Five secrets behind Alonso’s triumph

MONZA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 08: Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is seen with driver Fernando Alonso in the paddock following qualifying for the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on September 8, 2012 in Monza, Italy.

The underdogs of this season are now clearly ahead of their rivals in the championship table. While rest of their rivals are ahead of them in terms of down force and speed, they seem to enjoy some other benefits. Listed below are five main secrets behind Alonso’s success in this season. All the reasons mentioned here have played a significant role to improve his performance. Read on…

1. Fantastic Starts

His starts have been brilliant. Ferrari has tuned the launch controls with its drivers and ensured they take maximum advantage in the first corner. The table shows the average position changes on lap one and Alonso has done 19 and his rivals are nowhere to be seen.

If you have a good start, you could get ahead of cars faster than you. Alonso overtook his faster rivals in the first lap and defended his position to prevent them from overtaking. If he allows them to get ahead, there is no catching up possible. By following this technique, Alonso has been able to take advantage despite his slower pace.

2. Faster Pit Stops

Mclaren have lured their pit crews with more beers if they are able to achieve quicker pit stop times and this seems to be working as they are doing fewer mistakes now compared to before, but mistakes are still there!!

But Ferrari pit crews, WOW they seem to be just ahead of everyone. Not only are they fast, but are reliable and accurate. They have achieved the fastest pit stop timing on four occasions. There is no room for errors and this has benefitted Alonso. He has gained places in almost every one of his pit stops. This has allowed him to overtake cars, which otherwise would have been difficult to overtake on the track.

3. Zero Penalties:

The table below shows the total number of penalties awarded to drivers. While one can easily guess Pastor would be on top of the list, Alonso nowhere to be seen on the list. He is still yet to receive any penalty from the stewards. He hasn’t been penalized for any engine/ gearbox change also. This is significantly important as all his rivals have been penalized for various reasons which have affected their positions.

4. Conquering Wet Races

If there is one team that eagerly look forward to wet races, it surely is Scuderia Ferrari. Stats say it all. They hold fantastic results in wet races. When there was a heavy downpour in Malaysia, Alonso took advantage and secured his first win, though he starting position in grid was eighth.

Next up, it is Silverstone. To everyone’s disbelief he secured a pole in a wet qualifying session. He repeated his triumph again in the German grand Prix, where he secured pole and also won the race. On all the three occasions, the Ferrari seems to be faster than its rivals, particularly Mclaren.

5. Push harder and drive faster

I may state several reasons behind his triumph, but this one is the one. We have to laud and appreciate his fantastic driving this season. His driving skills and his attitude has matured and become a true Tifosi. He has understood the tires and settings better than other drivers, particularly his teammate. The Ferrari though not as fast as the Mclaren, still manages to deliver under his control. Alonso has beaten his team mate on 12 occasions and on an average, he is half a second faster than his teammate. This clearly validates his superior driving skills.

Against all the odds, he is up leading the championship table.

Let’s see if he can maintain the place till the end of the season.