environs!

      1. **nuts**

    4. Ferrari is certainly living up to their reputation. You can’t make this stuff up.

      @keithcollantine – What comments did Alonso make? All I’ve seen this season is along the lines of we need to do better, etc. Does Montezemolo think Alonso should be complacent or happy about the way things are going? The man wants to win.

      The only thing that comes to mind is the Alonso to RBR rumors. Guess the intrigue of the silly season is officially on the front burner now.

      1. When asked what he wanted for his birthday, Alonso responded: “Someone else’s car”, according to the BBC report. No surprise Ferrari reacted strongly. Remember only LDM is allowed to express anger at his team’s failings.
        To the naughty step Fernando!

        1. The report I read quoted it as “a faster car” which could be taken many ways…

          …it would appear that LDM has taken it as meaning an RB10 :-p

          1. Thanks for the replies. Sounds like Alonso and Montezemolo are both frustrated. Alonso has a much better sense of humor. Montezemolo has none. He could have/should have said that he shares Fernando’s frustration and that he also wants to win. Let’s fix the problems that are keeping us from winning! But, that is what a normal, reasonable, stable person might say…

    5. @Keithcollantine – The stunt with the knives is an incredible bit of ‘man management’!! Has anyone done anything so melodramatic?!

      Alonso’s comments were harsh, but to be honest I think they should be. Ferrari have clearly slipped back relative to their competitors at exactly the point in the season they needed to improve. Unless they find the kind of time Red Bull bolted onto the car at Singapore last year, they are in big trouble. If Mercedes have finally sorted out (or lucked into) a solution to their tyre problems, it’s more likely they are the only team that can challenge RBR (I don’t think Lotus are able to maintain the type of development race needed for a title challenge).

      1. @bleeps_and_tweaks @Keithcollantine well is kind of a legendary thing. Like how people was afraid to get on to the same elevator of Steve Jobs because they willy certanly be fired by the end of the ride.

        Anyways, maybe Montezemolo got inspiration from Alonso´s samurai tweets…

      2. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        30th July 2013, 5:26

        Has anyone done anything so melodramatic?

        I remember a pic of Carlos Sainz father and his rally team in a pic where everybody had a knife on their teeth, but of course it was a joyul photo (I can’t find it on the web, sorry)

    6. It does make you wonder what kind of work environment this creates. If I was an engineer I would certainly think twice about joining a company so engulfed in politics.

      The recent link of Alonso and redbull I thought was utter nonsense but with this ever increasing tension we are seeing on the outside makes you wonder how much we are not seeing on the inside. Perhaps there is more to this. Maybe Alonso has a performance clause in his contract that he can exercise. Can you imagine, and i know it is unlikely, seeing Alonso driving purposely slow to trigger the clause – that would be a story.

      1. @tmax That’s pretty good but you didn’t see the knives bit coming :-)

        1. @keithcollantine I must admit the knives stuff was way beyond my imagination. What better technique to demotivate the team during the summer break than this.

          Who knows Kimi moves to Red bull, Alonso moves back to his home base Lotus Renault, Massa the pet of big Luca is the number 1 driver at Ferrai……. We are talking one big season next year.

    7. But this is the real Ferrari, the Schumacher/Brawn era that so many F1 fans grew up with was the anomaly, not the norm.

      1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        30th July 2013, 5:28

        @hohum run from the tifosis mate…. THEY HAVE KNIVES!

  15. Ben (@scuderia29)
    29th July 2013, 18:20

    Alonso will stay with ferrari and he will win a world championship with them, i am convinced. Alonso is a little frustrated but no more than any other driver has been, he’ll get past it. If someone had suggested Alonso would leave ferrari a few weeks ago they would have been called an idiot, its just a minor bit of frustration. And about his manager visiting red bull..im positive that meeting would have been about Carlos Sainz jnr.

    1. So if Teflonso left or got fired by LDM or he never won WDC with Ferrari, who the idiot then?

  16. Wonder whose back all those knives will end up in?

    But I wish there was some racing to watch over the summer, instead of all this nonsense.

    1. There’s the BTCC at Snetterton on Sunday, and FIA GT at Slovakia Ring on the 18th ;-)

  17. If Luca waants to push Alonso into Horner’s arms, the timing was perfect. Horner must be having a good laugh at all this…Alonso’s contract price just fell a couple million.

    And who exactly will fill Alonso’s shoes if he gets fed up with this nutty cult (knives, really?) and goes to a faster team? Kimi is not going back there. Hamilton has a deal for next year and faster car under him now. Rosberg also is not going anywhere. Vettel is not going anywhere until Newey retires. Webber is out of F1. Button is enjoying his retirement in the upper midfield too much to move. Ferrari won’t prosper with a greenhorn like Bianchi in one seat and Massa in the other.

    I think that Alonso should declare the Ferrari a “truck,” and then let the chips fall.

  18. The things is, Ferrari are right. They have probably been affected most by the recent changes to the tires. Was the change necessary? Yes, however it doesn’t alter the facts. This season is looking like a complete farce to me and my interest is starting to wane. If Mercedes or Red Bull win either title this year, it will not be entirely on merit. And we have the FIA AND the teams themselves to thank for that.

    1. @dasman to me the title fight was tainted from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, when it was highlighted that Pirelli had screwed up. I wouldn’t blame the teams for that and I only blame the FIA to the extent that they encourage Pirelli to deliberately engineer their tyres to below their true potential.

      1. @vettel1 I only extend the blame to the teams in that they subscribe to this notion of ‘the show’. I don’t think the teams should have such a major say in the way the sport is run, as they generally only serve their own interests. That said the FIA have engineered an unholy mess of a season. As a long time fan, I’m not impressed.

        1. @dasman

          I don’t think the teams should have such a major say in the way the sport is run, as they generally only serve their own interests.

          +1 to that: the fans definitely aren’t having enough of an input either into what is deemed “entertaining” – I’m sure if you polled most of the fans they’d say that DRS makes for boring races and that drivers being unable to push on their tyres makes for boring races.

    2. I don’t see how you can say that about Red Bull. They had the fastest car for the first half of the season. If they continue to have the fastest car with the tire change, it will mean that they’re pretty much unaffected by it.

      1. I disagree that the Red Bull was the fastest car over the first half of the season. I just think they have done an excellent job to win races where their rivals were just as quick or quicker, but made mistakes. Unfortunately, Ferrari are one of those.

    3. The FIA not helping Ferrari? Ah, the day hath commeth!
      Er… thank you Jean Todt $:)

    4. Nonsense, Lotus were even better on those less durable tyres than Ferrari before Spain. Now the tyres are more durable Lotus have adjusted and still remain one of the best cars in race trim.

  19. The thing is, Ferrari are right. They have probably been affected most by the recent changes to the tires. Was the change necessary? Yes, however it doesn’t alter the facts. This season is looking like a complete farce to me and my interest is starting to wane. If Mercedes or Red Bull win either title this year, it will not be entirely on merit. And we have the FIA AND the teams themselves to thank for that.

  20. Alonso’s comments, believed to have been critical of the team’s recent performance

    Wat exactly were those comments? I searched and couldnt find. Anybody? @keithcollantine ?

    1. Apparently journalists asked what would be a good birthday present to Alonso and he replied “someone else’s car”.
      That’s what italian newspapers are reporting today.

      1. Is that it? I think it would be silly for Luca to react to react to so trivial issue. Unless Alonso might have replied, “someone else’s car coz my car is slow and just a piece of scrap with four wheels occasionally used for crash test by my delusional teammate”.

      2. In his last interview, Teflonso pronounces Ferrari as “they” instead of “we” need to improve performance.

  21. Alonso is political. Not a criticism but an observation. Ferrari invented politics. You can’t play a player.

    1. COTD material.

  22. Looks like LDM has grown tired of Alonso’s games. The Ferrari was the strongest car up until Silverstone, yet Alonso had failed to capitalise with some lacklustre races and mistakes in qualifying.

    Alonso’s the highest paid driver in F1 and hasn’t lived up to it. Ferrari sacked Raikkonen and brought Alonso in for his supposed technical input, for his ability to work with engineers and get the exact car he needs. He’s failed with all these resources at his disposal. He even failed at McLaren. All he had to do was beat his rookie teammate he would have been a 3-time world champion.

    Schumacher in his prime was the highest paid and he always delivered. And people can’t use the excuse that Schumacher didn’t win until his 5th season because Ferrari were a complete shambles that had to be rebuilt from the ground up. Alonso slipped into Raikkonen’s seat. The only reason the Ferrari couldn’t compete for the championship in 2009 was because of their interpretation of the double diffuser rule. They were back on track and delivering championship winning cars in 2010. First race of 2010 Ferrari finish 1–2.

    1. You seem to forget that Vettel was going to win the first race in 2010, until his engine blew. Red Bull had a very competitive car in that year, which was only hindered by its unreliability. Yes, it was Alonso’s to lose in the end, but it was Ferrari that made the call, not Alonso.

      1. You seem to forget that Vettel was going to win the first race in 2010

        he seems to forget and ignore and even make up so many things.
        Right, Ferrari was the class of the field in Monaco…

      2. Sure, but Massa was behind Alonso in his comeback race. Where was Webber in the same machinery as Vettel? And remember that at this point it wasn’t Vettel’s team. Vettel had only been at Red Bull for one season.

        The 2010 Ferrari was a strong car. In Vettel’s hands Ferrari would have won the drivers championship.

        1. look at who is talking !!!!!!!

      3. please spare this unrealiability of redbull, it’s funny, since he only had 2 dnfs+1 his fault when he hit webber in turkey.

    2. Please tell me what have you been smoking.

      1. Have you been watching the last 4 years of f1? Alonso has almost single handedly carried the team during his time with them.

  23. I think all this Alonso critical/leaving Ferrari is sucked out of the finger really. Not any supporting evidence that it might be true. Ever since he joined Ferrari Alonso was singing the same rhymes – we have to improve, our car is slower that our rivals’ etc. And suddenly after 3 years the journous decided to make a sensational story out of this. I think it was David Coulthard starting all this speculation or it could be a ‘dirty trick’ from RedBull (as they like to call it) to distabilize the situation at Ferrari. But really with the tire saga over, the story about Webber’s succesor all consumed, what a great story to fill the pages and blogs for the summer break – Alonso’s war with Ferrari. I don’t buy it at all.

  24. ferrari has been going backwards since they fired nigel stepney !
    brawn wouldn’t accept the treatment he got and quit
    however they have started to re-anglicise the team again so in a couple more years……

  25. I think that these news more than anything else means that Alonso isn’t going to go to Red Bull. If Montezemolo truly believed that his biggest asset considered leaving the team, he wouldn’t be making such comments, at least not on Ferrari’s website.

    As crazy as it might sound, Alonso probably has nowhere to go. Red Bull most likely don’t need a second, more political Vettel. Mercedes already have two top drivers. McLaren’s door might be closed to Alonso forever, given what happened in 2007. Lotus might be the most realistic option, although the chances that the Enstone team is going to have a championship-winning car in the upcoming years seem to be even smaller than Ferrari’s hopes to build one. Moreover, they still might keep Raikkonen and also decide that one world champion (and one high salary) is enough for a team of their size. And where else could Alonso go? Ferrari needs him but he probably needs the team even more.

    1. McLaren’s door might be closed to Alonso forever, given what happened in 2007.

      I wouldn’t be so sure about it. Remember that F1 is all about money and anything is possible. McLaren are so in trouble with their current drivers that I think they would be (secretly) happy to take Alonso back.

      1. Nah. Dennis is gone. Whitmarsh would cry tears of joy if he could get someone who could bring money and speed to the team. Problem is, McLaren is going down. Lost the engine deal with Mercedes, losing technical people while not adding anyone of note.

    2. If Santander would move from Ferarri to where ever his next destination, then I’m sure that team would be happy to accept Santander’s money.

      1. Santander has been a Maclaren sponsor as well and they do a lot of business in Britain. Alonso in a Maclaren would suit them fine now that Lewis is gone. They will have the best of both, the English and Spanish speaking, worlds. Alonso may be also thinking beyond 2014, to 2015 when Honda will come into play.

    3. I think the top teams are all basically competing for 4 drivers to maximize their chances: Alonso and Hamilton, Vettel and Raikkonen. On that basis Ferrari would be insane to let Alonso go, they’d be in much the same position as McLaren right now, left with two solid drivers who aren’t going to make enough of a difference to a so-so car. Unless of course Ferrari snatch Vettel or Hamilton, or re-sign Raikkonen. Or produce a storming car for next season. All very unlikely.

      I think Red Bull would happily take Alonso, and he’d happily go there. Vettel will veto the move much as he did Hamilton, though. And I doubt he’ll really accept Raikkonen either. Which Alonso must know by now, so this is all probably no more than internal Ferrari squabbling and pressurizing that will fizzle out along with their season.

      1. Vettel will veto the move much as he did Hamilton, though.

        Says who?

  26. I think this is the first time I’ve seen either Fernando criticise Ferrari or Ferrari criticise Fernando. Maybe there is some truth to the Red Bull rumours. I still think he’d be unwise to make the move, though.

    1. Alonso criticized his car frequently last season. I remarked at the time that Ferrari had once fired a reigning champion for such an offense.

      1. @jonsan @jackysteeg I’m trying to think of the last driver to criticize Ferrari who didn’t end up getting sacked for it. Prost tried it and got sacked – before the season ended! Arnoux tried it and got sacked – after the first race of the season! Lauda tried it and, while he didn’t exactly get sacked, ended up leaving the team (before getting pushed of it anyway). This feels like a slippery slope to me. Unless Alonso and Ferrari start winning races – and fast (Monza would be ideal), I struggle to see how their relationship will fully recover out of this.

  27. eventually Alonso will end up back at Lotus with Seb at Ferrari and Kimi at Red Bull…

    1. Given the current knife show…..Vettel would rather stick to RBR with his friend Kimi

      Ferrari and big luca will reinstate Massa as their no 1 driver

  28. For a die hard Ferrari fan his words sound bitter but his frustration is justified.

  29. I am picturing a crowd of hyper-competitive Italians bearing knives- “Et tu, Alonso?”

  30. Thing is.. Alonso has never been the strongest qualifier. His ability to set the car up and his racecraft however are world class. So Ferrari could be right, Alonso might not be extracting the absolute maximum, but I don’t think he is that far off.

    I wonder if he could end up leaving Ferrari and returning to Lotus(previously known as Renault), when Kimi moves to Red Bull. I would say we could see some big moves all depending on what Horner decides. If Ricciardo gets the seat, I don’t expect much else to change on the grid.. But Kimi could set the ball rolling.

    1. When did Ferrari say Alonso is nt extracting the maximum from the car?

      When he had faster cars he has qualified very well(his first stint in Renault).. yes, he was beaten by Lewis in 2007 (10-7, was the head to head if I am not wrong) which was nt a disastrous showing either considering Lewis is probably the best qualifier out there… he has decimated Massa in their time together in Ferrari and Massa himself was considered something of a qualifying specialist before Alonso joined Ferrari… I just dont get by what logic people come up with the notion that Alonso is a weak qualifier… I dont think there is any driver who is a better qualifier than alonso in today’s grid bar Vettel and Hamilton…

    2. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
      30th July 2013, 15:12

      I honestly never bought that idea that Alonso is an average qualifyer.

      On only two occasions, 2004 with qualy specialist Trulli, and 2007 with new Bridgestones and quick Lewis, he was regularly _slightly_ behind…
      …In 2001, in 2003 against Trulli, in 05 and 06 against FIsichella, in 08-09 with Renault, and in the Ferrari days he was a supreme qualifier versus his teammates.

  31. alonso will always take kimi ‘s racing seat wherever he goes starting from mclaren days

    1. That is true always behind Kimi in the line…..

  32. “This is the moment to stay calm, avoid polemics and show humility and determination in making one’s own contribution, standing alongside the team and its people both at the track and outside it.”

    Just like Shumacher allowed Barrichello to win in Austria in 2002, I mean its all about the team right? Also if its about putting the team over ego, then why post this statement on the website in the first place? Keep it in house.

  33. It’s been a long time coming

  34. Funny…

    Alonso, the guy that made Ferrari look much better than they deserved since 2010, gets the punch in the face…

    OK, Luca, sure, you made things a lot easier to yourself, right? Not quite ! you’ve been a failure since Schumi left. Give Alonso what he wants. He’s the only one that can bring you back to titles, and hurry up because he can just bore himself waiting for you clowns to fix the wind tunnel (after 3 years, come on ! “greatest f1 team ever” my ar..) and walk out the door.

    It’s not like he’s out of options… and it’s not like you guys can afford another 21 years without a title…

    1. +1 All this talk of ferrari being the best ever is worrying me.BY the way what’s wrong with the oldies ?

      Ferrari , Mclaren , Williams , Sauber all doing badly ?? Is it E G O ?

  35. This talk of Alonso going to Red Bull feels more like Red Bull trying to pressure Raikkonen into making a decision because he doesn’t consider Ricciardo to be a genuine contender for the seat and so can take his time with it, rather than a genuine attempt to get Alonso.

    I’m surprised Luca doesn’t see that

    1. @prisoner-monkeys Then why did alonso play to this with the media ?

      you sound as if Alonso tried his hand at British Humor with the journalists and Luca said to Alonso “we are Italian , you Shmuck “

      1. To shift focus away from Ferrari’s struggles on the track.

  36. “Normal” drivers would stay quiet if driving for top teams, hoping they last as long as possible. Champions like Schumacher, Hamilton, Alonso, Kimi, Ayrton etc are only there to win championships and if the team doesn’t provide the with the tools, they scream out loud to either make it work or to find some other seat. I think it’s very understandable

    1. They should do their screaming behind closed doors; thats what Schumacher always did.
      Screaming in the press makes them look like spoilt brats. If they want to tell the team something, then they should do it to directly to the team, not via the media.

      1. @xjr15jaaag I don’t wish to nit-pick but the interesting thing for me is they’re not even doing it in the press, they wrote it up on their own website. Without that no one might have known about it.

        1. Aditya (@adityafakhri)
          30th July 2013, 3:53

          Ferrari got quite history about that. We all know the story of Ferrari and Prost relationship. But there’s more to that. Some say that they pushed a little bit towards Schumacher’s first retirement. Some say, that they started a story of Raikkonen’s lack of motivation.

          I’m not sure about this unstability caused by Red Bull vacant seat, it might be the case, but surely some ideas of revolution have popped into Montezomolo’s head given lacklustre form in many years.

          1. That’s just absurd ! There is a difference between telling the car is slow and going against the team !

          2. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
            30th July 2013, 15:25

            Haven’t been following F1 from that early on, but what was so special between the Scuderia and Prost?

  37. Jack (@jackisthestig)
    29th July 2013, 21:39

    A Vettel for Alonso straight swap would be attractive to everyone involved, although perhaps Red Bull least so. Vettel moving to Ferrari once Alonso goes has been rumoured for a while and now Alonso appears to want to go the opposite way.

    Although Seb would be walking away from a fantastically successful setup at Red Bull, he would have the opportunity to succeed in winning the championship where Alonso has failed and shake off the tag of only winning because he happened to be driving the best car, Adrian Newey’s car. With major rule changes coming next season and Mercedes’ progression there is no guarantee of the continued success Red Bull have enjoyed over the last 4 or 5 seasons and surely Seb’s stock would take a big hit if he stayed at Red Bull and they started sliding down the order.

    As far as Ferrari are concerned, Fernando may well have ‘carried the team’ for the last 4 seasons but the effort has not resulted in any championship success and now the relationship seems under increasing strain. A swap would negate the need for Alonso’s contract to be ‘bought out’, Red Bull could possibly add Santander to their ever increasing roster of external sponsors and it is just hard to envisage the pair as teammates at Red Bull.

    1. Hmmm, great comment @jackisthestig. Very interesting. It might just make sense.
      I’m also sure Hamilton’s switch to Mercedes and how it is starting to add more credibility to his career hasn’t gone unnoticed by Vettel. I think maybe this is one for 2015, but who knows?

    2. surely Seb’s stock would take a big hit if he stayed at Red Bull and they started sliding down the order.

      Right, the way Hamilton’s stock took a hit when he stayed at Mclaren and they started sliding down the order. Except that never actually happened, did it?

    3. Vettel may have a huge ego but he also has an eye for records in every category, I don’t think he would risk his chance to be “The Greatest” just to drive a Ferrari, at least not until his 8th.WDC or until Ferrari have a car better than a Red Bull.

      1. A lot of this silly season would be easier to unravel if we knew how good the RBR would be next year , which we honestly don’t ;)

  38. If the relationship does get to a stage where he feels he has to leave, I don’t see what options he’d have. Realistically, he isn’t going to Red Bull. McLaren have both Button and Perez tied down and could previous experiences with the team also hinder of a move there? Mercedes aren’t going to change their line-up anytime soon. Reuniting with the Enstone team could be as unsuccessful as his previous stint in 08 and 09, and at this time of his career, he can’t waste seasons in the midfield if he wants more titles. I think even if the relationship gets strained, he will remain with Ferrari. I just can’t see the alternatives.

  39. I just realized something “sensational moves”, as in fancy driver swap between big teams happen every 3 years! Perhaps I should add it in the statistics column… here goes 2013 Hamilton to Mercedes, 2010 Alonso to Ferrari and Button to Mclaren, 2007 Raikkonen to Ferrari and Alonso to Mclaren plus introduction of Vettel and Hamilton and of course Schumi retirement, 2004 (exception), 2001 introduction of Kimi, Fernando, Montoya…
    Well obviously it isn’t an exact science but for 13 years 2001-2013 only these 4 (01,07,10,13) we had significant changes. So in theory wait for the summer of 2015 for a really hot silly season.

  40. Ferrari’s lack of performance all down to one thing… The Kimi Curse. No championships since kicking him out. LOL

  41. Lets evaluate both scenarios:

    1. Dirty game from Redbull : They ran Daniel in young test to show he is a genuine contender to Raikkonen so that they can negotiate with Raikkonen. But after an interview from Raikkonen in which he said “He is in no rush and may choose an option which may sound stupid”. Redbull brought Alonso in picture. Considering Alonso would never like to partner with a very strong driver, this is the most likely scenario. Now Ferrari may think this is happening and is warning Alonso that if you are leaving, we would not keep you even for this season.

    2. Alonso’s management did talk to Redbull. Redbull will give it a thought because if they can desire Raikkonen, they can desire Alonso as well because both are top drivers and give Seb a challenge. Redbull has made it clear they want the strongest line up.”There has not been any pressure that we must take a junior driver, it is a matter of fielding the best team. Of course, the junior drivers are under consideration but there is no pre-requisite it has to be a junior driver for next season. We want to put the strongest drivers in the car that we can” said Horner. Certainly Seb would not like to see Alonso in the team because if not exposed, he will have tough time against him. Redbull has two advantages in bringing Alonso 1. A constructors title even if they are bit weaker next year(new rules) 2. Santandar..

    I think in both of the scenarios, the move is unlikely. I think Raikkonen would go there first and Alonso will replace him later just like they have been doing before.

  42. yuya (@john-locke)
    30th July 2013, 0:51

    I remember Montezemolo once said
    “I was soo disappointed by Kimi’s performance. I destroyed a mount of TVs after watching races(in 2008 season). …..

    1. Wow, that shows great control and must be a sure sign of impressive management skills.
      Is it just me or does LdM seem really imcompetent and a bit of a liability for the entire Ferrari operation? Alonso is a bit of a weasel, but he has my sympathies on this occasion.

    2. Kimi was also disappointed by broken exhaust, tire strategies, and gear problem. He was awesome in first race with Ferrari in 2007, but they gave too much money to chew in one’s lifetime, and became 12kg heavier than Massa. If only they paid Kimi with points basis just like Lotus, it could have been different.

  43. Datangjualbeli
    30th July 2013, 3:26

    It’s time to move on Alonso! jump to Red bull that has winning car!

  44. zoom (@zoomracing)
    30th July 2013, 4:35

    Sorry but this is a stupid move by Montezemolo, he has not right to criticize Alonso, they guy has saved their ass for 4 years now, starting with Massa and Stefano, even if he wants to criticize Alonso he should do it in private.

    Alonso is going to be very mad, and he has all the summer to think, Santander will back him no matter what, Ferrari is in trouble.

  45. @Keithcollantine,
    we should have a caption competition with this image :
    http://i42.tinypic.com/dyako.jpg

  46. I think LdM is under a bit of pressure himself as well. Nothing like what the others are facing, but pressure nonetheless.

    Since Schumacher retired at the end of 2006 (with first Brawn then Todt eventually following him out the door), Ferrari has been winning consistently less. Nothing like as drastic as its rivals in the 2000s (McLaren’s 2013 has been woeful, while the less said about Williams, the better), but still significant. The only WDC they’ve won in the post-Schumi era was in Year 1, 2007. Todt was still at the helm, and McLaren helped them a fair bit too. The last WCC they won was in Year 2, 2008.

    And what does this have to do with LdM? Well, he basically pushed Schumi (and by extension Todt) out of the team. Which would be understandable, except LdM’s hand-picked replacements are not doing all that well, either. While Kimi did win a title, he only stayed until 2009, and Ferrari paid him to leave and make room for Alonso. Now Fernando’s unhappy with how things are going for him, too. And team principal Stefano has looked pretty much hopeless in trying to improve things.

    Perhaps James Allison will be the man to turn things around. Perhaps Rory Byrne’s return to a more active consultancy role will guide them back to success. Perhaps the 2014 rules will end up in Ferrari’s favour. But for a team like Ferrari and a champion like Fernando, that’s too many if’s for them to feel confident about the future – together or apart.

  47. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
    30th July 2013, 7:28

    I think when approximately 100% of your team motivation and performance lies in hands of your lead driver, a driver that is flattering the car on track, and you build him a car inadequate for winning the world title, I think it is rather unfair to criticize him when he goes all classy eyed over the prospect of having a good car. Montezemolo, get over yourself, you are not Enzo Ferrari and should thank God every day that the remarkable driver that is Fernando Alonso is driving for a team that is technically falling into the same pit as Williams…

    1. The car is more than adequate. Up until a few races ago it had been the strongest package out there but Alonso failed to capitalise.

      Last year his car was strong from Barcelona onwards. Sure it wasn’t as quick as the fastest car out there (the McLaren), but its reliability was bulletproof and that enabled Alonso to challenge for the championship. Alonso had every chance to win it late last season but qualified 8th in Brazil while Massa qualified 5th, qualified 9th in Austin while Massa qualified 7th, failed to beat Raikkonen in Abu Dhabi when Vettel started from the back of the grid.

      Improve any of those things and he wins the championship.

      2010 is completely on Alonso. He had a car good enough, he wasn’t. The driver in his third full season of F1 is the only one who didn’t crack under pressure late in the season.

      You go through Alonso’s career and it’s always the car according to his fans or he’s getting out-driven by a team-mate. 2004 beaten by Trulli, 2005 the McLaren was faster but unreliable (Kimi was best driver that year), 2006 Alonso wins due to Renault cheating with mass damper, 2007 can’t beat his rookie team-mate, so on and so on.

      1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
        30th July 2013, 15:45

        Ok lets see;
        04 – beaten by not much by Trulli midseason, rest of the year performed equally or Alonso better.
        05 – Alonso a lot more consistent than Kimi, and fastest when he needed to. I’ll agree though that Kimi was better a few races during midseason 05.
        10 – new team, _very_ high expectations, much higher than for little Vettel (oh sorry for that ‘little’)
        07 – new team, new car, completly new tires and driving style, still more or less on par with Lewis, but as you pointed out he didnt beat him.

        Anyways, I really think 2006 was his best ever season, qualified great, massively good at races, almost didn’t do any mistake. 2012 was his 2nd best, imo.

      2. It was hardly Alonso’s fault for failing to capitalize on the car’s performance earlier this season. He did all he was expected to do and above that. As for last year, are you serious? The car was never good enough and just because Massa had a few better performances it doesn’t mean anything. Not to mention that with these crappy tires, you either focus on Qualifying or the Race. You have to sacrifice either to gain an advantage for the other. Alonso is by far the best driver in the last couple of years and only an idiot would refuse to see that. You give 2007 as an example, wow… the season in which McLaren failed to realize they have a 2 times world champion and a rookie in its team, and instead of maintaining a hierarchy, they let them fight each other, support their rookie driver more than their champion driver, and ultimately lose out because of that. Very similar to Williams in 86… Keep fooling yourself, it obviously blinds you to the facts that make you feel uncomfortable.

        1. instead of maintaining a hierarchy, they let them fight each other, support their rookie driver more than their champion driver

          That’s a completely unreasonable criticism when you realise that for most of the season Hamilton was leading Alonso in the points. And that Alonso joined the team in the full knowledge that McLaren expect to have two number one drivers.

          1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
            31st July 2013, 8:04

            Keith, wasn’t Mclarens management and especially Ron, Alonso problem, during his time there? ..And actually not either lewis or his speed or even his side of the garage in general?

          2. @il-ferrarista I’m not interested in having yet another argument about 2007, I’m just pointing out that the preceding comment was pushing the rather unrealistic idea that if McLaren were going to start backing one of their drivers that year it was going to be the one with fewer points than the other.

    2. Why is it that, no matter what results little Alonso delivers, people feel compelled to claim that he is always and forever “flattering the performance of his car”?

    3. I think ALO is replaceable not by anyone but still. He is a great driver who competes with the top because he can drive 60 quail-like-laps during a race. But he isn’t the best qualifier and he is not excelling in car development. Vettel and Hamilton have better track records where their cars improved during a season and their quail-stats speak for themselves. The development argument is very fuzzy because it also depends on team structures – but I think you can’t exclude the driver from the equation.

  48. LDM should stick to trying to be a politician or better to just go to parties and tout his arrogance to other egos that help massage it. Leave the man to complain since he is right about Ferrari, nothing Fernando seems to have said post race, needs a response like this. Other than the fact that LDM has a bruised ego.

  49. What is worst? Alonso criticism on the car¿?, or LCDM rebuking Alonso for criticism?

  50. The irony of LdM advising people ‘avoid polemics’…

  51. Gerry (@coloradoblues)
    30th July 2013, 10:23

    Hi to all fans :)

    i don’t get the time to read all comments therefore i may be repeting or be abvious on somebody else comments.
    I’m italian and let me tell you 1 or 2 things about ,,,,Italians …. or Italian team in this istance , also i apologise before hand for my english as a spelling and form hope you can get what i’m trying to say.

    First ldm do not deserve capital letters , in the Italians view is an ******* , call him luca only the rest is a titol not a surname , is the same as for the British to call him luca the lord , duke or whatever of montezemolo , montezemolo is a place and he belong to a long time dead aristocratic ‘s world and still living in a cocoon , in italy nobody and i say nobody can’t stand him , he talked out of his bottom , if you can really understand what come out of his mouth you will be in doubt even that he is a real person or a joke , fanatic , selfish , arrogant , a bit like the Ferrari family itself , believe me they think to be in controll of everything they really thing to be the one and only reality , belittle others is very common for them , that how they had built their myth , therefore when they ‘re in difficulty to lose this sense of controll they then come out with the most orrifing story and comments.

    luca give out to Alonso ???? if he had a sight long enough to be able to see over is nose , he would have take Massa last year , at least last year , and said something about , last year Massa wasn’t there at tall , all he ‘d had to do was finish in one race out of how many there were , one race only between is team mate and Vettel and the championship would have been in the hand of Alonso ..

    ciao a tutti

  52. LdM is right. He should have rebuked Alonso ages ago. This season, Ferrari had a very competitive car in the first 5 races, easily the best package, and yet Alonso failed to maximize the car’s potential. If he did, he would have had 30-40 more points than he does.

    1. That is irrelevant, the same way Alonso was not perfect in some races this year, the team has not been perfect in many many times before. It works both ways and the important thing is that Ferrari is lost when it comes to the car development. What is the point of having a great car in the first 5 races if the next 14 your car will be fighting for 7th and 8th?, because that the place where the F138 belongs right now.

      Is easy to blame Alonso for everything.

      1. It’s not irrelevant. If Alonso maximized the potential of the car and didn’t make any mistakes, he would have been very close to Vettel now. If Ferrari are competitive in the second half of the season, he would need those lost 30-40 points. My point is, Alonso has no room to complain when he’s been far from flawless this season. Ar best, he’s only the 4th best driver this season behind Vettel, Hamilton, and Kimi.

        1. I am curious in one thing.
          If Alonso really doesn’t deliver, then Massa is absolutely talentless.
          If so, then how Massa could beat Schumacher Itself? I know the answer – Michael wasn’t an F1-driver.
          Irrational judgement, so as your’s, Lance.

          1. @slava – Except Massa didn’t beat Schumacher. Massa was 3rd in the WC, Schumacher 2nd, a good 40 points (under the old points sysytem) ahead, with 7 wins to 2.

  53. I think Alonso was pacient for too long with Ferrari, and they are in no position to “tweak his ear”. He is a fantastic driver, a two times World Champion and Ferrari are luck to have him. I believe they would be in even deeper **** withouth him…

  54. Andrew Simmons
    30th July 2013, 18:48

    ‘Nobody is bigger than the team’. Well im sorry, ‘No team is bigger than criticism’. Alonso has been the best driver over the past 3 seasons. He hasn’t had the best car, there is always at least 3 cars better than him. The fact he won 11 races with a further 24 podiums but took just 4 poles. Hell he should be renamed Fifthnando because thats all the car is capable of on a saturday.

    Ive supported alonso since I was 11 back in 2001, and I cant stand Ferrari. It was devils advocate, accepting its the only way forward after he threw his dummy out in 2007. Now, as a fan of Alonso; I sincerely hope he leaves Ferrari. Even if it means never winning another championship again. Id rather him be a superb double world champion who missed out on being 4WDC than stick with Ferrari or jump ship to the tin can team.

  55. To my mind, LdM has right to admonish Alonso.
    Yes, at this point of a year Ferrari is nowhere. But I am sure Alonso knew that the team is going to sign Allison. Then there is no point in saying what Alonso said. There is still half of a championship in front, and Allison is going to work from 1 September with Ferrari (after Gran Prix of Belgium).
    Perhaps, Alonso’s patience has finished. Or there is something more in all this…stuff.
    Or, apparently, it’s much ado about nothing.

  56. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
    30th July 2013, 23:00

    Hire Michael Schumacher back in, as a no.2? Yeah seriously, what do you think?

  57. Seems like i’m starting to remember kimi’s days at ferrari. Its better for Alonso to eat some icecream in the garage, maybe that will cool down LDM….

Comments are closed.