Ferrari 150° Italia

[Sean H]

And I agree, if it wasn't for a poor start, Alonso is on the podium. The poor start wasn't the cars fault.

Well on raw pace Button also had him beat and Webber was at least comparable, so if we're going to look at all the ifs then he'd still have been 4th or 5th.

Alonso race pace was equal to or better than both Buttons and Webers. Button had one less pit stop as well. (although did have the penalty for cutting the corner). Button couldn't pass a slow Massa without resorting to cheating the track.

My point was that a driver error cost Ferrari more points than the setup did. A perfect race probably puts them in 3rd today, a start mistake puts them at 4th.

[hollowBallistix]

And I agree, if it wasn't for a poor start, Alonso is on the podium. The poor start wasn't the cars fault.

Well on raw pace Button also had him beat and Webber was at least comparable, so if we're going to look at all the ifs then he'd still have been 4th or 5th.

Alonso race pace was equal to or better than both Buttons and Webers. Button had one less pit stop as well. (although did have the penalty for cutting the corner). Button couldn't pass a slow Massa without resorting to cheating the track.

My point was that a driver error cost Ferrari more points than the setup did. A perfect race probably puts them in 3rd today, a start mistake puts them at 4th.

Button did pass Massa a second time, with no drama.

He didn't cheat the track either, on the corner prior to the incident Button had his nose in front, Massa just held the line and forced him down the slip road, then Ferrari again with their tactics & team orders allowed Alonso to pass Massa & then the team pitted Massa, which ultimately fixed the decision to become a drive through penalty for Button, very harsh indeed especially as they asked the FIA for clarification straight away but had no response.

Simple fact is the Ferrari isn't on the same outright pace as the McLarens and even further away from the Red Bulls !!

[myurr]

Alonso race pace was equal to or better than both Buttons and Webers. Button had one less pit stop as well. (although did have the penalty for cutting the corner). Button couldn't pass a slow Massa without resorting to cheating the track.

Button easily had better pace than Alonso, he was just out of position for most of the race. Don't forget that Button was as fast or faster than Alonso on pure lap times despite stopping one less times for tyres.

My point was that a driver error cost Ferrari more points than the setup did. A perfect race probably puts them in 3rd today, a start mistake puts them at 4th.

A perfect race would only have gotten them 3rd had others still had poor races, so if we're going to do perfect races then Alonso was only ever going to finish 4th or 5th. Both Webber and Button qualified ahead don't forget.

Alonso made a mistake in getting caught out wide in turn 1, but that doesn't outweigh the fact that the car was abysmal by their standards and relative to their expectations. They weren't even close to being the second fastest car with either driver.

And I say all that as someone who doesn't like Alonso.

[vall]

the Ferrari was not that much off the pace on Friday, but slipped back of Suturday. The others improved their time Fri -> Sat more thgat Ferrari did? Anyone read something about why was so?

[mx_tifoso]

The problem on Saturday was that with the short stints to set quick times the tyres weren't heating up sufficiently. As far I understood it.

But the car has plenty of potential, it's just that the cool weather plus the cars characteristics didn't add up on for qualy.

[myurr]

the Ferrari was not that much off the pace on Friday, but slipped back of Suturday. The others improved their time Fri -> Sat more thgat Ferrari did? Anyone read something about why was so?

I read that they changed the setup over night and then had to revert to the Friday setup as it wasn't working.

My personal belief is that Ferrari's pace WAS that bad. The second McLaren of Button was all over the back of the second Ferrari in the first stint, so I would put him at approx 1 - 2 seconds faster. Alonso was only closing on that pair at about half a second a lap. Throughout the rest of the race the Ferrari were always on fresher tyres and weren't having to conserve them, thanks to the three stopper. That Button could still match their pace and overtake Massa shows the advantage in my view.

[myurr]

The problem on Saturday was that with the short stints to set quick times the tyres weren't heating up sufficiently. As far I understood it.

But the car has plenty of potential, it's just that the cool weather plus the cars characteristics didn't add up on for qualy.

I should add that I too expect them to fair better at the next race. I think their car is solid if unspectacular, but Red Bull and probably McLaren look set to remain out of reach.

[Formula None]

[AbbaleRacing77]

Were we watching the same race? im pretty sure i watched alonso reel in and pass mclaren and redbull. Not to mention set fastest lap a number of times on a consistent basis. They do have some tire issues they need to work on but 9th to 4th is damn good and definately not bad pace. Massa is a different story he might of had some issues. We'll find out next race.

[hollowBallistix]

Were we watching the same race? im pretty sure i watched alonso reel in and pass mclaren and redbull. Not to mention set fastest lap a number of times on a consistent basis. They do have some tire issues they need to work on but 9th to 4th is damn good and definately not bad pace. Massa is a different story he might of had some issues. We'll find out next race.

Really ? Alonso only passed Button because of his drive through Penalty, can't ever remembering him passing a McLaren on-track to gain 4th

[kemalcan]

Were we watching the same race? im pretty sure i watched alonso reel in and pass mclaren and redbull. Not to mention set fastest lap a number of times on a consistent basis. They do have some tire issues they need to work on but 9th to 4th is damn good and definately not bad pace. Massa is a different story he might of had some issues. We'll find out next race.

yeah not a lot of people watching with following live timing. fanboy remarks.

[Goran2812]

Were we watching the same race? im pretty sure i watched alonso reel in and pass mclaren and redbull. Not to mention set fastest lap a number of times on a consistent basis. They do have some tire issues they need to work on but 9th to 4th is damn good and definately not bad pace. Massa is a different story he might of had some issues. We'll find out next race.

yeah not a lot of people watching with following live timing. fanboy remarks.

+1

alonso's times through all three sectors were very purple at different times in the race... the car has speed... the circumstances were just wrong this weekend...

[i70q7m7ghw]

That'll be down to tyres, Perez was setting purples at one point when he was on fresh rubber. McLaren were clearly ahead of Ferrari at Melbourne. However, I wouldn't count Ferrari out just yet, I can't honestly believe that testing pace was all showboating...

Malaysia will tell.

[godlameroso]

Can we talk about the car and keep the fanatics where they belong? It's obvious the Ferrari is lacking downforce relative to McLaren and RedBull, and if they're citing grip then it's a matter of downforce, specifically rear downforce. Red Bull seems to make the most rear downforce, or maybe it distributes its downforce more effectively. I'm sure Ferrari could crank up the downforce, but they would run into balance issues, perhaps the Red Bull has balance issues and their drivers are just that good.

[bot6]

I think the difference is that with the bendy wing, RBR can have massive downforce at the back and still have a balanced car since they have equally massive downforce at the front.

Ferrari seem to be a bit down on front downforce and therefore are having a harder time tuning the car. Add to that some issues with the KERS and brake balance, which is surely not helping with the tires as it makes the back of the car twitchy...

I think the car is fundamentally a good base, as the times in testing were consistent. But they have a lot of tune up work to do to make all the bits click together. RBR's absence of KERS this weekend was a blessing in disguise for them as they had one less thing to worry about on the first race, but I think once everything comes together in 2-3 races, Ferrari will fight back with a vengeance.