Ferrari Determined to Dominate in 2012

by Motor Sports Unplugged | September 13, 2011 at 04:15 am

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No other auto manufacturer who races envelopes its fans in an emotional embrace more than Ferrari. Arguably Porsche is the king in the diehard sports car racing world, but it hasn’t entered the Formula One world for years. Ferrari is the most recognizable and sought after sports car in the world, if only in most people’s dreams.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that they choose to race in Formula One rather than the multiple sports car series the world has to offer. They do compete in those series with efforts in the GT classes, after all, they do build racing versions of their 458 and have built many prototypes in the past, however, Formula One to Maranello is still the prize they covet most.

So what the hell happened this season? They didn’t go big.

Adrian Newey, the world’s most recognized Formula One designer, is both admired and reviled by the Scuderia, but they still want him if they can get him. His tenure at Red Bull Racing has been the thorn in the Prancing Horse’s side for two seasons. Newey designed an almost unbeatable pair of cars where there was none in the RB6 and RB7.

Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s President, has stated that he believes the technical team he has in place is moving in the right direction and can beat Newey’s design, but in the same breath acknowledged that they would like to have him.

The other component for Ferrari is Fernando Alonso. Alonso has clearly stated that he would like to end his career with Ferrari and apparently the feeling is mutual. Alonso has assimilated into the Ferrari culture with ease, has taken chassis’ that weren’t up to the task and seemingly willed himself into second in the World Championship standings as of this writing.

It’s no secret that second place is the first loser to both Alonso and to Ferrari.

After his almost miraculous podium at Monza last weekend, Domenicali and Ferrari’s President, Luca de Montezemolo, continued gushing this week over Alonso’s aggressive style and ability to take the current chassis as far as he has. Felipe Massa has fallen further back into the shadows giving Alonso the absolute number one status, as if that were a mystery.

One has look no further than the German Grand Prix of 2010 and the famous words from the team to Massa as Alonso sat behind him, “Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?” Massa moved over and let Alonso through and in the process let the whole world know what was really written in the contracts. Alonso won and the 100,000 Euro fine was gladly paid by the team.

If Ferrari is to deliver a car to Alonso and Massa in 2012 that is competitive they have to build a chassis that addresses the new rules and are clearly defined. Ferrari claims that their car for 2012 will be an innovative design with a direct interpretation of the rules. More bluntly di Montezemolo stated, “I am unhappy because this year we have not got since the beginning a competitive car.” That’s a very clear message.

Ferrari is one of those manufacturers who indeed builds and sells cars, very few, very expensive cars making it a very lucrative business. That was not on Enzo Ferrari’s mind when he produced sports cars for the street. He built and sold cars that could be driven on the street in order to race, he never denied it. The world has certainly changed but that deeply engrained mindset hasn’t.

Yes it’s a business, di Montezelmolo both knows that and runs it as such, but when you bring up the racing side, it sounds like echoes of the past. He wants nothing less than Ferrari to win.

The first race of 2012 will certainly be interesting.

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