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By racechick
#417230
If Alonso leaves, it's likely Santander will go with him. Vettel and Kimi in the Scuderia for 2015. Interesting times indeed.


There also talk that Jules will replace Kimi.


I think that would be a good move.
By Hammer278
#417236
So if this happens, Alonso will look like the failed experiment back in Maranello.

Clearly they are trying to give the impression of 'starting fresh' by ditching the failed experiment for a poorer driver with better records.

Trying times at Ferrari......makes me sad. :(


Actually feeling my avatar -->
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By racechick
#417266
Surely it's more a case of Alonso wants out? Rather than Ferrari prefer Vettel? They'd be mental to prefer Vettel....from a driving point of view.

Of course if Alonso is as difficult to work with as has been suggested( can't remember where I read it) or his claims for extortionate salary are to be believed, then in my opinion Ferrari are justified if they've made the choice.
By What's Burning?
#417297
Looks like Ferrari is throwing in the towel early this year in order to get a leg up on the 2015 season. Williams may be able to easily defend their third place constructors position.

ESPNF1 Ferrari has shifted its focus to next year's car and is bringing 2015 components to the F14 T at races in order to "track test" new ideas.

Ferrari has suffered a disappointing year after Mercedes stole a march on the rest of the field. At the Italian Grand Prix the team slipped to fourth in the constructors' championship and with six races to go development is now angled more towards 2015.

"At this stage of the season, the focus in the factory is shifting more towards next year's car," engineering director Pat Fry said. "However, there is still quite a lot we can learn from track testing, therefore we will be bringing some specific test components for next year and other developments for the F14 T, which will help our understanding for next year."

After Ferrari's weaknesses were exposed at the high-speed Monza, Formula One arrives at a very different circuit this weekend in Singapore.

"After the two races in Spa and Monza, run on low downforce circuits, we now go to Singapore which is at completely the other end of the spectrum," explains Fry. "It's a street circuit requiring very high downforce, where we will be running the soft and supersoft tyres on a track with similar characteristics to Monaco. There are hardly any high speed corners and only two turns that have combined lateral and longitudinal acceleration and therefore the challenge is more about straight line acceleration and good traction.

"Monza was a tough weekend for us, so now we are regrouping and we will keep pushing forward, concentrating on getting the best out of the package we've got. Even though it's a night race, the temperatures are still very high, in the high 20s or low 30s, which puts heavy demands on the cooling systems for the engine and the ERS. In addition, the start-stop nature of the layout puts a high loading on the brake systems, with the front brakes in particular taking a real pounding."
By CookinFlat6
#417303
was this before or after Monza I wonder. Nice excuse for similar results till the end of year. Now they have no excuse for next year

But hold on, did we not hear that Merc have been concentrating on next years cars for a while now to the point where they already know how much better than this years car it is?
By Hammer278
#417306
It's what Ferrari did towards the last quarter of 2013 as well. And also 2012. Maybe even 2011, but I can't remember that far back. This is not a new story by any means.
By CookinFlat6
#417308
very true, every year recently has been the same pattern - pre season testing is all smiles and confidence, with the Tifosi posting more and sounding knowledgeable, then the start of the season something has happened and they should recover by the middle of season, then a quarter in Alonso is b!tching about single handedly keeping the team in contention, (maybe they have contract reviews around this time?) then by Monza its a full blown crisis and the promise is deferred to next year and the pressure is off

then Alonso spends the rest of the year getting surprisingly good results for a car they 'gave up' on, and some start to suspect the car was not as bad as previously thought, and Alonso finishes the season as a super human heros who wrestled the 6th worse car on the grid to 3rd place and everyone looks forward to next year
By What's Burning?
#417323
And one of these year's they're going to get it right. I'd much rather see Lewis fighting with Alonso than see Alonso fighting with Grosjean. If we say the sport is about racing then other teams have to step up and make it about the racing. There's no reason other teams couldn't field a competitive car this year the way Mercedes did. Next year things will be closer I hope.

Someone (or two) needs to come in ahead of Nico to take away points every time Lewis' car catches fire or explodes.
By CookinFlat6
#417333
The only hope is that Alonso does go to Red Bull. Chances are he would get more out of the season than Ricc who is not as experienced. ferrari have a lot more work to do than MM originally thought. Its not just speed its a whole fundamental change needed to get them regularly at the front

Gotta be RBR at least for 2015, no one else will be getting remotely near the Merc 2015 Hybrid IMO
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By Roth
#417351
very true, every year recently has been the same pattern - pre season testing is all smiles and confidence, with the Tifosi posting more and sounding knowledgeable, then the start of the season something has happened and they should recover by the middle of season, then a quarter in Alonso is b!tching about single handedly keeping the team in contention, (maybe they have contract reviews around this time?) then by Monza its a full blown crisis and the promise is deferred to next year and the pressure is off

then Alonso spends the rest of the year getting surprisingly good results for a car they 'gave up' on, and some start to suspect the car was not as bad as previously thought, and Alonso finishes the season as a super human heros who wrestled the 6th worse car on the grid to 3rd place and everyone looks forward to next year


2010 is the only year his results improved. Every other year he has stopped having wins after Monza because of RB's improvement. Other than that he has been the model of consistency, rarely out of the top five. Infact he has made a couple of good, winning, starts to the season and relatively trailed off, but still only dropping a couple of places.
By Hammer278
#417356
The only hope is that Alonso does go to Red Bull. Chances are he would get more out of the season than Ricc who is not as experienced. ferrari have a lot more work to do than MM originally thought. Its not just speed its a whole fundamental change needed to get them regularly at the front

Gotta be RBR at least for 2015, no one else will be getting remotely near the Merc 2015 Hybrid IMO


Agreed, it would be cool to see the Fonz in blue...some sort of change at least. Plus the way RB has come back from winter testing is more than commendable. Everyone thought they were dead and buried and here they are, easily the best of the rest. If I were the Fonz, I'd jump ship to a team capable of serious performance gains in weeks after a disaster since it shows strength in depth. Ferrari look like they are needing to start the entire process from scratch, which is a 2 year project at least.
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By F2004
#417383
The only hope is that Alonso does go to Red Bull. Chances are he would get more out of the season than Ricc who is not as experienced. ferrari have a lot more work to do than MM originally thought. Its not just speed its a whole fundamental change needed to get them regularly at the front

Gotta be RBR at least for 2015, no one else will be getting remotely near the Merc 2015 Hybrid IMO


Yet another einstein pile of BS.
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By racechick
#417394
The only hope is that Alonso does go to Red Bull. Chances are he would get more out of the season than Ricc who is not as experienced. ferrari have a lot more work to do than MM originally thought. Its not just speed its a whole fundamental change needed to get them regularly at the front

Gotta be RBR at least for 2015, no one else will be getting remotely near the Merc 2015 Hybrid IMO


Yet another einstein pile of BS.


Why is it BS? You have to agree surely that going on the past five years or so Alonso would do better in a Red Bull than in a Ferrari? It's sad but it's true. And one has to assume that Alonso would at least equal and likely surpass Ricciardo given his wide skill range and experience in and out of the car.
It would be great at to see Ferrari fighting at the front again, and M&M man is trying hard and seems to be moving things in the right direction, and stick in the mud Luca has gone, but even so , it's not looking likely in the next year. So he'd be better at red Bull, the only team that's won G rand Prix this year other than Mercedes. That's just the facts.
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