Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team 2015

[windwaves]

yes, facts are facts and they clearly indicate what they indicate: Alonso would have been in a better position had he stayed.

The fact is also that Ferrari is still second and not in a position to challenge Mercedes for the titles and that is precisely why Alonso left. Second or last he does not seem to care.... Hence I am not sure Alonso has some obvious regrets at this stage, possibility some doubts coming more from McL awful start than Ferrari performance.

Wow, just my feelings here, but I could have never even remotely imagined either the Ferrari performance this year or the McL disaster !

On the other hand Ferrari's performance is not entirely clear: the gap to Merc is still comparable to last year and Williams has gone backwards. Renault is coming back (just a bit later than last year). Much to be seen yet.

[charlex]

yes, facts are facts and they clearly indicate what they indicate: Alonso would have been in a better position had he stayed.

The fact is also that Ferrari is still second and not in a position to challenge Mercedes for the titles and that is precisely why Alonso left. Second or last he does not seem to care.... Hence I am not sure Alonso has some obvious regrets at this stage, possibility some doubts coming more from McL awful start than Ferrari performance.

Wow, just my feelings here, but I could have never even remotely imagined either the Ferrari performance this year or the McL disaster !

On the other hand Ferrari's performance is not entirely clear: the gap to Merc is still comparable to last year and Williams has gone backwards. Renault is coming back (just a bit later than last year). Much to be seen yet.

60 laps 1-2 sec between rosberg and vettel..i dont think u seen that performance in the F14t last year

[GPR-A duplicate2]

yes, facts are facts and they clearly indicate what they indicate: Alonso would have been in a better position had he stayed.

The fact is also that Ferrari is still second and not in a position to challenge Mercedes for the titles and that is precisely why Alonso left. Second or last he does not seem to care.... Hence I am not sure Alonso has some obvious regrets at this stage, possibility some doubts coming more from McL awful start than Ferrari performance.

Wow, just my feelings here, but I could have never even remotely imagined either the Ferrari performance this year or the McL disaster !

On the other hand Ferrari's performance is not entirely clear: the gap to Merc is still comparable to last year and Williams has gone backwards. Renault is coming back (just a bit later than last year). Much to be seen yet.

60 laps 1-2 sec between rosberg and vettel..i dont think u seen that performance in the F14t last year

The right way of comparing is between best cars of both teams. Hence, the right comparison should be between Lewis and Vettel. There was day light different between the two. Last year, Alonso finished 4th, 34 seconds behind the race winning Merc of Nico. This year, before the safety car intervened, Lewis was leading Vettel's Ferrari by 20 seconds. Improved, but by how much? From 4th to 3rd (in all honesty). Ricciardo was 3rd last year and we know how much Red Bull has slipped behind this year.

[windwaves]

and Montecarlo is really a race on its own, very difficult to see performance there, heck, even Button scored the first points of the season on that yellow tricycle (no offense whatsoeve, I love japan, sushi and girls !)

[bhall II]

Admittedly, Ferrari's upturn this year has been somewhat flattered by Red Bull-Renault's ongoing struggles and McLaren-Honda's teething problems. But, the victory in Malaysia, taken largely on merit, not to mention Vettel's result in Monaco, illustrate just how far the team has progressed since last season.

The F14 T was never strong enough to really capitalize on Mercedes' weaknesses/blunders unless they were fatal; the SF15-T, on the other hand, very much is. To me, that's more indicative of relative strength than laptime comparisons that often reflect a particular strategy instead of outright potential.

So, while there's a slight grain of truth to Alonso/Briatore's ceaseless assertions that "nothing has changed," I think it's mostly sour grapes. (Especially when it comes from Flavio, who really ought to be ashamed of himself for the way he's handled Alonso's career.)

[iotar__]

yes, facts are facts and they clearly indicate what they indicate: Alonso would have been in a better position had he stayed.
The fact is also that Ferrari is still second and not in a position to challenge Mercedes for the titles and that is precisely why Alonso left. Second or last he does not seem to care.... Hence I am not sure Alonso has some obvious regrets at this stage, possibility some doubts coming more from McL awful start than Ferrari performance.
Wow, just my feelings here, but I could have never even remotely imagined either the Ferrari performance this year or the McL disaster !
On the other hand Ferrari's performance is not entirely clear: the gap to Merc is still comparable to last year and Williams has gone backwards. Renault is coming back (just a bit later than last year). Much to be seen yet.

"The gap to Merc is still comparable to last year" That's not true at all.

Simple test: Ferrari has 2015 performance in 2014. Is Alonso staying or going to McLaren? Don't lie to yourself he is staying.

[PlatinumZealot]

The comparison really have to be made in 2016. Vettel won't win the WDC this year. Alonso has enough silver in his cabinette already.

[evered7]

Alonso's biggest hope is on the Honda engine bridging the gap or eclipsing the Mercedes one. So far there has not been much indications of that happening. With Honda having even lesser amount of tokens to work with, his only hope is that the engine is not yet fully functional and when it does, it matches/beats the number put out by Mercedes.

On the Chassis front, I don't believe McLaren will surpass Mercedes/RB/Ferrari in one season. 2016 is a fresh year and as seen this current year, anything can happen.

If Briatore and Alonso can be optimistic of their chances at McLaren then the reverse is also true.

[windwaves]

Admittedly, Ferrari's upturn this year has been somewhat flattered by Red Bull-Renault's ongoing struggles and McLaren-Honda's teething problems. But, the victory in Malaysia, taken largely on merit, not to mention Vettel's result in Monaco, illustrate just how far the team has progressed since last season.

The F14 T was never strong enough to really capitalize on Mercedes' weaknesses/blunders unless they were fatal; the SF15-T, on the other hand, very much is. To me, that's more indicative of relative strength than laptime comparisons that often reflect a particular strategy instead of outright potential.

So, while there's a slight grain of truth to Alonso/Briatore's ceaseless assertions that "nothing has changed," I think it's mostly sour grapes. (Especially when it comes from Flavio, who really ought to be ashamed of himself for the way he's handled Alonso's career.)

I agree with these views, certainly with some merit. I guess the rest of the season will show us for real whether this is really a solid leap, the base for a true challenge to the top.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

I agree with these views, certainly with some merit. I guess the rest of the season will show us for real whether this is really a solid leap, the base for a true challenge to the top.

Looking at the history of how the Ferrari have developed their cars in season and the evidence of this year's in season work, it doesn't really makes for an optimistic view of what they can do for future. So called "70% new car" didn't take them any forward than where they were and so, I wouldn't be surprised if they spend whole of the year waiting for Mercedes scrap to deliver pieces to pick up, without being able to challenge them and I bet, Mercedes will continue to throw freebies at them. Let's wait for the "20-30 BHP surge in PU" that is anticipated.

The good part for Ferrari is, Honda isn't going to be there AT ALL this season (doubt if they ever will in near future) and Renault is out of depth and probably this is ALL they have. So, without any challengers from behind, they can breath easy.

On a side note, I was wondering, if Williams and Red Bulls have been as capable as last year and competed with Ferrari, where would have been Kimi in qualifying and races? Fighting the McLarens outside top 10?

[wickedz50]

I agree with these views, certainly with some merit. I guess the rest of the season will show us for real whether this is really a solid leap, the base for a true challenge to the top.

Looking at the history of how the Ferrari have developed their cars in season and the evidence of this year's in season work, it doesn't really makes for an optimistic view of what they can do for future. So called "70% new car" didn't take them any forward than where they were and so, I wouldn't be surprised if they spend whole of the year waiting for Mercedes scrap to deliver pieces to pick up, without being able to challenge them and I bet, Mercedes will continue to throw freebies at them. Let's wait for the "20-30 BHP surge in PU" that is anticipated.

The good part for Ferrari is, Honda isn't going to be there AT ALL this season (doubt if they ever will in near future) and Renault is out of depth and probably this is ALL they have. So, without any challengers from behind, they can breath easy.

On a side note, I was wondering, if Williams and Red Bulls have been as capable as last year and competed with Ferrari, where would have been Kimi in qualifying and races? Fighting the McLarens outside top 10?

Agree with your views to an extent except Kimi fighting with Mclarens. At this point of his career he would have driven a safe race like Button. Redbull and William being non-copetetive at the moment is big face saving for Ferrari. The engine and PU has improved significantly but the aero and the chasis is in the same place as it was during Alonso's era. We will have to wait for the rule changes in future to get Ferrari winning. They will pick up the bits and peices Mecs leave for them on track for the moment. The team misses Ross Brawn.

[Vasconia]

Alonso's biggest hope is on the Honda engine bridging the gap or eclipsing the Mercedes one. So far there has not been much indications of that happening. With Honda having even lesser amount of tokens to work with, his only hope is that the engine is not yet fully functional and when it does, it matches/beats the number put out by Mercedes.

On the Chassis front, I don't believe McLaren will surpass Mercedes/RB/Ferrari in one season. 2016 is a fresh year and as seen this current year, anything can happen.

If Briatore and Alonso can be optimistic of their chances at McLaren then the reverse is also true.

And 2017 will be a completely new season with the "new" engines, ,tyres, aerodinamic rules,etc. Perhaps they should wait until that season. But in 2016 they should be fighting at least for some podiums and victories.

I think that Mclaren has a great faith in its aerodinamic package with Podromou, perhaps they dont need a PU wich is better or equal to Mercedes PU. It could be enough with being not so far from its performance.

[turbof1]

I agree with these views, certainly with some merit. I guess the rest of the season will show us for real whether this is really a solid leap, the base for a true challenge to the top.

Looking at the history of how the Ferrari have developed their cars in season and the evidence of this year's in season work, it doesn't really makes for an optimistic view of what they can do for future. So called "70% new car" didn't take them any forward than where they were and so, I wouldn't be surprised if they spend whole of the year waiting for Mercedes scrap to deliver pieces to pick up, without being able to challenge them and I bet, Mercedes will continue to throw freebies at them. Let's wait for the "20-30 BHP surge in PU" that is anticipated.

A little bit over the top, don't you think? Nowadays margins are really that small that you can only gain a little bit even when you redesign 70% of the car. We are really that deep into diminishing returns.

On the other hand, they changed 70% of the car and they got to confirm the updates work. That's a huge step forward for a team that struggled the last 3 seasons with correlation. It tells me they have cured one of the major weaknesses finally. What happened in the past is of no concern, since Ferrari threw out the history and focussed on people leading it into the future.

Honestly, Ferrari did a tremendous job. They spent less tokens then Mercedes did during the winter, yet slashed the advantage Mercedes had for the major part. The advantage Mercedes has is of that magnitude it'll probably be a bit too much to haul in this year, but next year they could be on equal feet.

[bhall II]

Looking at the history of how the Ferrari have developed their cars in season and the evidence of this year's in season work, it doesn't really makes for an optimistic view of what they can do for future. So called "70% new car" didn't take them any forward than where they were and so, I wouldn't be surprised if they spend whole of the year waiting for Mercedes scrap to deliver pieces to pick up, without being able to challenge them and I bet, Mercedes will continue to throw freebies at them. Let's wait for the "20-30 BHP surge in PU" that is anticipated.

Historically, in-season development has actually been Ferrari's greatest strength, probably because that aspect of the sport tends to correlate more with a team's available resources than with creativity. The F2012, for instance, was subject to the biggest competitive turnaround I've ever seen. It went from 2.5s off the pace in preseason testing to a stone's throw away from a World Championship (which it could have delivered were it not for outside influences, like Grosjean's eerily accurate impression of a bull in a china shop at Spa).

And remember: Red Bull also brought an update of similar scale to Barcelona that more or less resulted in the same outcome.

We came here with upgrades this weekend but they didn’t give us what we were expecting, so that’s something we’ll keep working on.

We've seen that a few times this year, and I think it probably speaks more to F1's ever-tightening regulations than it does to any given team's capabilities. In other words, the rules may have finally rendered upgrades theoretical at best.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

A little bit over the top, don't you think?

I would have loved if your statement would have been true. But sadly, it is not.

Nowadays margins are really that small that you can only gain a little bit even when you redesign 70% of the car. We are really that deep into diminishing returns.

It does apply to Mercedes as well, isn't it? But, they are still moving forward, creating gap to Ferrari. SF15-T, whose early season performances evoked OVER THE TOP responses that it is a legitimate challenger to W06, but look what has happened. By their own admission, the car was supposed to be aggressively fighting with W06 with those "70% changes". Which means, the performance they were expecting, didn't come OR Mercedes outsmarted them, without major changes to the car or PU.

On the other hand, they changed 70% of the car and they got to confirm the updates work. That's a huge step forward for a team that struggled the last 3 seasons with correlation. It tells me they have cured one of the major weaknesses finally.

If their updates worked, why was Williams so close in Barcelona and Mercedes so far? Two Red Bulls beat a Ferrari fair and square in Monaco. Isn't it shameful for a team with abundant budget, that you have to regard their fixing of a fundamental flaw as an achievement?

What happened in the past is of no concern, since Ferrari threw out the history and focussed on people leading it into the future.

But what is happening currently, isn't anything different either. The gap to Mercedes is growing and with every passing weekend, people are accepting that there are no credible challengers to Merc and Ferrari is indeed has settled into second best team.
Are you readily discarding the fact that their rise to Second spot has nothing to do with Williams and Red Bull slipping back? On the basis of how they are performing, can you bet your life that IF (A BIG IF) Red Bull and McLaren resurge (just like ferrari did this year), Ferrari would still outperform them to retain the current position in the order?

Honestly, Ferrari did a tremendous job. They spent less tokens then Mercedes did during the winter, yet slashed the advantage Mercedes had for the major part. The advantage Mercedes has is of that magnitude it'll probably be a bit too much to haul in this year, but next year they could be on equal feet.

How does it matter how many tokens they spent or kept. Performance has to be the distinguishing factor and that doesn't really convinces to feel anything positive.