2013 F1 season - Not a classic, but one with its fair share of drama

Ferrari – Another year without title forces teams to change strategy

It’s been another tough year for Ferrari with the Italian squad failing to provide a car with which Alonso could add to his two titles. Despite a strong start to the season including victories in China and Spain, the team lost out in the in-season development race to its rivals and a chance to win its first title since 2008. But the change in form was not entirely down to the team not being able to develop a car over the course of the season.

The post Silverstone tyre change changed fortunes for almost every team on the grid and Ferrari was not an exception. And the team didn’t hesitate to point out how it worked against them. “We built a car to work with certain tyres, with which we proved to be very competitive. Then the tyres were changed, definitely proving to be a disadvantage for us and an advantage for others,” explained Luca di Montezemolo at the end of the season.

The second half started well with consecutive podiums at the low donwforce circuits in Belgium and Italy. However, the picture wasn’t as good at the remaining seven flyway races of the season with the Italian team barely qualifying higher than fifth. Even on Sundays, where Ferrari is usually strong, the performance wasn’t upto the mark. Nevertheless, curtain to the season fell in style for Ferrari with a well deserved podium for Fernando Alonso in the final race in Brazil. However, it would have tasted sweeter had Felipe Massa not been given a drive through penalty, promoting team to second in the standings ahead of ‘new rivals’ Mercedes.

Between Australia and BritainPoints – 168Average – 21 per race Between Germany and BrazilPoints – 186Average – 17 per race

Alonso-Ferrari row

Last year, Fernando Alonso was able to drive every single bit out the car and even more to fight for the championship till the very last race of the season. But this year, he simply lost patience. After a great start to the season, he would have thought 2013 was his best chance of taking an elusive third title but such hopes soon turned useless and Alonso showed his frustrations when he said he would prefer ‘someone else’s car’ as his birthday gift.

Ferrari simply doesn’t like their driver to speak ill of them (cough Alain Prost, cough!) and Alonso’s quote started a whole row of disputes between the Spaniard and the Maranello team. And the solution came in form of Kimi Raikkonen. An A-rated driver alongside another one – a far thought from Ferrari’s conventional strategy but probably their last option considering what has happened over the past few years. Their sour relationship could turn a lot worse, in Alonso’s words, if Ferrari fail to produce a good car next year. Further, it might even force Alonso to exit the team, for a drive at Red Bull or McLaren, as the case may be.

Massa’s year in words

It’s been another tough year for Felipe Massa with the Brazilian failing to score half as many points as his teammate Fernando Alonso. His season went off to a good start with his podium at Spain as one of his highlight of the year. But that podium was overshadowed by Alonso’s victory at his home race – summing up the inside dynamics at Ferrari. Massa’s strength has been qualifying, where on many a occasions he put his car ahead of his double world champion teammate. But that pace seems to fade off for some reason on Sundays. And since he, on occasions, qualified higher than Alonso, there was frequently going to be an on-track clash between between the two of them.

In Italy, he obeyed the team orders and let Alonso go through but when it was announced that he was going to be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen, he changed his mind and decided to give Alonso a fight. However such efforts went futile, at least in Japan, where the Spaniard found a way past his teammate. His season review, unfortunately, won’t be complete without mentioning the Moncao Grand Prix where the 32-year -ld crashed multiple times in practice, qualifying and the race at the exact same place – the opening corner – Sainte Devote. That was followed by a string of negative comments that served as ignition in Ferrari’s decision to drop him for next season.

Technical changes and Kimi Raikkonen – Ferrari’s formula to return to winning ways

Ferrari turned their focus on 2014 early in the season and only time will tell whether this strategy will pay dividends or not. They’ve further strengthened their technical squad with a number of high profile changes – the biggest one being James Allison – who returns to Ferrari after a stint at Lotus. He’ll serve as the team’s new Technical Director, subsiding Pat Fry to the post of Engineering director. Further, they’ve hired Kimi Raikkonen to partner Alonso in an explosive line up. The team is hungry for success and 2014 provides them the best opportunity to return to winning ways.