#Ferrari are all set to confirm 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen as a replacement for Felipe Massa today. #Raikkonen will partner double world champion Fernando Alonso in what will easily be the strongest driver line-up in Formula One since the early 1990s. In my view this is a huge mistake on the part of Ferrari and I do not see anything good coming out of it. I also strongly believe Alonso will not stay at Ferrari post 2015.
#Alonso has had the best years of his career in Ferrari over the last 4 years even though he has failed to win the championship, albeit coming close in both 2010 and 2012. He has given all for the team and driven over the limits of the car. The only thing that has stopped Alonso from winning the titles in both years has not been Sebastian Vettel, but Ferrari itself. For him take the battle to the last race of both 2010 and 2012 was nothing short of miraculous as the car was maybe third best or second best at times. What has amazed me is Ferrari have had the same problem for 4 years, correlation problems with their wind tunnels. They have never managed to constantly improve the car over the year, but rather improve it in 2-3 races. This move by Ferrari will not impress Alonso and I feel this will dent his motivation as well. He might have made some comments over the last few months but it was only to motivate the team.
Raikkonen arriving at Ferrari will have many many benefits but somehow think the negatives will outweigh the positives. Raikkonen brings in wealth of experience and with big regulation changes for next year it will be good for the team. Raikkonen will push Alonso to the limit, thereby making him even better. One thing that will definitely help Alonso raise his qualifying game will be Raikkonen. The biggest gain will be what Ferrari looking to achieve with this pairing, the Constructors Title. This has eluded them since the Schumacher era and this will be the main focus for next year. But at what cost, Alonso??
The biggest problem Ferrari will face is both drivers taking points off each other. This will make things a lot easier for Vettel again, with his new team-mate not good enough as yet to pose any problems. Race strategies will also be compromised.
I feel that Ferrari should have gone with a driver like Nico Hulkenberg, young and super quick and will definitely push Alonso but not hamper him. Ferrari's problem stem from the top and thats what they have to fix. They need Flavio Briatore or Ross Brawn at the helm, guys who are totally efficient and leave nothing to chance. Not sure Stefano Domenciali is the man to the lead them to the next title. And when things erupt between Alonso and Raikkonen, he is definitely not going to be the man to handle it and neither is Ferrari boss Luca di Montzemolo.
So next year Ferrari will have Rory Bryne, Pat Fry, James Allison and Nicholas Tombazis working on the the 2014 challenger that will be driven by Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. On paper it sounds most exciting and I can see media talking about it all through winter to the first race in Melbourne. I for one am not jumping up and about can see Vettel taking title No. 5 next year!!
#Alonso has had the best years of his career in Ferrari over the last 4 years even though he has failed to win the championship, albeit coming close in both 2010 and 2012. He has given all for the team and driven over the limits of the car. The only thing that has stopped Alonso from winning the titles in both years has not been Sebastian Vettel, but Ferrari itself. For him take the battle to the last race of both 2010 and 2012 was nothing short of miraculous as the car was maybe third best or second best at times. What has amazed me is Ferrari have had the same problem for 4 years, correlation problems with their wind tunnels. They have never managed to constantly improve the car over the year, but rather improve it in 2-3 races. This move by Ferrari will not impress Alonso and I feel this will dent his motivation as well. He might have made some comments over the last few months but it was only to motivate the team.
Raikkonen arriving at Ferrari will have many many benefits but somehow think the negatives will outweigh the positives. Raikkonen brings in wealth of experience and with big regulation changes for next year it will be good for the team. Raikkonen will push Alonso to the limit, thereby making him even better. One thing that will definitely help Alonso raise his qualifying game will be Raikkonen. The biggest gain will be what Ferrari looking to achieve with this pairing, the Constructors Title. This has eluded them since the Schumacher era and this will be the main focus for next year. But at what cost, Alonso??
The biggest problem Ferrari will face is both drivers taking points off each other. This will make things a lot easier for Vettel again, with his new team-mate not good enough as yet to pose any problems. Race strategies will also be compromised.
I feel that Ferrari should have gone with a driver like Nico Hulkenberg, young and super quick and will definitely push Alonso but not hamper him. Ferrari's problem stem from the top and thats what they have to fix. They need Flavio Briatore or Ross Brawn at the helm, guys who are totally efficient and leave nothing to chance. Not sure Stefano Domenciali is the man to the lead them to the next title. And when things erupt between Alonso and Raikkonen, he is definitely not going to be the man to handle it and neither is Ferrari boss Luca di Montzemolo.
So next year Ferrari will have Rory Bryne, Pat Fry, James Allison and Nicholas Tombazis working on the the 2014 challenger that will be driven by Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. On paper it sounds most exciting and I can see media talking about it all through winter to the first race in Melbourne. I for one am not jumping up and about can see Vettel taking title No. 5 next year!!
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