2011 end of term report – Ferrari

In 2011, the Scuderia Ferrari was clearly the third force in the Formula One World Championship, behind Red Bull and McLaren. However, it could rely on its double World Champion Fernando Alonso to take the maximum out of his car and bring some strong results, including a win at Silverstone.

Season review

The year didn’t start so well for the Italian team with an argument over the name of its new car. Originally named F150, it had to be renamed F150° Italia… Indeed the code F150 was owned by Ford and designated its best-seller pick-up.

The winter testing went well for Ferrari and the team flew to Australia with high expectations. However, the car couldn’t match the pace of the RB7. McLaren was also faster than the Italian team which, in turn, came under pressure from LRGP.

Alonso brought the team its first podium in Turkey. It soon became clear that Ferrari’s main weakness was on the aerodynamic side. The car lacked downforce and struggled on Pirelli’s harder compounds. Alonso finished fifth in Spain, one lap down on the race winner. As a consequence, technical director Aldo Costa was fired shortly after the Spanish round.

Fifth was usually Fernando Alonso’s starting position, although he managed to qualify on the front row at Montreal. Qualifying was one of Ferrari’s other weakness as the drivers couldn’t get their tyres up to temperature quickly enough.

The Scuderia was given a boost at Silverstone and made the most of it. As the exhaust blowing was restricted, Alonso was able to challenge Vettel for the win and benefited from a slow pit stop for the German to take the victory.

Having given up on its championship hopes, Ferrari concentrated its efforts on 2012 and tested new parts in the final races of the season.

Conclusion

Ferrari spent most of the season playing catch up with Red Bull and McLaren. It managed to slightly close the gap but couldn’t challenge its rivals on a regular basis. The Scuderia soon shifted its focus towards 2012 and hopes to capitalize on it next year.

If Fernando Alonso brought lots of satisfaction to the team, the same cannot be said of Felipe Massa. The Brazilian driver disappointed this year and his best result was a 5th place finish. Even if he had some bad luck, Massa simply didn’t perform in 2011.

Expectations

Luca di Montezemolo has already made it clear he wants to see his team fighting for both championships next year. He won’t accept another disappointing campaign. So 2012 might be crucial for several people at Maranello… starting with Felipe Massa whose contract will run out at the end of next year.

Highs
—  Excellent reliability
—  Win at Silverstone
—  Fernando Alonso
— 
Lows
—  Car not good enough
—  Struggled with Pirelli’s harder compounds
—  Felipe Massa

Nextgen-Auto.com marks:
— Olivier Ferret : 12/20
— D.Thys : 15/20
— Sandrine Bouchard : 15/20
— Jean-Michel Setbon : 12/20
— Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 13/20
—  Total : 67/100