Felipe, Fernando is Faster Because Of You.

[KekeTheKing]

Again!

There's a lot to be gleaned by comparing and contrasting the way Ferrari and McLaren run their teams. And kristi's post was certainly worthy of reply.

It shouldn't be unreasonable to mention McLaren when observing the prevalence of a very different dynamic within the Ferrari team.

edit - this post in regards to the state of the thread before the latest raft of posts.

double edit - Blame Ray!

 

[FB]

I can understand the desire to compare and contrast and appreciate that the original post drew comparisons with other drivers. My concern was that, as with many (most?) threads on here the discussion always seems to veer towards Mclaren and their drivers and, just for once, it would nice if this could be avoided.

Back on topic - I have to agree that Massa's form is making Fernando look even better than the undoubtedly talented driver that he is. His drive on Sunday was typical of the man - fast, with few (any?) mistakes and the team certainly played their part in making his victory. As I mentioned else where the problem for Ferrari is that the bar has now been set very high and one wonders if the car, or Fernando, will be capable of similar feats this season unless they make significant improvements. Shame Perez made a mistake though.

As for Felipe, don't you just want to tousle his hair and say "There, there. Never mind"?

 

[KekeTheKing]

the problem for Ferrari is that the bar has now been set very high and one wonders if the car, or Fernando, will be capable of similar feats this season

Fernando made sure to tell people that the bar only rose due to the influx of massive amounts of water. His comments should go a long way in tempering Tifosi expectations.

 

[RickD]

Ninja your missing my points.
There's not a driver or team principle currently in the sport doesn't know that Alonso is capable of extracting a hell of a lot more performance from a car than it deserves which is precisely what we've seen in the last two GP's. They always say you should compare a driver to his teammate, they are after all in identical cars. That speaks for itself.
The other point I'd make is this, and it's the reason I mentioned Hamilton. If that had been Lewis in an underperforming McLaren you'd be singing his praises for all to hear. All I'm saying is forget your favorites and biases and appreciate what we all witnessed on Sunday.

Sorry, did you say identical cars?!? Felipe could wish for an identical car to Fernando until the cows come home, he hasn't got one though..

 

[KekeTheKing]

Felipe could wish for an identical car to Fernando until the cows come home, he hasn't got one though..

So the "new" chassis for this weekend was actually an "old" and "different" one? I hadn't heard that.

 

[Brogan]

Sorry, did you say identical cars?!? Felipe could wish for an identical car to Fernando until the cows come home, he hasn't got one though..

A highly ironic post considering your stance on conspiracy theories involving a certain other team and driver.

I haven't seen anything anywhere about Alonso and Massa having different spec' cars.

It is simply down to ability; Alonso has lots of it, Massa doesn't.

 

[FB]

Fernando made sure to tell people that the bar only rose due to the influx of massive amounts of water. His comments should go a long way in tempering Tifosi expectations.

But when has the truth got in the way of the expectations of the Tifosi?

 

[KekeTheKing]

But when has the truth got in the way of the expectations of the Tifosi?

I guess you've got me there.

 

[FB]

Perhaps reality is a better word than truth.

 

[RickD]

A highly ironic post considering your stance on conspiracy theories involving a certain other team and driver.

I haven't seen anything anywhere about Alonso and Massa having different spec' cars.

It is simply down to ability; Alonso has lots of it, Massa doesn't.

I'm sorry, didn't they change Felipes chassis for Malaysia to match that of Fernandos? I'm sure I heard it a couple of time throughout the weekend as the one he had in Aus was totally different?

So in this case, it is not a conspiracy, it is simply the way Ferrari operate.

 

[Brogan]

No, they just gave him a new chassis to rule out any potential issues with the original one.

I think the phrase "clutching at straws" could be applied to Ferrari's actions in this instance.

IMO, the sooner they offload him, the better for the team.
They need a much stronger second driver.

 

[KekeTheKing]

IMO, the sooner they offload him, the better for the team.
They need a much stronger second driver.

Maybe Maranello is happy with this situation though?

It's already highly unlikely that they'll win the WCC. If they place all their eggs in Fernando's basket then there is an outside chance they can fight their way to a WDC. Especially when other teams will be taking points off each other.

 

[Brogan]

They may not be in a position to win the WCC, but every additional point they get from their second driver moves them further up the standings, and as we all know, where you finish determines how much prize money you get.

Ferrari will want someone who at best will finish races just behind Alonso, taking points off other drivers in the process.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Ferrari will want someone who at best will finish races just behind Alonso, taking points off other drivers in the process.

Like on Sunday, you mean?

 

[RasputinLives]

Raging debate on this one! My point in the article is that the last thing Fernando would want is a new team mate taking away from the focus on him and his drive. To answer Kiwi's question about whether I really think Fernando needs an under performing team-mate to make him look good. No I don't but my point was with Massa coming in the low teens all the time any time Alonso scores a 5th or above he gets praised to high heaven and not only is that great for his confidence but it takes the pressure off allowing him to just focus on what he's doing rather than thinking about expectations. If he had a team-mate coming in just behind him the questions of why he's not further up the field would soon start.

I think if Ferrari were thinking about their team status they'd have to bring one in but due to them having a sentimental attachment to Massa and a desire to not upset Fernando they'll have Fellipe in the car until the end of the season but unless he completes some sort of amazing comeback I think that might be it for Massa.

As for those saying get Perez in that Ferrari I'll say this to you. Why on earth would Sergio Perez want to risk his career by moving to Ferrari now mid season? Why move over to them when they are struggling with a car he will have no chance to test and has no input into the design of? Say he does and ends up getting the same results as Massa? The publicity tide would soon turn on him. No safest thing for Sergio is to sign a nice fat contract to be in that Ferrari for 2013, spend the rest of the season being praised to death for drives in the Sauber and then start the hard work in the winter at Ferrari where at least he can attempt to influence the team and give him a chance of being on terms with Alonso.

 

[Boyle]

Felipe's performances over the last couple of years have no doubt hidden that Ferrari's true performance and flattered Fernando somewhat. However, that is not to take away from Alonso's sterling drives. I can't help but feel that Massa has never recovered from Hungary 2009 - whether this is due directly with slowed reactions caused by the head injury or a confidence issue when driving an F1 car (no doubt exasperated by Hockenheim 2010). I wonder if Ferrari have kept Felipe due to sentiment rather than any other factor. I think everyone would be surprised if this wasn't his last season at Maranello.

Fernando no doubt likes being the number 1 driver in a team but I'm sure himself and Ferrari would, like Bro says, want a second driver to take points off the others and even be capable of winning if Alonso finds himself out of the race. Ferrari have historically operated with the 1-2 driver structure so I doubt they'd change this unless they employed someone exceptional.

Whether Alonso would want a teammate that would directly challenge his number 1 status within the team is a different matter, the answer to which only he himself knows.

 

[Brogan]

Whether Alonso would want a teammate that would directly challenge his number 1 status within the team is a different matter, the answer to which only he himself knows.

Must....resist....obvious....response.

 

[Boyle]

Must....resist....obvious....response.

Almost took the bait

 

[OnTheLimit]

But the Ferrari was as quick as anything on all the long runs in the dry in practice too. Have you considered that?

Ferrari were quick on the long runs but nowhere near quick enough to trouble Mclaren or Red Bull. The car was decent in the wet but ultimately it was Alonso's (often underrated) wet weather driving and skill that won him the race.

The flaws of the Ferrari F150 were clear for everyone to see near the end of the Malaysian GP when Perez was closing in at an alarming rate.

There's no point claiming you don't want to take anything away from Alonso and then add a BUT on the end and downgrade Alonso's win. Its like saying to someone 'no offense' BUT..then offending them anyway

 

[kristi]

I think Alonso learned from his time at Renault and at McLaren that, if you want to win championships, then the best way to go about doing that is to have a team focus their design and engineering efforts around his driving style and then have the track operations side of things (like Q3 and pitstop timing) optimized to maximize his race chances.

I won't bring the other team's drivers into this but the last thing Alonso would want is some sort of dilution of effort that afflicted RBR (notably in 2010) and McLarens since the latest pairing partnered up.

If Perez can get beaten by Kobayashi from time to time, what would Alonso do to him in the remainder of 2012?

My advice to Checo would be to bide his time in the same manner that Alonso did in the early 2000s when he had a chance to sign as Number 2 Ferrari driver to Schumacher.

Checo has a very promising 10 years ahead of him. Why brutalize it by being a Number 2 driver who wouldn't get the focus and the optimization of effort that Alonso would get in his WDC efforts this year or next?

Let's pretend that Alonso has some outside chance of splitting the McLaren drivers in this year's title, especially after their Barca upgrade. Under that scenario, does anyone honestly think Checo would get optimized service at even the slightest of disadvantage to Alonso's WDC challenge?

Perez should try to dismantle Koba first. Remember, Ayrton waited until his 5th season to take on Alain straight up. By 2015 Alonso will be older and slightly past his prime and, by then, Checo's race craft will be that much sharper. It's at that moment that he should go in and strike at the heart of Alonso.