In the round-up: Kimi Raikkonen believes Ferrari have laid the groundwork to bounce back from their win-less season in 2015.
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Raikkonen: “Working together in the same direction” (Ferrari)
“Ferrari is always expected to win races and fight at the front. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, but for the next season we laid down the basis for Scuderia Ferrari to come back to the level it should be at.”
Alonso: Leaving Ferrari ‘very difficult’ (Autosport)
“I went from Renault to McLaren, and then I went back to Renault; I come to Ferrari, maybe I come back to the team. It seems the people who work with me give me one door open when it is normally the opposite of what I read – that I am very difficult to work with.”
2014 FIA Prize-Giving Champions’ Press Conference (FIA)
“For me [superstitions are] just an excuse from something else to go wrong. You can blame it on ‘ah, I didn’t do that’. It just fills your head full of crap to be honest. I don’t like superstitions.”
‘Making sure decision is right’ (Sky)
“There is no problem, it is just taking the time to consider what is good for McLaren.”
Tweets
Thank you to everyone for your kind messages of support today!
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) December 6, 2014
Our thoughts are with our friends @redbullracing after their trophies theft in Milton Keynes. Nobody can steal your success. #RedBullFamily
— Toro Rosso (@ToroRossoSpy) December 6, 2014
And the 2014 #F1 season video is called… "It was fair". Is that really the best they could think of? pic.twitter.com/YxgFzVDL26
— F1 Fanatic (@f1fanatic_co_uk) December 6, 2014
Anyway, here's some links to grab your copy… Direct from Duke: http://t.co/twbcUo6nL4 Via the F1F Gift Guide: http://t.co/jF41TwSojG #F1
— F1 Fanatic (@f1fanatic_co_uk) December 6, 2014
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
The criticism of McLaren’s delay in naming their drivers isn’t just of interest to those in the UK:
German here, and completely annoyed about the delays and the way they treat Button. This is a F1 world champion who has plenty more wins and maybe even some more titles in front of himself.
Also, this has been a daily topic in German motorsport news.
Oli (@Dh1996)
From the forum
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Stretch!
If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is via the contact form or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
And happy birthday to former F1 driver Robert Kubica who is 30 today!
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
7th December 2014, 0:06
“it was Fair”. Sigh..
Wouldn’t surprise me if the Spa incident has the background music from “Why Can’t We Be Friends” by War.
PhilEReid (@philereid)
7th December 2014, 1:06
@fer-no65 I was thinking “We Used to be Friends” by Dandy Warhols
InSilico_ (@insilico)
7th December 2014, 1:23
What does “It was fair” refer to anyways? The fight between Hamilton and Rosberg?
Sven (@crammond)
7th December 2014, 1:45
Nah, Bernie is referring to the money-distribution.
@HoHum (@hohum)
7th December 2014, 2:00
:-) and he wasn’t going to rate these lawn-mower engines any better than “fair” because they aren’t loud enough for him.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
7th December 2014, 10:55
@crammond
Haha, like it.
Wesley (@)
7th December 2014, 21:47
“Bernie is referring to the money-distribution.”
Ha…ha…awesome!
Strontium (@strontium)
7th December 2014, 13:01
@insilico Probably the double points..
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
7th December 2014, 1:50
“It was fair”. As in Nico chopped me off at SPA but I earn double I have the #1 crew and engineers and I’m loved around the world, oh and Nicole beats Barbie and F1 likes me better because “it was fair”. I don’t know if this undermines LEwis or it undermines Nico. It was fair is not a review is a political statement. I guess it saves the trouble of watching the review. Why not call it “50 years later Lewis finishes off what Sterling started” or “Mercedes reigns like only 70 year old geezers remember” or “Mercedes vs Mercedes” not all my titles are jokes. In f1 nothing is fair whichever way you look at it, in the end these guys are a bunch of over privileged people.
Kim B
7th December 2014, 1:51
Why watch it then?
Kim B
7th December 2014, 1:53
That sounded worse on a re-read than I meant it, but there are plenty of local motorsport events where there is close racing, much more accessible, and you can even get a chance to go racing yourself if you can find a bob or three thousand. If people really think F1 is so bad, full of divas and idiots, then why bother when there are so many alternatives?
@HoHum (@hohum)
7th December 2014, 2:02
it was fair-to middleing.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
7th December 2014, 3:34
Why not make it “Hamilton Makes it Two” or “A New Era” or “Hamilton is hungrier” or “Nico licks apples” or anything else. They are better than “it was fair”. If anything, it wasn’t fair.
Oeiiiiiiiiiiii! (another davidnotcoulthard account) (@)
7th December 2014, 9:05
@fer-no65 @insilico I’m thinking more “A Trip to the Fair” by Renaissance.
WH
8th December 2014, 11:53
Methinks the Bernie doth protest too much…
Breno (@austus)
7th December 2014, 0:19
I’m calling it, Alonso will replace Raikkonen again (if Ferrari end up better than Mclaren).
Danny
7th December 2014, 5:37
I totally agree. ALO will go back to Ferarri 2016 if Mclaren is again uncompetitive.
Strontium (@strontium)
7th December 2014, 13:03
@austus Yeah, I agree. I said something similar a few days ago somewhere on this site ;)
Traverse
7th December 2014, 0:22
So you mean to tell me, that Lewis and Nico were Siamese twins all along…wow!!
Breno (@austus)
7th December 2014, 18:59
Lewis must have got the right foot.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
7th December 2014, 0:31
I don’t want Fernando to end up in McLaren, nothing against the team, but in 2014 McLaren had the best engine, yet they were still nowhere near the top. Those who are expecting McLaren-Honda to immediately become a force to be reckoned with are likely in for disappointment. McLaren’s last two chassis have been average at best, and I don’t trust Honda. In fact, I’d be surprised if they were any better than Renault/Ferrari, let alone on par with Mercedes.
QuadQuantum (@quadquantum)
7th December 2014, 1:11
Sadly, I think we’re all getting quite used to McLaren disappointing us.
@HoHum (@hohum)
7th December 2014, 2:04
Well they have bought in some RBR expertise for the 2015 car.
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
7th December 2014, 6:04
I very much agree with you Kingshark, but I couldn’t believe that Alonso had the possibility of a comeback to the reds. If that happens he have to drive better that ever when Vettel is in the other car. And if we see Alonso in a red car in 2016, then I also think Vettel will once again disappoint us, just as he did in 2014.
..And Mclaren, they’re the Arsenal FC of Formula 1. Always the “almost-almost-but-not-quite-there-yet”-team.
beneboy (@beneboy)
7th December 2014, 11:44
Alonso is currently 10/1 to win the WDC while Vettel & Raikonnen are 16/1 & 50/1 respectively, McLaren are 7/1 & 2nd favourite to win the WCC while Ferrari are 16/1 and 5th favourite.
The odds compilers seem to think Honda will be bringing a very good engine next season and that the Honda-McLaren-Alonso partnership will be reasonably successful.
hey (@hey)
7th December 2014, 0:34
Have we all heard the one about this being a really extravagant way for Ron Dennis to screw Alonso over and leave him high-and-dry?
Pete (@repete86)
7th December 2014, 0:39
Being honest, a small part of me wants to see that.
Bforth (@bforth)
7th December 2014, 1:34
You’re not the only one.
George (@george)
7th December 2014, 1:44
He could do Le Mans then :)
schooner (@schooner)
7th December 2014, 4:29
Not saying that I don’t admire Alonso’s obvious driving talents and achievements, and while it seems very unlikely, I’d definitely have a good laugh if that turned out to be the case.
caci99
7th December 2014, 11:09
I think Alonso is a more astute guy than some may think, and I do believe he is in a stronger position than McLaren. If he will be out of F1 next year, it means that he want it that way. Only time will tell anyway.
TMF (@)
7th December 2014, 15:17
Frankly, I was surprised that RD rolled over so easily and it went even as far as negotiating with him. There must be enormous pressure from others within the team to get him back, so I don’t think that it’s an option for RD at this point.
Theo Parkinson (@theo-hrp)
7th December 2014, 0:52
Wow. That is a terrible title. They could have called it Hamilton vs Rosberg and it would have been better.
Graham (@guitargraham)
7th December 2014, 14:54
i’d have called it Hammertime
DaveD (@daved)
8th December 2014, 21:30
+1
John H (@john-h)
7th December 2014, 1:01
I realise this comment is going to sound harsh, but seriously, just let’s leave McLaren to it shall we. Getting really tired of all the sympathy for Jenson now. They employ the drivers at the end of the day, so they can do what they like, and I’m sure they have good reason to take time over the decision.
Clearly they don’t feel Button is in the same league as (for example) Alonso so that’s why its taking so long to make the decision. I think most of us on this site would not put Jenson in the top 3 or 4 of today’s current drivers.
Please don’t get me wrong, I love Jenson, he is a fantastic driver and a superb ambassador for F1, but there is a reason that he hasn’t got a drive confirmed for next season yet. McLaren don’t owe him a quick decision at all. Sorry, just my opinion on the matter.
@HoHum (@hohum)
7th December 2014, 2:09
Maybe they don’t want Jenson because he might just do as well as Alonso and that would make it hard to explain to the investors why they paid so much for Alonso.
BJ (@beejis60)
7th December 2014, 6:11
@hohum While I don’t doubt that’s one facet of the arguments being talked about or thought about, I bet the reality is that Honda wants someone who will score as many points as possible, perhaps more than ALO, whereas MAG is McLaren’s own jr driver who they want to see in the seat much like RBR with moving RIC to the team.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
7th December 2014, 7:17
@john-h, you are right of course that it’s McLaren’s decision to make, but this delay is costing McLaren goodwill, and is not good for their drivers, either.
If it was just a case of deciding which driver will do the best job, then they could have made a choice long ago. Instead, it feels as if many other factors are playing a role in the background, like sponsorships deals, and James Allen hinted at a power struggle between Ron Dennis and the board:
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2014/12/crunch-mclaren-board-meeting-fails-to-decide-on-driver-line-up-for-2015/
I’m struggling to find the right word, but it all feels a bit unsavoury to me.
PhilEReid (@philereid)
7th December 2014, 1:06
“It Was Fair”
The titles of these have not been good in the past… Some how they just keep getting worse.
@HoHum (@hohum)
7th December 2014, 2:10
Next years title ” Almost exciting”
hzh (@hzh00)
7th December 2014, 7:49
I think they would’ve called it “it was UNFAIR” in case Rosberg won the championship because of double points.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
7th December 2014, 1:12
So here we go again with Ferrari promising that they can challenge at the front again, having failed to do so on a consistent basis since 2008. For all the change that’s happened at Maranello recently, why can’t they ditch this tired rhetoric? I know may will think “well what do you expect them to say?”. I want them to tell the truth – that catching Mercedes is a near-impossible task, and that they have a very long road to walk before they can be back to winning titles. I’m a frustrated Ferrari fan. I want them to at least acknowledge that they can’t make a miracle happen in time for 2015, and stop deluding themselves and their supporters as they have been doing every winter for the past six years.
@HoHum (@hohum)
7th December 2014, 2:20
You really would think that they would learn from Brawn, very successful but not immediately, usually it takes 3 years for Brawn to achieve that success, and he never says ” It will all be fixed in 3 months” let alone next race as Ferrari keeps doing. Hopefully Allison can devise a plan and make them stick to it.
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
7th December 2014, 6:08
+1 very frustrated tifoso myself.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
7th December 2014, 15:12
@colossal-squid and @il-ferrarista I hardly call 2010 and 2012 uncompetetive years. Red Bull was better but that doesn’t mean Ferrari weren’t there. Or are you guys so deep into Ferrari you think they have the right to have at least 5 titles every 10 years.
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
8th December 2014, 3:13
Well, in 2010 Ferrari was quite competetive, but after that it just went straight downwards. The F2012 was worse than F150 and the 2013-car was effectively the 3rd or 4th fastest car. Admittedly many of these cars were good tactically speaking in races, and Alonso remained their biggest asset, but Mclaren had the the second fastest car in 2011, even 2010(!), and *the* fastest in 2012.
Simply put: you just *cant* challenge Red Bull Racing with consistently the second, third, or fourth fastest car on the grid. Even if you have an Alonso and a demotivated Brazilian in the other car.
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
8th December 2014, 3:16
But yes, according to their resources Ferrari should have a title every third/fourth-or-so season.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
9th December 2014, 9:28
@xtwl No, I don’t think Ferrari are entitled to Championships, I’d just like to see them win one. I am a fan after all.
As to your statement, if you look at the 2010 and 2012 seasons there are vast swathes of time within those seasons where Ferrari were not capable of winning races. After Bahrain and before Germany the Ferrari was the third fastest car, and it was only a mid-season update that brought it to the level where it could poach wins.
In 2012 it had a good run mid-season but fell off towards the end, costing Ferrari and Alonso the Championship. It didn’t come close to winning after Germany and that was mid season. To say that Ferrari were competitive throughout those seasons is far too simplistic a view. Did you even watch those seasons?
That’s why I said in my comment that they’ve failed to challenge on a consistent basis since 2008.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
9th December 2014, 14:15
@colossal-squid If a car + driver can finish 3 points off the champion I really fail to see how that is not competetive. Reliability for one is part of being competetive. Finishing twice on the podium is still better than one win and a DNF.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
9th December 2014, 15:08
@xtwl Without being flippant: Fernando Alonso.
Seriously though Ferrari won 3 races in 2012, McLaren 7 and Red Bull 7. Competitive, in the context mentioned above is being able to consistently challenge for wins. My point is valid – Ferrari have not built a consistently competitive car since 2008. In 2010, Ferrari came close, granted, but they had a long stretch of time early in the season where they struggled to get onto the podium.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
9th December 2014, 15:11
@colossal-squid Tell that to Keke Rosbeg for example. I think you’re hardly proving anything. Ferrari, in my eyes, had a competetive car in 2012 for sure.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
9th December 2014, 17:01
@xtwl So your counter-argument is to use a unique circumstance – that of a driver winning a single race and the championship. You’re hardly refuting anything.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
9th December 2014, 18:35
@colossal-squid I’m pointing out wins don’t decide championships of you can’t score decent points in the races you couldn’t win which is what Alonso did in 2012. He scored very decent in every race and won when he could. That is being competetive, winning the amount of races Hamilton did this season or Vettel before is called dominant and goes above being competetive.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
10th December 2014, 0:42
@xtwl If wins don’t decide Championships, then name the last champion that took less race wins than his rivals? I can’t think of any off the top of my head over the past twenty-odd years. Remember that no driver won more than one race in 1982, equal to Rosberg.
My point is as it has always been that Ferrari have failed to deliver a car that can CONSISTENTLY challenge for wins across a season. Looking at 2012, Ferrari were well down on raw pace to their rivals – according to this article they were on average the fourth fastest car: https://www.racefans.net/2012/12/03/2012-f1-car-performance/ .
Prior to Ferrari’s update in Spain, Alonso’s average grid position was 9.5. Reading the F1Fanatic Driver Rankings from 2012 gives further credence to the idea that the F2012 was a poor car at the start of the season. A few of Keith’s comments:
“It’s hard not to admire a talented driver working wonders in a sub-par car. Watching Fernando Alonso grapple with the F2012 during qualifying in Melbourne, struggling merely to keep the thing pointed in a straight line, I doubted we’d see him on top of the podium any time soon.”
Commenting on Ferrari’s performance in the context of his Malaysian win, Keith said
“This looked like a great win at the time and when the next two rounds supplied further proof of how far off the mark the F2012 was, the feat Alonso performed in Malaysia shone even more brightly.”
Ferrari went off the boil after Germany, race 10 of 20.
“This was his third and final triumph of the season. As Red Bull and McLaren grew stronger Alonso relied on a series of podium finishes to stay in the hunt.”
https://www.racefans.net/2012/12/14/2012-f1-driver-rankings-1/
So it’s clear that at the start of the 2012 season, Alonso was not in a competitive car. It is in spite of his car, and not because of it, that Alonso was able to achieve great feats. Yes, Ferrari closed the gap mid-season, and yes, Alonso challenged Vettel for the Championship, but the car’s pace relative to its rivals was inconsistent and it was incapable of wins at both the start and end of the season. That’s my entire point. Ferrari haven’t had a car that’s been great over an entire season for a long time. They haven’t made a car that can CONSISTENTLY win races. It’s cost them and Alonso Championships in 2010 and 2012. Ferrari were very strong at the start of 2013 but didn’t add to their two wins from the fourth round of the season onwards. Another inconsistent showing.
Philip (@philipgb)
7th December 2014, 2:01
These Kimi press releases are almost as funny as the Lotus tweets.
Has the person that writes and publishes them even any idea who he is?
tmax (@tmax)
7th December 2014, 2:34
Looks like FIA had some doubt in their minds hence “It is Fair” ;)
“Guilty Conscience” in simple word !!!!
reiter (@reiter)
7th December 2014, 2:53
“I wholeheartedly endorse this team and/or car.” – Kimi Raikkonen
Calum (@calum)
7th December 2014, 3:51
Revore of the F1 2014 Season: It was fair.
Is that 5/10? F1 Fanatic race-by-race ratings may suggest otherwise?
Review of F1 2014 Season: It was above-average?
Review of F1 2014 Season: It was very good?
Review of F1 2014 Season: It was a classic?
[Delete as appropriate]
Nic Morley (@robocat)
7th December 2014, 3:54
What’s with “It was fair”? Sounds so unexciting. Previously a lot of the titles have been pretty poor in my opinion.
2008 – Luck does not come into it
2009 – Not in a hurry
2010 – Sebastien’s coming of age
2011 – He’s done it again!
2012 – Victorious Vettel
2013 – Who can stop him?
2014 – …. It was fair
They seem to be getting worse and worse. I would just leave it as “The official review of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship” and be done with it. None of these cringe titles or … it was fair.. you know it was fair stuff. I would have called it “The clash of the Mercedes” or something dramatic like that :P
f1fan
7th December 2014, 9:28
@robocat haha when I read your comment I thought the list was created by you…can’t believe that’s real xD
Broom (@)
7th December 2014, 17:52
I know I’m 6 years late but why was 2008 called ‘Luck does not come into it’? Didn’t Hamilton massively rely on Massa’s blown engine in Hungary and Massa falling victim of the Singapore crashgate scandal.
i’m guessing the It was Fair is due to them thinking anything other than a Hamilton win would be travesty.
Seems like anyone other than Hamilton winning is unfair or just lucky. Which demeans and insults the efforts of the other challengers those years.
Strontium (@strontium)
7th December 2014, 22:35
“I know I’m 6 years late but why was 2008 called ‘Luck does not come into it’? Didn’t Hamilton massively rely on Massa’s blown engine in Hungary and Massa falling victim of the Singapore crashgate scandal.”
@brum55 You are very right. It just demeans the title even more.
KeithR (@)
9th December 2014, 16:41
@brum55 All kinds of stuff came into it in 2008. Massa fell off in istr Malaysia. We could be unkind and say he threw the title away there. Allan Donnelly was there to ‘guide’ the stewards to handing Felipe the win in Spa; to penalise Hamilton for impeding in Q3 when it was only Kovalainen; for Fuji T1 when he didn’t touch anyone.
Yes Felipe’s team cocked up a couple of times, as did Lewis’ team when they let him carry on in France and spent £3m on a low-drag, low-downforce wing to bring to a wet race and then lost him 3 places with bad strategy…
And how lucky was Massa with Kimi’s bad luck?
I daresay I’ve forgotten even more.
So it was no lucky title. You gotta bring all the luck into it, or none.
Fletch (@fletchuk)
7th December 2014, 4:03
I strongly suspect that the McLaren situation isn’t as simple as them “taking their time to choose between Magnussen and Button”
It’s much much more likely that either they’re having trouble finalizing terms with Alonso, or they have a complex chain of sponsorship agreements they’re having trouble working through – the KMag/Lego deal potentially was one of these.
Choosing between BUT or MAG to be teammate to ALO would not be played out like this IMHO.
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
7th December 2014, 6:33
Most likely big commercial and sponsor interests are at stake here, not just driver performances. So I would also say that the drivers *can* wait even a few more weeks.
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
7th December 2014, 6:43
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/30346965 “Mclaren delay over Buttons future disgusting -Warwick “
KaIIe (@kaiie)
7th December 2014, 10:29
Not only sponsorship, but the whole ownership of the team. What I’ve read from various (reliable or non-reliable) sources is that Ron is trying to buy back some shares of the team, and the deadline for that is coming up. After that, if Ron is in control of the team, he can do what he wants, if not, there will probably be another delay.
RL
7th December 2014, 9:12
Are they trying NOT to sell DVDs with that title?!
KeithR (@)
7th December 2014, 9:34
It should have been “Phew it was fair!” perhaps, to express the surprise that the right guy won in spite of the stewarding.
salcrich
7th December 2014, 9:43
Slightly off topic. But relevant to the McClaren debate do any of the statistical whizzos out there have a “whole lifetime” cost for each of the drivers? Button’s salary v Magnusson is mentioned but what is the total cost of each to the team over a season – eg salary, plus repair bills less £ per point won, less sponsorship obtained and any other factors that might affect finances.
Neel Jani (@neelv27)
7th December 2014, 10:11
I really doubt that these are the words of Kimi. Over a few weeks, it seems like Ferrari are on a fire-fighting mission and are coming out with statements (tailor-made, of course) trying to paint a good picture.
More than Kimi, I think it’s the PR that’s talking now.
toiago (@toiago)
7th December 2014, 16:39
Of course it is. For Kimi to genuinely say such long and complex sententeces there’d have to happen a miracle. Or him winning a second world championship.
dam00r (@dam00r)
7th December 2014, 11:29
“He was the better driver this year” – Nico
Stretch (@stretch)
7th December 2014, 12:21
Thanks @keithcollantine!
HK (@me4me)
7th December 2014, 17:55
Really wonder how Ferrari will do next year, and if they can win any race. Not only are they in a mess right now, firing people and making some questionable decisions, they are also up agains an evolution of a car that was way, way quicker them them this year. Not to mention Mclaren-Honda-Alonso-Prodromou, Redbull with a better engine, and Williams who probably have a very decent car as well. I really hope James Allison has done a great job, and will continue to do so, so that we can see Ferrari at the front once more.
KeithR (@)
7th December 2014, 18:08
@me4me Yep Ferrari have James Allison otherwise it’s all good news for the other teams. Transfer Alonso to McLaren in 2014 and Ferrari would have been 5th surely. I don’t see Vettel as a full replacement for him. Bottas and Ricciardo will have improved.
I’d be happy to see Ferrari 5th personally, behind Red Bull, Mac, Williams and Merc.
Kroon (@kroonracing)
7th December 2014, 20:33
I don’t think Ferrari cares much about being 5th or 6th. Raikkonen surely doesn’t and I would be surprised if anything but 1st really counts for Vettel.
Ben (@bcrabtree)
7th December 2014, 22:26
What car is Kimi sitting on in that photo? The nose looks so much better.
Alexander (@)
8th December 2014, 15:40
It’s the F60 from 2009
SauberS1 (@saubers1)
7th December 2014, 23:10
I think this statement spawns from Ferrari, not Kimi.
build
8th December 2014, 23:36
I don’t like superstitions either, they are bad luck.
;-)