Jerez Day Four: Ferrari Lays Fears to Rest

After three days spent setting mediocre times and even having some reliability issues, Ferrari silenced their doubters on Friday by setting the fastest time on the fourth and final day of testing at the Spanish track. Fernando Alonso set at time of 1:18.877 at the beginning of the day, before an electrical problem forced the Spaniard to sit out for several hours. While Ferrari is unlikely to be thrilled after losing crucial track time, the F2012’s apparent change in form must have surely given them some cause to smile…regardless of what the team may say.

Fernando Alonso was upbeat in the wake of his encouraging final day, stating “We arrived in Jerez thinking one idea of the car and maybe it was not exactly like that, but we worked around and we found the performance there and we found the happiness or the level of confidence of driving this car now in day three and day four. Day one in Barcelona will be a much better starting point.” He, however, insisted on Ferrari’s official website that the times that were set during the test meant nothing. “Yesterday (Thursday) we worked mainly with the hard tyres and the others ran the softs and we were seventh. Today we fitted the softs and maybe the others did not and we are first. That’s all it is. We got on with our job, even if today and yesterday we had some reliability problems we could have done without which prevented us from doing everything we would have wanted.”

Indeed, getting on with the job at hand seems to be the theme right now in Maranello. The team arrived back at the factory yesterday and immediately set to work analysing data collected from a test that Ferrari’s website admitted must have seemed “a bit schizophrenic” from the outside. “There was no reason to bandy about predictions of catastrophe which was the case up to Thursday evening, nor was there any cause for elation after the Spaniard set the fastest time yesterday morning. In summary, it’s a case of staying calm and concentrated.”

With only eight days remaining until the Barcelona test begins, Ferrari will no doubt be working both night and day in an attempt to get an advantage over rivals such as Red Bull. Although the Milton-Keynes based team showed that their latest challenger, the RB8, will surely be a championship contender, the World Champion’s Jerez test was not perfect reliability wise. On the final day the team showed that it is also working out the kinks in their single-seater when Sebastian Vettel was forced to sit out much of the morning due to an electrical problem.

Until February 21^st, when Formula 1’s heavyweights return to Spain once more, I will cling to the memory of Fernando Alonso’s time on Friday. While it may be true that it does not signify anything, it certainly helped put some of this tifosa’s fears to bed!

Jerez Day Three: Is Ferrari’s F2012 a Lemon?

It’s official, tifosi all over the world are becoming increasingly worried that Ferrari’s F2012 is a lemon! After a third consecutive day spent at the bottom of the timesheets and a morning hydraulics problem, which meant that Fernando Alonso could only complete 67 laps, the Italian team’s latest challenger is looking far from promising.

Technical director Pat Fry even admitted to being disappointed after testing today when he stated “I’m not happy with where we are at the moment, there’s a lot of space to improve from where we are.” The Englishman also conceded that the snow in Maranello had negatively affected Ferrari, stating “We were obviously set back a little by the foot of snow we had in Fiorano, certainly the first morning with Felipe (in Jerez) was spent doing what we would have done there.” I am assuming that Fry was talking about all of the ‘promotional filming’ that the team missed out on. Perhaps the reason why the F2012 is so far off the pace is not because it is slow, but actually because Felipe and Fernando wanted to pose nicely for their close-up with the cameras!

Whatever the reason for Ferrari’s lack of speed (both serious and sarcastic), they certainly don’t have much time to figure out how to turn the F2012 into a championship contender. With only nine days of testing remaining before the first race in Australia and teams like Red Bull and surprisingly Lotus displaying few teething problems, all we can do is wait and hope that Ferrari are either sandbagging or that the F2012 finds its form soon.

Jerez Day Two: Deja View

Michael Schumacher made the headlines today after he topped the timesheets on the second day of testing in Jerez. The forty three year old German comfortably outpaced his closest rivals, albeit in last year’s Mercedes. The Brackley-based team have yet to launch their latest challenger and spent the day evaluating Pirelli’s 2012 tyre. When asked if Mercedes would be a championship contender this year, the seven-time World Champion conceded “I don’t think we can realistically achieve a championship car immediately from where we started last year, we have to build our way there.” After being coaxed out of retirement just over two years ago, Schumacher will no doubt be wondering exactly how long this building process is expected to take.

The quickest of the 2012 cars was not surprisingly Red Bull’s RB8. Mark Webber strung a series of consistent laps together in the morning, before eventually lowering his time to 1:19.184. Although it is still early days, it does appear as though the World Champions have once again produced a front-running car, with the RB8 demonstrating that it is fast right out of the box.

The opposite can be said for Ferrari, who underwhelmed for the second day in a row. Although the team maintains that they never expected to set a blistering pace in Jerez and according to their twitter feed “the stopwatch means relatively nothing today”, they surely would have preferred to end the day in higher than 7^th position. America’s ESPN reported that the F2012 looked ragged at the Spanish circuit and even Felipe Massa admitted that the new car was going to be a lot of work. “It’s a brand new car and it’s not like the cars that we’ve had in the last few years, even to start with. So it’s a lot more work, it’s a car that you need to try a lot more things with as well.” Still, the optimistic Brazilian is sure that Ferrari is up to the challenge, adding “Obviously, there is still a lot to do, maybe more than we had expected before we started, but we are definitely not scared of hard work!”

Fernando Alonso will carry on that hard work tomorrow when he takes the wheel of the F2012 for the first time. The Spanish icon will surely be fired up and keen to put on a spectacle in front of his home crowd who will show up en masse to support him. I have no doubt that he will grab the headlines in his country’s newspapers regardless of what time he sets in the new Ferrari.

Jerez Day One: Kimi's Komeback

The first day of testing in Jerez is officially over and I am not really any closer to understanding just who will be the team to beat in Melbourne. The big story of the day was Kimi Raikkonen topping the time sheets in the Lotus E20. It must have been particularly satisfying for the former Ferrari driver because he is returning to the sport after a two year absence. The thirty two year old Finn got down to business right away and showed no signs of being drowsy when he set the best time of 1:19.670 early in the session. There were rumours circulating that Raikkonen was spotted later on in the day eating an ice cream, but it turns out that they were completely unfounded and started by me…right now. For those of you who are disappointed that there are no new ice cream photos, here’s the famous moment one more time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WeXfPJIbeM Putting all joking aside, I wish Kimi the best of luck this year. He was always a gentleman at Ferrari and even though his personality was not the best match for the team, he will always be a Ferrari World Champion. As Michael Schumacher has shown, making a comeback is no easy task, so Raikkonen will have his work cut out for him.

Aside from Lotus’s impressive form (which may be real or manufactured in order to grab headlines), the Red Bull RB8, which was launched officially yesterday, put in a solid performance. Mark Webber finished the day in 4^th place, less than a second adrift, despite missing much of the early running as the team awaited late-arriving parts from England.

Both the McLaren of Jenson Button and the Ferrari of Felipe Massa languished in 8^th and 9^th positions, setting times well off of Raikkonen’s pace. Ferrari reported on their Twitter feed that the main goal of the day was to collect data and make sure that all of the systems were functioning correctly. In that respect, the F2012 had a successful day, completing 300 kilometres without incident. After the inaugural running, Ferrari chief designer Nikolas Tombazis stated on Autosport’s website “We need to do a lot of work, but we think that we are at a good point compared to what we are expecting on this first day.”

While today was only the first day of testing, Ferrari and McLaren will surely be looking to set more competitive times tomorrow. The world will be watching and certainly talking if the two Formula 1 powerhouses fail to climb further up the timesheets by the end of the Jerez engagement.

Why Stefano Domenicali is Good for Ferrari

The snow has started to melt here and the F2012 began its journey to Jerez last night. Some of the team are already in Spain awaiting the latest Ferrari’s arrival, while other members will fly out of Bologna airport tomorrow morning. Amongst them will surely be Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali. The 46 year old Italian, who assumed his current role within Ferrari in 2008, will probably be anticipating the F2012’s track debut more than any other member of the team. As he stated in an interview after the new single-seater was unveiled yesterday “I will be happy only when I see that this car will be competitive.”

For Domenicali, a lot is at stake this year. Much like Felipe Massa, the team needs to perform exceptionally in order for him to silence his critics. Ferrari has failed to win a Constructor’s Championship since 2008 and a Driver’s Championship has eluded them since Kimi Raikkonen triumphed over Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in 2007.

Many tifosi blame Stefano for the scuderia’s recent lack of success. They claim that Stefano is not ruthless enough to lead Ferrari to another championship and have called multiply for his resignation. In contrast, it is my belief that this charismatic Italian is the perfect man to lead the team to its next triumph.

2003 was the year that Stefano Domenicali first entered the public eye when he became sporting director of the Scuderia Ferrari. To some it appeared as though the likeable young man from Imola was new to the cutthroat world of Formula 1, but for Domenicali it was just another step in a lifetime of devotion to both Ferrari and Italian motorsport.

Stefano’s love of racing began at an early age when he would volunteer at his local track in Imola on weekends. Rumour has it that he always believed he was meant to pursue a career in motorsports because he was born in the city which used to host the San Marino Grand Prix. Upon his graduation from Bologna University in 1991, he applied for a job with Ferrari and was hired immediately. For the twenty six year old, it must have felt as though he was finally achieving his destiny.

Stefano’s passion for Ferrari is so great that he has publically announced that he would never accept a job offer with another team. Although the team principal manages to maintain a largely calm exterior during a Grand Prix weekend and never mentions his tifoso beginnings, his emotions are sometimes hard for him to conceal. The last time that I can recall a loss of composure was after the 2010 European Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton overtook a safety car while both Ferrari drivers dutifully remained behind it. The stewards took so long deciding what to do that by the time Hamilton’s penalty was awarded it had little effect on the Englishman’s race. Most tifosi, including myself, were left fuming after the incident and the normally cheerful Stefano also appeared outraged in the aftermath of the race. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOSVaFec9Hk Even though Domenicali was taken by surprise during an intense moment of rage, he still managed to remain diplomatic.

Stefano’s diplomacy and temperament are perhaps my favourite things about the easy-going Italian. He always appears to be aware that all of his actions are being monitored and, as the public face of Ferrari, he is conscious that everything he does will be directly associated with his team. Even when I am screaming at my television and cursing the heavens, Domenicali always seems to do or say the right thing, remaining calm and dignified at all times.

During his early years at Ferrari, Stefano worked for some time as head of personnel in the team’s sporting department and eventually came to oversee sponsor relations. These roles within the team surely prepared him for his current responsibilities and during his first years as team principal he has helped to transform Ferrari’s public image. During the era of Michael Schumacher and Jean Todt, many Formula 1 fans viewed Ferrari with distrust and had labelled them as cheaters. Stefano’s humour and sportsmanship have made him popular with the media as well as members of the Formula 1 paddock. One of my favourite videos of Domenicali, shows him engaging in some playful banter with rival team principals Martin Whitmarsh and Christian Horner. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q92ow2Kgn1I  Stefano is in fact so well-liked that I have heard many people say that although they don’t like Ferrari, they love the constantly-smiling Italian.

Domenicali also handles tifosi with the same attitude that he handles the media. I was fortunate enough to meet and spend a few moments speaking with Stefano at the 2011 Italian Grand Prix and he is just as pleasant in person as he is on the television. On that particular occasion, he was leaving a function that was held immediately after Friday’s practice sessions. While other Formula 1 celebrities, such as former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn, made a hasty departure, Stefano paused and took several minutes to greet all of those in attendance. When we spoke, he listened to what I had to say attentively and thanked me for my support. He seemed genuinely interested in our conversation and let me tell you, having met several drivers, genuine interest is a rare thing indeed.

Of course, Stefano’s role as the public face of Ferrari is not the only function that he serves. Having been both the director of Ferrari’s Mugello circuit and team manager at Ferrari, Domenicali is used to making difficult decisions and managing personnel. While Luca di Montezemolo often makes statements that are direct challenges to team members who are considered to be underperforming, Stefano appears to be more nurturing and supportive during times of struggle. This is a quality that many of Stefano’s critics claim makes him weak. I have heard many tifosi state that although they like Domenicali as a person, they do not believe that he is capable of bringing Ferrari’s next championship to Maranello.

In my opinion, I would much rather have a Ferrari that is calm and growing in the right direction together. Sometimes personnel must be let go, but overall a positive atmosphere is better for the team than an atmosphere of fear, where everyone is stabbing one another in the back. As the saying goes “you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.”

Although sometimes it may seem as though the world is against him and last year's World Championship was particularly difficult, I will continue to show my support for a man who I feel is ultimately leading Ferrari in the right direction. Hopefully 2012 will be the year that everything comes together! Forza Ferrari!

The F2012 is Finally Here

I decided not to go to Maranello today after all. The snow seems to be getting worse there and I heard reports that some trains were delayed and even stopped near Lodi yesterday. The last thing that I want to do is spend my entire day on a train! It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I know that I will most certainly end up in Maranello next month (probably not during a blizzard) so I will hopefully be able to make up for this disappointment then.

My boyfriend sent me an amazing link yesterday after hearing that the car launch had been cancelled. http://motorsportrants.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/f1-ferrari-e-la-neve-nel-79-porto-fortuna/ The picture shows the launch of Ferrari’s 1979 Formula 1 car. It was Gilles Villeneuve who braved the icy conditions on that particular winter day as only a Canadian could. Being Canadian myself I have to say that although the current snow is pretty thick, it should definitely not be enough to bring a town like Maranello to its knees. I always marvel at how Canadian cities can keep running efficiently at temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius and yet in Europe even a small amount of snowfall can create chaos; closing shops, cutting power and grounding flights. It seems as though both Ferrari and Europe could do with some more Canadians during times like these.

Even though the launch itself was cancelled, Ferrari did release the first photos of the F2012 this morning. http://singleseater2012.ferrari.com/english/web/#/home After studying the predictive drawings in Autosprint a few days ago and seeing the launch of the new McLaren MP4-27, I was confident that the new car could still be attractive. Sadly for those of you who love to see beautiful racing cars, the new Ferrari features the stepped nose that was first noticed on the Caterham CT01. The good news is that thus far, ugly seems to be the norm, with Force India’s new VJM05 also sporting the awkward look which has been described by some of the media as being platypus-style.

Stefano Domenicali, who has already expressed his opinions on the F2012’s beauty, stated “Actually, it’s not really so pretty from my personal perspective but this is a value that doesn’t count in Formula 1.” The Ferrari team principal was also keen to highlight that the team has tried a different approach this year. “I've asked in a change in approach in the design of the car and apparently what we can see from the car that we have launched just now is it's for sure very different. It's a different approach both from the mechanical point of view and also from the aerodynamical point of view. So that is for sure something that it seems that we have achieved, but I will be happy only when I will see that this car will be competitive. Domenicali needs the F2012 to be competitive this year after a string of disappointing seasons. Despite repeated denials that his job is in danger, many tifosi have unfairly used him as a scapegoat over the past few seasons and it would be wonderful for the F2012 to silence both his and Ferrari’s doubters!

Fernando Alonso was full of praise for Ferrari when he was interviewed before the unveiling. “I believe in the skills we have here in Ferrari. We have two months to get ready before the first competition. We have to fight for the title and try to get as many points as possible. We really want to be right at the top of the ranking.” Alonso will hope to erase the painful memory of Abu Dhabi 2010 and solidify his status as the tifosi’s darling by taking his first World Championship for Ferrari this year.

Felipe Massa, who could be starting his final season for Ferrari in March, is upbeat about the F2012’s prospects. “Let me tell you that it looks really, really aggressive. This was part of my dreams. I know there was quite a lot of brainstorming when it comes to the new car. We always wanted to develop new models so I am impressed with the new car. We start in a few days and I’m sure the championship will be stunning and very competitive.” Massa will need the Scuderia’s latest championship contender to be competitive right from the start of the season in Melbourne if he is to have any chance of fending off Ferrari hopefuls like Sergio Perez and Jules Bianchi. With the cancellation of the car’s planned Fiorano shakedown, the little Brazilian is scheduled to be the first man to drive the F2012 when the team begins testing in Jerez this Tuesday.

In my eyes at least, the F2012’s first real test will come when Red Bull’s latest challenger is revealed to the world on February 6^th. With Adrian Newey on board and the Red Bull RB7 being the class of the 2011 Formula 1 field, there is every reason to think that the Milton Keynes-based squad will once again this year be the one to beat. Some light may be shed on the potential of the F2012 when it can finally be compared to the Red Bull RB8. Until Monday we will all have to carry on speculating and even then there will likely be a few surprises on the Australian Grand Prix weekend which begins March 15^th.

Failure to Launch

It’s official, the statement that I have been dreading all week was released from Maranello this morning. Ferrari announced on their twitter account that both the shake down and launch of the F2012 have been cancelled. “It is still snowing heavily here in Maranello. Therefore, the launch ceremony of the new F1 car has been cancelled. Pictures, interviews and technical analysis of the new car will be available tomorrow on www.ferrarif1.com.” I am naturally devastated by this news. I had bought a new pair of winter boots, purchased a whole bunch of snacks in preparation for my day in the snow and had been anticipating the arrival of tomorrow for several months. Ferrari’s news has made me want to curl up in bed and have someone wake me right before the start of free practice 1 at the Australian Grand Prix.

I know that no one can control the weather and Fernando Alonso could hardly be expected to drive the F2012 around Fiorano like a snow plough. Still, after a few months of having not seen a Formula 1 car in action, I am beginning to have major withdrawal symptoms. I think that I will probably head to Maranello tomorrow even though there will be no shake down on track. (I need to make sure that buses are still running) Something about the town always lifts my spirits and perhaps if I get lucky I may even spot a Ferrari celebrity or two. When I say celebrity, I am talking about someone like Stefano Domenicali more than any of the drivers, although surely they have to show up in order to have their pictures taken with the car. (This is my theory at least!) If at the end of the day the only thing that I manage to accomplish tomorrow is develop a minor case of frost bite and blisters on my feet, at least I will have some pretty pictures to show for it!

Winter Wonderland

It is really coming down out there! I went outside to take pictures and ruined my so-called winter boots in the slush and snow...looks like I may have to go shopping before Maranello! The city is absolutely stunning covered in a thin white blanket. I decided to share a few of my photos of Lodi with you.

In other news, I read an article on espn this morning talking about how the snow may cancel the proposed shake down of this year's single-seater. Rumor has it that Felipe Massa has been selected to drive the car first at the inaugural test of the season in Jerez. Once again, I am keeping my fingers crossed that this weather settles down and that the team decide to run the car around Fiorano on Friday. Here's the link to that particular story http://en.espnf1.com/ferrari/motorsport/story/68965.html

Sudden Snowfall

It’s snowing and I’m not talking about the kind of snow that is more like rain and melts the moment that it hits the ground. This snow is thick and seems to be lingering on the street outside my window. The weather turned icy today and according to the locals this cold snap could be here to stay for quite some time. Normally I love snow, in fact for me it doesn’t quite feel like winter until the trees sparkle with frost and children throw snowballs at one another in the streets. This year, however, I would have preferred it to stay away for just one week longer. Although I will most likely be out and about tomorrow morning snapping pictures and enjoying Lodi in the snow, this sudden flurry has me worried about the planned shake down of the new Ferrari on Friday.

For those of you who don’t remember, the shake down (or promotional filming as it is sometimes referred to because of restrictions on testing) of Ferrari’s 2010 single-seater the F10 was cancelled due to bad weather which included snow and ice. Obviously this precedent has given me cause for concern.

Thankfully my friend Alex, who is an avid McLaren fan and Formula 1 enthusiast, was able to bring a smile to my face when she reminded me of the birth of Enzo Ferrari. It was 1898 and there was a snow storm in Modena on that February day. Legend has it the snowfall was so bad that Enzo’s father Alfredo was unable to leave his house and thus Enzo Ferrari’s birth was registered on February 20^th instead of February 18^th. Keeping this in mind, maybe the snow will be a good omen for Ferrari after all.

I looked at the long range forecast for Maranello this weekend and both snow and below freezing temperatures are expected for Friday and Saturday. It seems as though Mother Nature is determined to pay tribute to Enzo Ferrari in the only way that she can. I guess that all there is left to do now is keep my fingers crossed and hope that whatever the weather, the team decides to give the tifosi, who will surely show up in hoards this Friday, a glimpse of their latest championship contender. In addition to this, I will be sure to wear my warmest winter jacket along with several sweaters! Until then I’ve decided to make the most out of this snow, however long it lasts.

The Beautiful Beast

The Formula 1 pre-season has officially begun! Caterham launched their 2012 single-seater earlier last week and McLaren, Force India and Ferrari are all set to follow in the coming days. I have to say that if the rest of the grid looks like the deranged sea mammal that the Norfolk-based Caterham have produced, we’re in for one ugly grid this year. Okay, maybe I’m being a little bit harsh on the CT01, I am after all no aerodynamicist but still I know that I am not the only one who is turned off by that nose. It makes me wonder what monstrosity will emerge from the fog when the new Ferrari makes its way around Fiorano for the first time on Friday. Both Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo have been quoted describing the car as less than attractive so chances are the new baby will be no raving beauty. Of course, beauty is not everything. My boyfriend Luca was quick to remind me of the Ferrari 312T4. It was, as he put it, “The ugliest thing since the March ‘tea tray’” and yet no one complained because Ferrari was able to secure both the constructor’s and driver’s championships with it in 1979. Ferrari too seem to be taking the attitude that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that it will be the character of the car that wins tifosi hearts. Luca di Montezemolo joked about the new single-seater at Ferrari’s Wroom event “I’d like it to look lousy: I say that provocatively because I want it to be a winner, reliable but also simpatico in the sense that it knows how to win with a smile!”

Just in case you can’t wait until Friday to speculate on which direction Ferrari have gone, I discovered yesterday that the Italian magazine Austosprint has created predictive drawings of what is set to be named the F12 or F2012 in their latest magazine! http://www.auto.it/autosprint/formula_1/2012/01/23-10200/I+segreti+della+Ferrari+F12+oggi+su+AS Buy it if you can get your sweaty little hands on it, I know that I will!

Even after the car launch on Friday, Ferrari will likely still be keeping a few things under wraps until March. At this point the only thing that I can say for certain is that we won’t know exactly how fast the new Ferrari is until the first race of the season in Melbourne. Remember last year’s pre-season testing? I was feeling very confident in the Ferrari 150º Italia (although all the fuss over the name seemed like a bad omen to me) and McLaren looked way off the pace. I remember on several occasions feeling a premature sense of smugness while watching the time sheets and then being surprised by both McLaren and Red Bull at the first race. I won’t be making that mistake again this year.