Can Ferrari deliver Alonso the title?

Can Ferrari deliver Alonso the title?


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Kind of double feelings with that story.
It sounds so over the top, but with the things we've seen from Alonso, I can't say I would find it unbelievable.
 
Luca di Montezemolo is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Alonso is right to push the engineers."

I agree.
There is a difference between pushing the engineers, and bitching for the entire year what a crap car he is given aside from the fact that they gave him a podium-challenging car for just 1 less race than Red Bull. When has he given them any credit for their hard work?

Not being happy with not always having the best car is one thing, acting like a teenager who got an Audi instead of a Ferrari for her Sweet 16, is just being a spoilt brat.
 
When has he given them any credit for their hard work?

"It was an incredible race! I am very happy, for me and for the whole team: I am proud of this fantastic group of people. While we have been going through this difficult time, no one gave up, in fact everyone has doubled their efforts to try and catch up. The strategy was perfect, the mechanics did an impeccable job, the engineers did their best in preparing the car and I drove at my maximum for all 56 laps of the race."

"We definitely did not do the best job when it came to designing the car - there is still much to do – but we can be proud of how we got the most out of our potential, probably over and above the limits of the car."

"For the first time this year, we have not just been trying to limit the damage, in that we were actually aiming for the win. It's a positive sign and now we must confirm it at Valencia and Silverstone. We are definitely returning home with more confidence in our chances, because this was the most significant step forward we have made in terms of car development for a long time."

"I still remember the victory in Barcelona in 2006 and winning today in Valencia with this fantastic team, is amazing, especially when we are going through such a difficult time at the moment in Spain."

"The team took a few strategic decisions that were spot on, at the time of both stops and I knew that I had to concentrate, especially at Turn 6, defending my position by using the KERS. If I think back to where we were in Jerez, or Australia at the first race, I have to thank everyone at Maranello for the fantastic way in which they reacted to the situation.

"We must keep focussed, avoid problems with reliability or with the pit stops and I know that when it comes to that, I can count on the best team, a team that is used to winning a lot."

"If we are where we are, it's because we have always made the most of what we had and because of an excellent reliability record: it's not by chance that you get 23 consecutive points finishes. July has been a tough and stressful month, with three races and a lot of work at the factory."

"On track we manage to make the most of what we have, making few or no mistakes, thanks to great work from the team: for that alone we deserve to be where we are in the classification."
 
But Alonso has had the third or fourth best car for much of the season. It could be argued that he is still in only the third fastest car. With most teams the top management do not blame the drivers, they may say something was unfortunate but that is all. And for a manager to come out and blame the drivers when they have driven their socks of is, to put it kindly, rather silly.

Last weekend Gary Anderson commented on how easy it looked to drive the Red Bull as against how difficult it looked to drive the Ferrari.
 
"It was an incredible race! I am very happy, for me and for the whole team: I am proud of this fantastic group of people. While we have been going through this difficult time, no one gave up, in fact everyone has doubled their efforts to try and catch up. The strategy was perfect, the mechanics did an impeccable job, the engineers did their best in preparing the car and I drove at my maximum for all 56 laps of the race."

"We definitely did not do the best job when it came to designing the car - there is still much to do – but we can be proud of how we got the most out of our potential, probably over and above the limits of the car."

"For the first time this year, we have not just been trying to limit the damage, in that we were actually aiming for the win. It's a positive sign and now we must confirm it at Valencia and Silverstone. We are definitely returning home with more confidence in our chances, because this was the most significant step forward we have made in terms of car development for a long time."

"I still remember the victory in Barcelona in 2006 and winning today in Valencia with this fantastic team, is amazing, especially when we are going through such a difficult time at the moment in Spain."

"The team took a few strategic decisions that were spot on, at the time of both stops and I knew that I had to concentrate, especially at Turn 6, defending my position by using the KERS. If I think back to where we were in Jerez, or Australia at the first race, I have to thank everyone at Maranello for the fantastic way in which they reacted to the situation.

"We must keep focussed, avoid problems with reliability or with the pit stops and I know that when it comes to that, I can count on the best team, a team that is used to winning a lot."

"If we are where we are, it's because we have always made the most of what we had and because of an excellent reliability record: it's not by chance that you get 23 consecutive points finishes. July has been a tough and stressful month, with three races and a lot of work at the factory."

"On track we manage to make the most of what we have, making few or no mistakes, thanks to great work from the team: for that alone we deserve to be where we are in the classification."
Thank you.
It's a shame the main feeling that hangs in his communication over this season seems to be how horrible his car is, but in this case I'm happy to learn something new. I think Ferrari deserves more credit than many people give them.
 
We don't know what is said behind the scenes of course. But Ferrari isn't a team, hasn't been a team, where second is considered good enough, and Alonso, Domenicali and di Montezemolo are all well aware of that.

On the face of it, it sounds like Fry is attributing some of the qualifying performance to the drivers. In the specific instance, he may well be right, I don't know. But over the balance of the season Alonso has a lot more cause to rue the failings of his team than vice versa.
 
That story isn't believable in the slightest (how on earth would a journalist have known what Alonso would have been about to tweet???) but it's telling in one respect because it gives you an idea of the kind of incessant media scrutinity the team are subjected to in Italy. Everybody in the sporting press over there constantly under pressure to come up with a story on the team, real or imaginary. I seem to remember the BBC team after Spa this year reporting they had bumpped into an italian journalist who said Alonso blamed Hamilton for the crash at the start. Nothing was ever heard about it anywhere else, least of all from Alonso himself. I suppose it would have made a good story....

It can't help a team to have that kind of media barrage surrounding them, being confronted with various stories on a daily basis having to refute, confirm a thousand stories with only a fraction of them holding any truth.

Maybe that's always been the main problem at Ferrari. They're a bit like the England football manager's job.
 
Well. Turns out La Stampa is owned by FIAT. Nothing like a bit of self-generated controversy to boost circulation figures without paying a penny towards any research since you use your own team to create it. :)
 
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