Ferrari to emerge as the threat to Red Bull
Red Bull may be the team to beat for the Formula One world championship, but Ferrari are hot on their heels.
Mark Webber emerged as the championship leader for Red Bull after the Italian Grand Prix, a race the team had admitted would be their weakest. Red Bull are top of the constructors’ standings as well.
Fernando Alonso recorded his third win of the season in front of the home crowd at Monza for Ferrari, and now sits 21 points behind Webber, with the momentum to take the fight to the Red Bulls.
The remaining five circuits provide the perfect layout for Red Bull, as their car works best when there are plenty of turns and tight sections. Ferrari have shown they have the pace to match them and look likely to push them all the way rather than McLaren, who have built their car to be quick in a straight line, not ideal for twisty circuits.
Since the infamous race win in Germany - where Ferrari were fined $100,000 for implementing team orders - Alonso and Ferrari have scored more points than their championship rivals, and he believes his car will be quick enough to maintain the challenge.
“Despite failing to score in Spa, where the accident on the first lap weighed heavily like a stone, Ferrari and I have scored more points than anyone else in these last four races,” said Alonso. “That makes us even more confident and the fact these results came on tracks with very different characteristics to one another, confirms that our car is pretty versatile.”
The Spaniard won back-to-back world titles at Renault in 2005 and 2006, and before coming to Italy, he remained optimistic about his chances to win a third world crown, even though he found himself 42 points adrift of top-spot.
“I had arrived in Maranello confident that we could reignite our championship chances, even if I felt it would be very tough. Now we can claim to have made a good step forward,” he said.
“At Spa, things had not gone well, so it was hard to say beforehand what we might really be capable of. However, we knew that, as long as we did our best, we would be in with a chance and that's how things turned out. Now our aim must be to try and do the same in the final five races of the championship,” said Alonso.
The Italian Grand Prix came down to the pit stop for Ferrari and they got Alonso out ahead of Jenson Button, who had been leading the race up until that point. Alonso made a special visit to the factory in Maranello to thank the team for the quick work they did to help him win the race.
“I was able to personally thank everyone at the Gestione Sportiva, when they all gathered in the logistics building. It was nice to once again lift the winner's trophy in front of the people who had made the victory possible, starting with the guys who did the pit stop,” said Alonso.
Red Bull will not have it all their own way in the remaining races, and they will be hoping they see Alonso in their mirrors rather than watching the back of his Ferrari through their helmet visors.
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