Re: 2015 Malaysian GP - Sepang International Circuit - Race Thread Quote:
Originally Posted by Hatari To say he is even partly responsible for Ferrari's struggle is incorrect.
He almost won the title in his first year at Ferrari. His fan following, which was second only to Schumacher without winning a single WDC speaks for itself.
This is a misconception of his years spent at Ferrari, similar to Indian fans backlash after not winning the Cup!
If you can explain any of the questions I raised in my earlier post, we can debate this. |
I am not sure how fan following can be a factor in this discussion. Ferrari fans typically get behind their drivers always. So why is that important here?
Let me respond to some of your questions Quote:
Originally Posted by Hatari Alonso's direction contradicts one that should result in more downforce/build better windtunnels/more horsepower?
So Button & Hamilton were to blame for McLaren's 2013 lemon? Vettel was brilliant at providing direction but not in 2014? |
I did not suggest that anywhere. There's a lot more to it than wind tunnels and horsepower. Everything has to work together in a package. And driver is part of that package. With the driver comes the drivability aspects of the car, which is subjective based on how a driver 'feels' the car. If the driver doesn't feel confident in the car, he will not be able to take the car to its limit. When it suits, a driver can outdrive the car itself. Usually a good indicator would be if both the drivers are able to extract maximum out of a same car. It doesn't help the larger picture, having Alonso finishing in third in races when other driver struggles to make it to the points, when the team's goal should be to maximize points for both their drivers (especially important for a manufacturer team like Ferrari) which would then help them fight for both championships. It also didn't help with Alonso insisting on having a second-tier driver like Massa as the other driver.
Teams want results at the end of the day. That's why you see Ferrari had no issue in bringing Kimi back, who they got rid first by paying him not to drive for them in 2010, and now McLaren have no issue in taking Alonso back, who actually took them to court and made them cough up 100 million dollars back in 2008. Only results count at the end of the day, that's how F1 teams function. Quote:
Originally Posted by Hatari Engineers build cars. Drivers set them up in races as per their driving styles. Now how often does Alonso get his race pace wrong? |
Exactly. Engineers build cars, but drivers do give inputs after trying them on track, which can then help engineers further to build on and improve. If the car was built to suit Alonso's driving style and with his inputs, it should be no surprise that he had a good race pace compared to his team mates. Again, make no mistake, i do rate Alonso as a driver very highly, so this discussion is not about Alonso as a driver. Quote:
Originally Posted by Hatari Cmon now. Ferrari admitted they screwed up, the Chairman lost his job because he wasnt allocating enough resources to the F1 project.. as simple as that. They then spent $100 million odd more building upto this year, and look where the car is. |
They always had enough to spend on F1, and that can't be a reason. How they spent their millions, yes - that can be questioned and debated. But the key is, they don't have Alonso in the team now, which only adds more fuel. If Alonso knew that this year's car would be better, why did he leave? I believe he was forced to leave (or forced into making a decision sooner than he would have liked - when Ferrari announced they are bringing Vettel in - however you want to look at it).
Bottom line is - Ferrari-Alonso partnership ultimately didn't work out, and it was in best interest of both parties to move on and start afresh. I believe Alonso as the lead driver of Ferrari, has to share some responsibility for lack of success in 5 years with Ferrari. We are free to disagree on this and that's fine.
We are digressing from the topic of this thread, so it's my last post on this.
Last edited by SilentEngine : 30th March 2015 at 13:44.
Reason: Fixed quotes
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