2010 F1 season preview: Ferrari

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Ferrari's Santander deal has brought Fernando Alonso to the team

Ferrari’s 2009 campaign was their least successful since 1993 and left the team with a lot of wounded pride.

But they could put that behind them very quickly in 2010 with a competitive-looking car and a strong new driver line-up.

Car design

So far the F10 has looked like the car Ferrari need it to be – a substantial step forward over the F60.

Last year’s car started the season without a double diffuser. The layout of its gearbox prevented the team exploiting the rules as effectively as rivals such as Brawn could. Ferrari were livid about the FIA’s verdict in favour of double diffusers and were still criticising the decision when they launched this year’s car.

Ferrari cut their losses with the F60 early last year to concentrate on the F10. Significantly, aero chief John Iley who was responsible for the F60 left during last season.

Like several other 2010 cars it features the distinctive ‘high nose’ look of the RB5. Rumour has it it also features an engine which is mounted at a slight angle to free up more room for the diffuser (though they are not necessarily the only team to have tried this).

Ferrari have oozed quiet confidence since testing began. They’ve not concerned themselves with topping the times every day, have done a lot of long runs, and covered 500km more than any other team. They’ve looked particularly competitive on long runs.

Driver line-up

If all goes according to plan this season should mark Fernando Alonso’s return to a regular front-running car after two years in the midfield at Renault.

It’s a fresh start after enduring Renault’s miserable performance last year, compounded by the unravelling of the Singapore scandal. He drove some of his greatest races in 2006 to defeat Ferrari – can he produce the same levels of excellence now he’s wearing red?

Felipe Massa, meanwhile, is making a recovery of a different kind as he makes his return to F1 racing following the head injuries he suffered in Hungary last year.

Prior to that crash Massa was a on a clear upward trajectory. He emerged from Kimi Raikkonen’s shadow in 2008 to lead the team’s title fight against McLaren, and had some good races in the improving F60 before his crash.

The question now is whether his injury and enforced absence from the cockpit has blunted his edge. There’s no doubting his hunger to return to action, though – he’s seized every opportunity to drive one of Ferrari’s fleet of older F1 cars during the off-season.

Strengths

A very strong-looking car and two competitive drivers: the basic ingredients are very sound.

Ferrari’s capacity to develop a car during the scene has always been strong – after all, the F60 did win a race in the end. It has been bolstered this year by the addition of a new simulator.

Weaknesses

Post-Schumacher Ferrari have continued to win races and championships but have not scaled the heights of performance they reached in 1999-2004. There are signs they haven’t quite settled down yet.

As well as Iley’s departure last year Luca Baldisseri was relieved of his track-side duties following some errors in qualifying sessions which left Massa and Raikkonen stranded in Q1 on occasions, as well as Raikkonen’s notorious switch to wet weather tyres on a dry track at Sepang. Engine expert Gilles Simon has also left, to work for Jean Todt at the FIA. In his place comes Luca Marmorini, who worked for Ferrari earlier in his career before joining Toyota.

The individual strengths of their drivers are not in doubt but their ability to work constructively together is. Alonso has always reacted badly to team mates out-performing him, whether it was Giancarlo Fisichella at Renault (very rarely) or Lewis Hamilton at McLaren (more often).

Massa has plenty of experience of tough team mates – Alonso will be the fourth world champion he’s shared a team with. But the pair have had their moments in the past, such as the row after their wheel-banging dice at the Nurburgring in 2007.

Poll: championship position

Fourth for Ferrari last year was the first time they’ve been outside the top three in the championship since 1993. Where do you think they’ll finish this year?

Where will Ferrari finish in the 2010 Constructors' Championship?

  • 13th (1%)
  • 12th (0%)
  • 11th (0%)
  • 10th (0%)
  • 9th (0%)
  • 8th (0%)
  • 7th (0%)
  • 6th (0%)
  • 5th (0%)
  • 4th (3%)
  • 3rd (10%)
  • 2nd (31%)
  • 1st (55%)

Total Voters: 2,253

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See all the articles in the F1 Fanatic 2010 Season Preview

2010 F1 season

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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105 comments on “2010 F1 season preview: Ferrari”

  1. Keith seriously you work hard.

    1. 2nd that. Kudos, my friend…

    2. Hey guys…its gonna be a ferrari’s year…Alonso will win WDC title…Mc laren & hamilton will be eating their hearts out…

  2. Agreed, great summary Keith. Look fwd to the rest!!

  3. wow some one really doesnt like them to think they’ll finish lower than the new teams!!
    Unless they predict Ferrari to be kick out of the constructors like Mclaren in ’07

  4. When it was last contructor´s championship McLaren won?
    And last McLaren driver won the championship? Oohh Yes, that year that Fernando Alonso was relegated 5 positions after Hamilton´s Daddy complained at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Not true? Even with those tricks, very British i have to say, as the Spygate of that year, at the last race Fernando was one position behind of the Championship. Without the Ferrari´s team rules he would be champion again. What i found in the… newspapers? next day? AT LEAST, HE (FERNANDO) DIDN´T WIN. Very polite and very british. Good luck this year.

    1. At least McLaren paid a prize: 100 million $ and no Championship. Great year¡¡¡¡ :D

      1. Alonso got beaten by a rookie. Get over it. There are worse things in life to still hold a grudge over.

        1. Yea…that’s why he finished HIGHER in the WDC rankings.

          1. Hamilton was 2nd on win countback over Alonso. It is very strange that Hamilton’s rookie season was so strong that the only two schoolboy errors (coming of at Chinese pitlane and coming of at European GP) ultimately cost him the title, although the rare Mclaren technical glitch at Brazil wasn’t helpful either. People were dead harsh about these mistakes and forgot he was a rookie.

            I remember my brother getting very annoyed at Alonso not falling back and letting Hamilton get through for extra points!!

        2. You must be kidding. They had the same point total at the end, both 1 point less than Kimi.

          1. The reality is Mclaren screwed up, they lost the title because the couldn’t tame two ruthless champions.

            I personally believe alonso is a better driver through experience. Hamilton is super aswell, interesting to see how he will go over the next couple of years.

          2. “Patrickl says: Alonso got beaten by a rookie.

            D. says: You must be kidding. They had the same point total at the end, both 1 point less than Kimi.”

            Actually, I find this very interesting that so many people continue to claim Hamilton beat Alonso when that obviously didn’t happen. Even Hamilton said the same thing in a Johnny Walker interview Keith posted here. I was so dubious I thought the interview was faked, until Keith pointed out that it really was Hamilton.

            Why is this so commonly repeated when ten seconds of research disproves it? Is it simply because Hamilton did so much better than expected?

          3. Well, Hamilton finished ahead of Alonso in the WDC. How is that not beating?

            Especially from a rookie against the double WDC.

            Also, apart from a couple of rookie mistakes, Hamilton was clearly the faster driver of the two.

        3. That was Alonso’s third year in a row when he finished at 100+ points. Plus, he had to adapt to the new Bridgestone tyres. Hamilton entered F1 well-prepared, no doubt, but don’t place him at the top of the piramyd just because he’s British.

        4. After Hamilton went out Ron said ,”We were not racing Raikkonen, we were racing Alonso.”

          After this kind of ‘equal treatment’ the only surprising thing is that Hamilton only managed to beat Alonso on win counts. Quite remarkable to get 100+ points in this environment

          About the McLaren $100m fine, it was McLaren who cheated, so don’t blame it on Alonso, he was just the scapegoat.

          I speak and write perfect Spanish (I’m not Spanish, and no Alonso fan – in fact) and although Alonso and Marca are no angels and deserve lots of criticism; the British press went way too far over these events. Most of their ‘translated’ reports of the Spanish news were heavily manipulated, miss-translated , to say the least.

      2. Relax Fernando!
        That subject has been beaten to death sooo many times, and honestly, nobody behaved like a saint in the whole thing.
        Neither dir Alonso, and I say this being spanish (from Gijon), a huge fan of his since the F3000 times and with a model of Alonso’s 2006 Renault less than a meter away.
        The good thing is that now we get a rematch… in different cars, both showing lots of promise.
        Let the season begin!

        1. red bull tastes like crap
          5th March 2010, 9:41

          i am from gijon too. And like you said, we’ll see who comes on top this year. They seem evenly matched. My personal opinion is that hamilton is a little faster on a quali, and alonso a little better managing races. But that’s just my opinion, we’ll have a clearer view this year, i hope.

    2. Sush Meerkat
      5th March 2010, 7:27

      This is the Ferrari Preview, not the “What have Mclaren won?” article.

    3. Fernando what on earth prompted this rant?

      1. The Comedian 39
        5th March 2010, 9:15

        Jealousy I guess.

        1. The lasting effects of the 07 season I’m guessing. It’s still a painful subject for many I guess.

          1. Rubel_Frm_BD
            6th March 2010, 9:26

            It is also same for Ferrari, where massa paid the prize of a super race and a supe season. but lost out by just some help from(?) a big crook like Glock.

            It is so disapponating that massa lost it by doing 100 time better than Hamilton, ho just drive a very stupid race and force driver like kimi to retire to get point.

            Hamil(*******)Ton

      2. You should ask Fernando for his Surname… Just in case! :-)

      3. red bull tastes like crap
        5th March 2010, 9:48

        not believeing that a rooky driver could be faster than him, if not given an unfair advantage. That’s how winners think. If they thought any other way, they wouldn’t be winners. Now in alonsos’s mind, there is a reason why he was beaten sometimes, so in his mind now, he knows he can beat hamilton without the disadvantages he had at mclaren.
        very strong as well as fragiles, the brains of world champions.

  5. They’ll be WCC.

    But I honestly think they’ll be trumped by Vettel. Kind of what Hamster did to Ferrari in 2008.

    1. If Vettel wins the WDC then Red Bull will win the WCC. Webber is not that far behind Vettel, if he’s behind him at all.

      1. Very good point.

  6. I voted 1st, an as a McLarren fan that hurt slightly, but this just looks likes a Ferrari year.

    I think Lewis could yet get the drivers, the Mp423 not being quite the car the F2008 was at times, I think it will be incredibly tight, I think Ferrari will take the contructors because Felipe Massa could well prove to be the superior driver to Jenson Button, which will be the crux of the battle between the teams.

    1. Rubel_Frm_BD
      6th March 2010, 9:57

      I m sure about the potentiality of Massa. I think in 2009 if massa are there then ferrari will be atleast in 3rd place in constructor.

      I wish massa and the F10 all the best.

  7. I’m pretty sure the odds are impossible of them finishing 13th, now ;)

    1. Don’t forget McLaren finished last only a couple of years ago…

      1. Yeah but there are only 12 teams Dave ;)

        1. one never knows what FIA can come up with :-) If Ferrari manage to **** them off sufficiently anything between 13th and 17th is possible :-) Quite unlikely though even if the horses continue to whisper against the hand that once fed them :-)

  8. I think McLaren will win it but Ferrari will be their main contenders.

    2010 will be a real test for Ferrari to get back to the old levels of competitiveness. Many are just expecting them to turn up and be at the sharp end, but whilst they probably will they will be doing so under massive amounts of pressure. If I were solely a Ferrari fan, I would worry most about the development race.

  9. Even with Fernando, Ferrari aint what it used to be, and that Ferrari engine (like the road going versions) has a bit of a drink problem. Maybe if you ‘have to’ build economical road cars (Renault), you will always be superior to the likes of Ferrari in that particular department.

    I think Ferrari are slightly worried on the fuel economy front, which doesn’t bode well for Sauber or STR either.

    1. Well… I guess its a battle between fuel economy vs. power. Renault might be fuel efficient, but is the RBR aerodynamically quick enough make up for both the lack of power and the reliability issues that have plagued them last year?

      I think if the slightly quicker Mercedes engine is more fuel economical than the Ferrari engine, then things would swing away from the favour of Ferrari.

      1. Actually the fuel efficiency makes up for the difference in power already.

        Ferrari will have to start with more fuel on board. This will negate their power advantage over Renault.

        I’ve seen claims that Ferrari might need 5 to 10kg of fuel extra for a race distance. Doesn’t sound like a lot but that could be several tenths difference in laptimes.

        Of course, in qualifying trim, efficiency doesn’t matter.

      2. I have heared a lot about the consume of Ferrari/Mercedes/Renault engines. But it is all about rumors. I would like to throw a challenge (Keith?). Unfortunately I don´t have time or data to do it myself. What do you think of taking the cars´s weights of the last championship and add the pitstop time to them. Would be very interesting to compare diferent teams with diferent engines and diferent teams with the same engine. With this data in our hands, we could infer better what would be the “real” advantages of each engine (taking into account that aerodymics plays a major role in this equation).

    2. red bull tastes like crap
      5th March 2010, 9:54

      yes keith, nobody on the british press is talking about the difficulties ferrari is finding, on fuel consumption. although in italy and in spain, you could hear people a little concerned about it, even though at ferrari, they seem very confident. Have you heard anything. james allen doesnt know much.

  10. Atention! This is the world champion car!

  11. theRoswellite
    5th March 2010, 2:54

    No one should expect Ferrari to go walk-about this year.

    With the resources always seemingly available it comes down to personnel, and the car certainly seems to be on track for early success.

    How will everyone on this site rate the driver pairings? (Did I miss that Poll?)

    I would give Alonso/Massa a slight edge over Hamilton/Button in pure speed, even though I would personally choose the latter if I was selecting a team to work with.

    Alonso has shown no real sign of slowing down, and I’m sure we all pray that Felipe returns to the track with his old form.

    My one concern for Ferrari…how fragile are they? (and not just the drivers) How will the whole team perform together, and will there be recriminations if expectations are not met?

    Best of luck to the Prancing Horse, F1 wouldn’t be the same without Ferrari.

  12. James Ferrarista
    5th March 2010, 3:51

    Last year (2009) Ferrari beating by MCLaren with one single point. And what I remembered last year, Ferrari scoring point with one single man (Kimi). If Massa don’t crush, I sure 100% McLaren will be the 4 championship finisher, absolutely behind The Legendary Ferrari…

    1. That makes absolutely no sense at all.

      It’s a new season with new cars you know? They even have new drivers at the teams.

    2. I think I get the gist of what you’re trying to say.

      It was pretty much a “one single man” situation at McLaren too. I mean Kovaleinen didn’t exactly contribute much did he? He got the same points as Massa and drove the full season!

  13. Interesting caption under the first pic Keith – “Ferrari’s Santander deal has brought Fernando Alonso to the team”.

    Do you have confirmation that Santander only became a sponsor contingent on Alonso joining Ferrari? ..or are you simply joining the dots together?

    1. Ferrari would have hired Alonso anyway (Alonso confirmed this a lot of times that he had a 2011 Ferrari contract in place), may be this sponshorship deal expedited the deal. But yeah, the caption could have been much more signifacnt had it been “Ferrari’s Santander Deal saved Alonso one more year in midfield” :)

  14. Prisoner Monkeys
    5th March 2010, 4:56

    It’s a terrible thing to say, but I hope Ferrari have a dud season. Given their arrogance of late and they wany they attacked the new teams simply because they existed, my feelings for Ferrari are currently at an all-time low. They need a serving of humble pie and a good long think about why they’re in Formula 1. They need to start racing again – instead of trying to beat everyone off the track – before they can claim the title of World’s Greatest Racing Team as their own once more.

    I’d also really like to stick it to the Spanish press and the way they’ve pretty much given Alonso the drivers’ title before testing had even ended. It’s a shame Massa has to suffer, though.

    1. Sour grapes… Ferrari comments were justified, without them F1 and its appeal losses considerably. These new teams are useless, and will be lucky to survive the year. The FIA, has achieved nothing but ruin the sport over the last 5 years.

      Ferrari and Alonso will win the title.

      1. ” without them F1 and its appeal losses considerably.”

        Which doesn’t give them the right to publish comments about teams that may, one day, be quicker than they are.

        Brazil are the only football team in the world to have taken part in every world cup tornament. Do they publish derogatory comments about Australia or New Zealand? No, they do not.

        Would the world cup be meaningless without the participation of Brazil? No, it would not.

        1. Try and sell it without them. Viewing figures have always show a big drop if they get knocked out.

          1. Does it make the world cup meaningless because viewing figures go down when Brazil are knocked out?

          2. Even if the world cup final was Scotland (I wish!!) v Ukraine, or any other set of “lesser” footballing nations it would still be the most viewed game of the tournament,

    2. Ferrari will be World Champion in 2010!!

      And they were right about the new teams, one didn’t even make it, and another launched an unpainted car with a sticker and a wheel put on backwards. F1 doesn’t need mobile chicanes. Ofcourse if it were Provdrive or Lola thing would’ve probably been different.

      1. “and another launched an unpainted car with a sticker and a wheel put on backwards.”

        You obviously have no idea about some of the ‘howlers’ that Ferrari made in the past.

    3. red bull tastes like crap
      5th March 2010, 9:56

      lower that at 2003? it seems impossible to me.

    4. “I’d also really like to stick it to the Spanish press and the way they’ve pretty much given Alonso the drivers’ title before testing had even ended. It’s a shame Massa has to suffer, though.”
      Agree but it’s the same everywhere (esp with tabloid press and casual fans); dismiss Button and think Hamilton will win easily, Rosberg won’t stand a chance at all and Vettel will blow Webber away.

    5. Which Spanish press has stated this, please give sources. Even ‘El Marca’, the Spanish sensationalist tabloid is not going that far.

      Please give sources

  15. Alonso should win the WDC this year. Best driver in one of the best cars.

  16. Ferrari looked strong even after Shumi’s era. Kimi was a mismatch and Alonso is more or less identical to Shumis approach (Great Team Players). Massa is a Ferrari baby.

    I believe Alonso would have learned his lesson at Mclaren

    F10 testing pace and reliability is good and definitely I feel Ferrari is out there for WCC and to me WDC is a concern for me it will be against the two Ferrari Drivers.

  17. Alonso is the best driver out there at the moment. The fact that he’ll end his career in five years with seven WDC titles should be no shock to anybody.

    1. “Best driver out there”? maybe. Best car to do the job? Possibly not. Another teams era of success? Quite possibly.

    2. Hehee don’t rush it buddy, he do have to beat the likes of Hamiltton, Button, Vetel first. I am giving him one WDC, possibly two. Chears

      1. The only driver to match him was Schumacher, three years ago. He’s better than Hamilton/Vettel simply because he doesn’t make mistakes on the track.

        1. He won the title because Raikkonen’s engine blow up to many times otherwise he could had just two wins

      2. …and he can extract 100% out of the car. I mean, he got 26 points out of the Renault R29 last year… The F10 doesn’t even need to be top dog.

  18. Although I have no doubt that Alonso’s speed and consistency are of the top-class, his integrity has been tainted forever after what he did to his own boss in Hungary 2007.

    I also recall that he saying that he would willingly help either Raikkonen or Massa just for revenge of his old team. With that attitude in mind, I bet God will prevent him from any more title…

    1. Me thinks his integrity has been tainted only in the eyes of Mclaren fans. ;)

    2. I believe that that behaviour makes him only more entertaining! Rivalry makes the sport more interesting. I would say Alonsos career is more tainted by the scandal in singapore than the impulsive decision to wait at the pits in Hungary.

      He’s an arrogant pigheaded fella but that makes me love him more! Plus he’s an excellent driver who can extract speed from absolutely nowhere. But I have to admit my love for him would not be the same if he didn’t have excellent rivalries with both schumi and Hamilton. Of course the fact that he’s spiteful makes him more entertaining and unpredictable to watch.

  19. I’m not voting, I don’t want to get my hopes up. I never want to underestimate the opposition as that is the most ignorant mistake I could make. However, how I feel is that RBR on paper don’t scare me at all, Brawn and Schumi should always be watched and that for various reasons, it is the Mclaren car but not the line up which is slightly unnerving. I’ll be watching them all though.
    Ferrari are quietly confident…quietly. They aren’t smug and they’re anticipating a long road ahead. They aren’t going to forget the awful year they had last year which really hurt their pride. Ferrari will fight damn hard to make sure that situation doesn’t occur again.
    They’ve probably lost some edge since the Todt-Brawn-Schumi years but that doesn’t bother me. What those men achieved for the team will always be appreciated and I’ll never, ever understate it but I’ve said before I was never comfortable with some situations that arose. If this is a new Ferrari and we lose a bit of sharpness and have to fight a bit more then that’s fine with me.
    Their rant has been criticised (and I wish it would stop coming up) but there was some truth to it-Stefan GP turned up without an invite, USF1 are now dead and Lotus + Virgin will probably be off the pace straight away. Yes it wasn’t nice and probably not polite to immediately dismiss someone but there is the matter of the image of F1, Ferrari’s own position and FOTA to consider.
    Oh and with regards to the drivers I hope this line up stays for a good while. I really liked Kimi but I won’t lie as I’m glad Alonso got the seat.

    1. Well said.

  20. Great work Keith!

  21. Another excellent article Keith. I would like to remain quietly confident this year. The previous season was a blip in Ferrari’s modern history and one that can be explained without panic. The main threat must be from Mclaren and possibly Mercedes if they can continue to develop the car as last year we really saw them suffer there. I can’t see Red Bull as strong as last year, they brilliantly took advantage of a weak “big 2”. I only hope for a good season with quality racing without scandal and results made by people on the track rather than off it.

  22. I voted first for Ferrari. To win the Constructors’ Championship you need both a quick and reliable car and two strong drivers, so they defiantly have all the ingredients needed.

    From testing the F10 seems to be on the pace and having covered the most testing mileage it should be reliable. Also if the Alonso Massa combination is not the best driver line-up on the grid this season it can’t be far off it.

    If I was a Ferrari fan the only thing I would worry about is all the backroom changes and wondering if they will suffer from some of the internal conflicts and politics which is supposed to have cost them before Todt arrived, but honestly I don’t think it should be a problem.

  23. As long as the first two or three races go fine its great then all politics turns down.

  24. I voted 1st.

    Good long run pace, Good driver line-up, Good reliability all add up to a consistent season.

    No other team can boast of all 3 attributes.

    1. Hmm…No other team. You have actually watched F1 havent you?

  25. 1st. They’ve looked pretty strong throughout testing and have two of the very best drivers in the field. Red Bull and McLaren may have the edge in qualifying, but I think that Ferrari have a more consistant race pace.

  26. 2nd behind McLaren and full stop.

    1. 1st in front of McLaren and full stop.

      1. You mean 1st behind McLaren yes right

        1. That’s funny…

          1. Funny like Ferrari

          2. First, but behind behind Mclaren, just can’t happen.

          3. Ignore one of the “behinds” :p

  27. Being a mclaren fan I’d like mclaren & Hamilton to win but if i’m honest, massa worries me. He’s had 2 seasons of bad luck & he’s already shown he could match schuey in 2006, & was every bit as quick as Kimi from 2008 onwards. Losing the title then having the accident when he was out-scoring kimi he’ll have something to prove. Hate to say this, I think massa & Ferrari will be champs.

    1. Provding Alonso doesn’t get anoyed If massa does start beating him & starts throwing his toys out the pram. If that happens (please) mclaren Hamilton champs

      1. I wonder if you could tell him that directly (face to face).

  28. Keith, What about a article about Pitstops? I think they will be very important and i found a FI innovation for hub fittings…
    http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/force-india-developments/

    1. I forgot to write Ferrari always had a good Pitstop too, so i wonder it’s going to make a lot of difference?

      1. It was a rare bad pitstop that cost Ferrari a driver’s title in 2008.
        Mclaren encountered the same pitstop error in Brazil 09, albeit under less important circumstances, it just goes to show mistakes happen even at the top.

  29. 1st in front of Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes GP.
    Alonso – 2010 WDC

    1. He’ll win the championship 2010..2014. Then he’ll retire with seven titles, just like Schumacher. Oh, and McLaren will be assimilated by Ferrari.

      1. seven89x You mean with balls

        1. You’ll see.

  30. Shumacher, Raikkonen, Alonso, who is the four?

    1. Massa was teammates with Jacques Villeneuve at Sauber in 2005.

  31. No doubt 1st, but will Alonso play a team role in Ferrari is the question.I am confident Massa will be back in high.But Ferrari have to think about Ross & Schumacher who were their old friends now their new enemies.

  32. Is Chris Dyer going to be working with Alonso this year? The two of them together could setup a car like nobody’s business.

  33. 2nd for FERRARI

    drivers arent too good and team is kinda poop

  34. I think Ferrari will win this season, I particularly hope that Massa takes it as he’s likeable and has such a strong passion for the sport. The obvious main challengers are Mac and Merc who also have strong drivers and team members. It’ll be interesting to see if it’s a case of one team losing a race rather than the other one winning as has happened so many times in the past – looking after tyres is going to be crucial and the Massa / Alonso partership could just have the edge over Button / Hamilton. Schu will probably dominate for Merc over Rosberg but on average it won’t bring enough points for the team to win. All said its gonna be a great season and I cant wait!

  35. Its strange how Ferrari fans have taken Alonso to their heart quite so quickly. This is a guy who sold out on Renault to jump to Mclaren saying he always wanted to drive there. Then, was heavily implicated in “lie gate” and then blackmailed his team. When this did not work, he went back to Renault and was heavily implicated in “crash gate”. Then left to drive for Ferrari, a team he he says he always dreamed of driving for (de ja vu anyone?). I just wonder how long it will be before Masssa upstages him, the dream dies and he shows his true self to the Ferrari faithful. But the the Ferrari fans will probably see this cheating history as an ideal replacement for a former golden boy Schumacher who had a few questionable events in his career too. Still I am sure they will love seeing him in a Mercedes, could only be funnier if it had been a Mclaren, but hey, its close enough.

  36. Ferrari look like they have a very fast car.If no internal problems crop up,i would see Alonso winning the WDC

  37. Alonso is a great driver but has a chequered past. I wonder if Massa is over the Singapore crashgate incident.

    I am a big Ferrari fan so I hope they do well. I just wish Kimi was with Redbull, that would have made this championship the best ever…

  38. Lets hope ferrari will do all their talking on the track for a change…

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