Scuderia Ferrari 2014

[bhall II]

As someone who thinks Fernando Alonso is arguably the best driver of his generation, I still agree with many of the points raised in the article, including the assertion that Raikkonen is naturally quicker. That doesn't necessarily mean he's better, though, because success requires more from a driver.

This “interview” with his fans is only one aspect of a wider move towards openness from Alonso, which we also saw in the test at Mugello. I was very surprised to see him describe himself as not the fastest driver in F1 over a single lap. This is exactly the kind of line that is open to misinterpretation. It could easily be twisted into “Alonso: I’m not the fastest F1 driver”.

Here’s what he said, “I’m not the fastest driver in qualifying, on street circuits, in the rain or in pit stops, but I’m a 9.5 (out of 10) in all those areas and I know how to get the best from the materials at my disposal.”

[iotar__]

As someone who thinks Fernando Alonso is arguably the best driver of his generation, I still agree with many of the points raised in the article, including the assertion that Raikkonen is naturally quicker. That doesn't necessarily mean he's better, though, because success requires more from a driver.

This “interview” with his fans is only one aspect of a wider move towards openness from Alonso, which we also saw in the test at Mugello. I was very surprised to see him describe himself as not the fastest driver in F1 over a single lap. This is exactly the kind of line that is open to misinterpretation. It could easily be twisted into “Alonso: I’m not the fastest F1 driver”.

Here’s what he said, “I’m not the fastest driver in qualifying, on street circuits, in the rain or in pit stops, but I’m a 9.5 (out of 10) in all those areas and I know how to get the best from the materials at my disposal.”

This naturally anything is the most meaningless, overused description ever, I used to think it was reserved to Hamilton every time he didn't perform and was natural progression in the sequence of unfulfilled promises - from the best->the fastest->naturally talented. Now it's spreading to Raikkonen. Let's face it in this case despite overwhelming multiple examples pointing to the contrary - it means only: I like him more. You don't have to perform at all if you're the most naturally anything.

Too bad Alonso didn't specify which drivers from the past or present are faster so anyone can put anyone here. Of course Alonso also said that he's used to beating/out-qualifying his team-mates including KR.

[bhall II]

This naturally anything is the most meaningless, overused description ever, I used to think it was reserved to Hamilton every time he didn't perform and was natural progression in the sequence of unfulfilled promises - from the best->the fastest->naturally talented. Now it's spreading to Raikkonen. Let's face it in this case despite overwhelming multiple examples pointing to the contrary - it means only: I like him more. You don't have to perform at all if you're the most naturally anything.

Too bad Alonso didn't specify which drivers from the past or present are faster so anyone can put anyone here. Of course Alonso also said that he's used to beating/out-qualifying his team-mates including KR.

What part of this eluded you?

[...]
That doesn't necessarily mean he's better, though, because success requires more from a driver.

[...]

[AnthonyG]

(Via Autosport.com)

Kimi Raikkonen says the corner entry problems that have hurt his 2014 Formula 1 campaign are being compounded by a perfect storm of harder tyres and traction issues.

The Finn has faced difficulties since the start of the season in getting comfortable with his car under braking and on the turn-in to bends.

It was initially suspected that the key to overcoming this was in sorting out the new brake-by-wire systems that have changed the way that cars behave under braking this year.

But despite a huge effort by Ferrari to help Raikkonen, the Finn has been unable to turn things around and is still struggling to regularly get on the pace of team-mate Fernando Alonso.

After another difficult weekend in Austria, Raikkonen said that dealing with his problems was particularly complicated because of many factors coming together.

When asked by AUTOSPORT if the technical complexity of the 2014 cars explained why progress had been so slow, Raikkonen said: "Not really, the issues are not there.

"It's really about how the car handles, what I prefer, and the way the tyres work. It's a combination of that.

"We have a lot of work to do with the car now, and we are missing traction and we are missing a bit of grip on the mechanical side.

"We try somehow to balance it out and try to have a front end on the car, but it is very, very difficult. I hate it when there is no front end on the car.

"And right now, if we sort out the front end we lose the rear and it is trying to balance it out - and somehow get it working. We have a lot of work to do before we have good things, but for sure we will get there."

Raikkonen said that the team had experimented with a new approach in Austria to try to improve things, but it had not delivered what was expected.

"We tried something different since Saturday onwards and I don't think it made an awful lot of difference in the end," he said.

"In certain areas [in the race] it was totally missing, and it was a similar thing in qualifying - but once we decided to go way we had to stick with it."

Raikkonen has scored 19 points so far this season, and lies 12th in the drivers' standings. Team-mate Alonso has scored 79 and its fourth overall.

2 remarks:
-In a way, this car is quite suited to Alonso (who's naturaly very brutal with the front end)

-So there is a design flaw in the car that it can't be balanced out front-rear (?)

[diffuser]

Interesting artical on were the F15T might be going http://www.omnicorse.it/magazine/39371/ ... -honeywell

Btw I just use google chrome and it will automatically ask if it want any page that is not in my default language translated.

[sennaf1god.94]

Everybody should read this great piece of writing:

http://f1bias.com/2014/06/25/has-kimi-f ... -to-drive/

Especially the arm chair experts.

I would reduce that article to:

Kimi, like Vettel, misses the Blowing diffs.

Fonzo, like Ricciardo, don´t.

But if we take this as a fact, then Massa looks like the real deal. He managed to outqualify Fonzo during the last third of the 2013 Champ, all while having a car that wasn´t build around him.

Jokes aside, Massa is one of the fastest guys out there, his pole lap at Austria proved it, and his first stint racecraft was great too. His team just wanted Bottas ahead, and lasted again an ethernity changing his tyres, while beating records on the other car´s pitstop...

Also the article points at an obviousness like Fisi jumping inside the 2009 Ferrari and being trashed, something normal considering testing was forbidden and he only had a simulator day before ariving at Monza, while Raikkonen had been testing the 2014 car before even being assembled (in the simulator) and had quite a few months to work it around. So please, no chance for comparisons there.



I only can share with the author the feeling that current rules are just braking F1 appart.

[Pierce89]

(Via Autosport.com)

Kimi Raikkonen says the corner entry problems that have hurt his 2014 Formula 1 campaign are being compounded by a perfect storm of harder tyres and traction issues.

The Finn has faced difficulties since the start of the season in getting comfortable with his car under braking and on the turn-in to bends.

It was initially suspected that the key to overcoming this was in sorting out the new brake-by-wire systems that have changed the way that cars behave under braking this year.

But despite a huge effort by Ferrari to help Raikkonen, the Finn has been unable to turn things around and is still struggling to regularly get on the pace of team-mate Fernando Alonso.

After another difficult weekend in Austria, Raikkonen said that dealing with his problems was particularly complicated because of many factors coming together.

When asked by AUTOSPORT if the technical complexity of the 2014 cars explained why progress had been so slow, Raikkonen said: "Not really, the issues are not there.

"It's really about how the car handles, what I prefer, and the way the tyres work. It's a combination of that.

"We have a lot of work to do with the car now, and we are missing traction and we are missing a bit of grip on the mechanical side.

"We try somehow to balance it out and try to have a front end on the car, but it is very, very difficult. I hate it when there is no front end on the car.

"And right now, if we sort out the front end we lose the rear and it is trying to balance it out - and somehow get it working. We have a lot of work to do before we have good things, but for sure we will get there."

Raikkonen said that the team had experimented with a new approach in Austria to try to improve things, but it had not delivered what was expected.

"We tried something different since Saturday onwards and I don't think it made an awful lot of difference in the end," he said.

"In certain areas [in the race] it was totally missing, and it was a similar thing in qualifying - but once we decided to go way we had to stick with it."

Raikkonen has scored 19 points so far this season, and lies 12th in the drivers' standings. Team-mate Alonso has scored 79 and its fourth overall.

2 remarks:
-In a way, this car is quite suited to Alonso (who's naturaly very brutal with the front end)

-So there is a design flaw in the car that it can't be balanced out front-rear (?)

Alonso is NOT naturally brutal on the front end. This cliché only came about because that style unlocked a lot of speed from the 05-06 Renault-Michelin combo. If you watch his on boards from other eras, they look nothing like those years. Alonso naturally uses whatever style a car demands, that's part of what makes him so successful.

[diffuser]

I think this whole car being built around a driver is crazy. Why spend all that money on drivers then build a car only 1 can drive? Obviously they build 1 car, then setup each car to what ths driver wants. Why woul Ferrari build a car that only massa can take advantage,why not the other way?

If we learned anything from the Kimi/Massa years was that Kimi and Massa driving abilitIes are about equal. So am I suprised that Kimi is putting up Massa like numbers? absolutly not. Hey at the end of last season Grosjean was beating Kimi on a regular basis.


Kimi's signing was a mistake.. Grosjean or Hulk would have beenbetter. The Ferrari play it safe attitude allowed the Kimi sighning. What they fail to understand is they get paid to recognise the Ricciardos before they are discovered. Anybody could have thought of signing kimi. Bringing Bianchi or Hulk forward was the right move.

[Cam]

Agreed. Ferrari now have two mature drivers, one of whom is probably leaving next year, the other must surely be contemplating the same. Even with Massa, there was no long term structure planned - at least from the outside perspective.

A great young junior would have been a good move, both to offset an Alonso departure and to ensure the 'old boys' are adapting well enough to the new formula.

[diffuser]

Agreed. Ferrari now have two mature drivers, one of whom is probably leaving next year, the other must surely be contemplating the same. Even with Massa, there was no long term structure planned - at least from the outside perspective.

A great young junior would have been a good move, both to offset an Alonso departure and to ensure the 'old boys' are adapting well enough to the new formula.

There is a history between JA and FA. They won together at Renault in 2005 and 6. The only team that FA could go to is another team he has a history with, that isn't a pleasant one with RD. Not to mention that Merc raped McLaren and have stolen their best people. I'm not sure how long it's going to take McLaren to catch up. While at now at Ferrari, JA built pretty nice cars the last few years at Renault with scraps. I'm expecting a step up in aero next year and chassis. While if Ferrari doesn't have the best engine for 2015 the difference should be negligible.

[Sasha]

So was Brawn finally hired? He was at the plant this week!
Rumor is they are throwing big dollars at him to run the team!

[Rikhart]

I think this whole car being built around a driver is crazy. Why spend all that money on drivers then build a car only 1 can drive? Obviously they build 1 car, then setup each car to what ths driver wants. Why woul Ferrari build a car that only massa can take advantage,why not the other way?

If we learned anything from the Kimi/Massa years was that Kimi and Massa driving abilitIes are about equal. So am I suprised that Kimi is putting up Massa like numbers? absolutly not. Hey at the end of last season Grosjean was beating Kimi on a regular basis.


Kimi's signing was a mistake.. Grosjean or Hulk would have beenbetter. The Ferrari play it safe attitude allowed the Kimi sighning. What they fail to understand is they get paid to recognise the Ricciardos before they are discovered. Anybody could have thought of signing kimi. Bringing Bianchi or Hulk forward was the right move.

You haven´t really paid much attention to F1 the last couple of years, have you?

[diffuser]

I think this whole car being built around a driver is crazy. Why spend all that money on drivers then build a car only 1 can drive? Obviously they build 1 car, then setup each car to what ths driver wants. Why woul Ferrari build a car that only massa can take advantage,why not the other way?

If we learned anything from the Kimi/Massa years was that Kimi and Massa driving abilitIes are about equal. So am I suprised that Kimi is putting up Massa like numbers? absolutly not. Hey at the end of last season Grosjean was beating Kimi on a regular basis.


Kimi's signing was a mistake.. Grosjean or Hulk would have beenbetter. The Ferrari play it safe attitude allowed the Kimi sighning. What they fail to understand is they get paid to recognise the Ricciardos before they are discovered. Anybody could have thought of signing kimi. Bringing Bianchi or Hulk forward was the right move.

You haven´t really paid much attention to F1 the last couple of years, have you?

I have, I presume you are referring to the squabble between LDM and FA ?

[Bob Brown]

Sad day

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114785


But knew it would come sooner or later.
Hope to see him in Le Mans, RallyCross, etc... in the future. Always fighting for the win!

[Bob Brown]

I think this whole car being built around a driver is crazy. Why spend all that money on drivers then build a car only 1 can drive? Obviously they build 1 car, then setup each car to what ths driver wants. Why woul Ferrari build a car that only massa can take advantage,why not the other way?

If we learned anything from the Kimi/Massa years was that Kimi and Massa driving abilitIes are about equal. So am I suprised that Kimi is putting up Massa like numbers? absolutly not. Hey at the end of last season Grosjean was beating Kimi on a regular basis.


Kimi's signing was a mistake.. Grosjean or Hulk would have beenbetter. The Ferrari play it safe attitude allowed the Kimi sighning. What they fail to understand is they get paid to recognise the Ricciardos before they are discovered. Anybody could have thought of signing kimi. Bringing Bianchi or Hulk forward was the right move.

You think Bianchi or Hulk or Grosjean would have gotten much more out of this crap car Ferrari this year? You must be in la la land!

Look at Grosjean being frustrated in a --- car and doing nothing with it but complaining on the radio.
Bianchi is doing decent but still a backmarker compared to what other great drivers have done in --- cars from the back of the grid.
Hulk might have been a good option, but the whole weight thing would've just made it worse until the new rules. At best, he would've gotten almost the same results as Kimi did this year so far with all that bad luck.