Ferrari, Fernando Alonso: “A glass half full”

It was certainly not the weekend that all Ferrari fans – both the men and women who work in the factory in Maranello and the millions of fans around the world – were expecting. Fifth place for Fernando Alonso, who put a lot of effort into it, does not represent a result that lives up to the ambitions and potential of the Scuderia but, considering the current situation, it must be seen, to quote the words of the Spanish driver himself on his account on Twitter, as “a glass half full.”

Two fundamental aspects of the operations that characterize the race, such as strategy management and pit stops, also contributed significantly to filling the glass in question. At least in these two areas the 2012 season began as the previous one ended, and perhaps even better. From a strategy point of view, yesterday the wall directed by Pat Fry not only did not make any mistakes but was decisive in allowing Fernando to overtake first Rosberg and then Webber. The fact that the Australian then managed to finish the race ahead of the Ferrari driver was mainly due to the fact that the safety car came into play at the least favorable moment for Fernando, who had just made his second pit stop when he still had five second margin over the Red Bull driver.

The other positive aspect - the numbers speak for themselves - of Sunday at Albert Park were the operations relating to tire changes. Both absolutely and on average, the Prancing Horse mechanics and drivers were the fastest. The best time in the pit lane of the day was that recorded by Fernando during his second stop (21"910) but all five of the Ferrari drivers' pit stops were made under the 23" barrier and occupy even the first five places: only Hamilton, Button and Webber, each once each, managed to do the same, without however ever doing better than 22”8. This result, which does not give points but certainly gives confidence to those involved in an operation as complex as it is delicate and stressful, is the result of the great work done over the last year and which had already led the team to improve a lot in the second part of the 2011 championship. During the winter, interventions were also made on the rims of the single-seater, on the equipment and on the procedures which, also thanks to the commitment of Felipe and Fernando, made it possible to obtain this result. Yesterday at Albert Park those seconds gained were not decisive but the moment will come when an advantage of a few tenths can be worth a position on the track. At that moment the team will arrive prepared, without however getting to their heads: the mistake is always around the corner and it takes a moment to return to the eye of the storm, even if we should always judge everything coldly and not emotionally .