Ferrari more "long term" now than with me or Sebastian Vettel: Fernando Alonso

Ferrari have been home to multiple world champions for the better part of the last decade. Despite having drivers like Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel in the cockpit, the team was unable to win the title.

Reflecting on his time with Ferrari and also commenting on Vettel's stint at the Scuderia, Alonso told F1Insider:

“Although we often had close battles when I was in the Ferrari and he was in the Red Bull. In 2012, he was even a bit lucky in the last race to finish with a badly damaged Red Bull. We both tried Ferrari, got close at times, but didn’t make it in the end. Maybe Ferrari was not ready to have a world champion in the cockpit again in our times.”

Commenting on the current state of affairs, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz driving for Ferrari, Alonso felt that the team was more or less focused on the future and the pressure of winning the championship "right now" was not there. He said:

“I think now they have changed their planning. The expectations are not so high anymore; they are racing with young drivers. They think more in longer periods now, not too short-term.”

Ferrari are currently rebounding from a horrible 2020 season where the team suffered from poor engine performance and fell down the pecking order spectacularly. The team is targeting P3 in the 2021 championship and is counting on their recently-upgraded engine to help them in that endeavor.

Could Ferrari be a possible title contender in 2022?

Ferrari may have gotten a pass from the usually vociferous Italian media after a rough 2020. However, the Maranello-based organization will be expected to get back to winning ways and fight for championships in 2022.

In terms of resources, Ferrari have always been sorted, but their problems have usually been more deep-rooted. Will they be able to fight for wins in 2022? There is a great probability that it might happen. But fighting for the title is where the team might stumble because of its inherently political nature which tends to be a limiting factor.