Was Silverstone Grand Prix an outside chance for Ferrari towards 2011 title?
The Ferrari team won their first race of the 2011 Formula 1 season in Silverstone which was the ninth race of the campaign.
Although a Ferrari win at any part of the season is regarded as something special still realistically one race win will not do any good for the Scarlet team if they are to take revenge of the 2010 season defeat from the Red Bull Racing team.
For the first time in the 2011 season, Ferrari showed their true potential when not only Fernando Alonso posted the fastest lap times at the top of the order but Felipe Massa was also very fast in fifth place.
The Silverstone Grand Prix clearly showed the strengths and weaknesses of the Ferrari team as they were slower in wet conditions and uncatchable in dry conditions.
Ferrari struggled to get grip of the 2011 prospects in the opening part of the season when Red Bull and McLaren were racing among themselves.
But as soon as Ferrari stood up to the task, it was considered as too late by Formula 1 analysts.
From the last three races, Ferrari have been really strong on the track and have not had any problems with the Pirelli compounds. Although Ferrari were not so lucky in Montreal and Valencia it was believed that a win is around the corner from the Scarlet
team.
However, watching the red car go past the chequered flag is a spectacular sight but a glance at the 2011 championship table does not give a good reading for the Ferrari team.
The constructors’ championship is almost out of reach of the Ferrari team as they are halfway through the Red Bull points tally. Ferrari are on 164 points whereas Red Bull are miles ahead on 328.
However, the drivers’ championship is clearly there for the taking as Alonso is now third on the table 92 points adrift. Although the gap is still very large but still there are some advantages that the Spaniard will have moving on in the 2011 season.
The biggest of them was seen in Silverstone that Ferrari were way stronger than Red Bull in wet conditions as the Spaniard was able to open up a gap of 16.5 seconds from Vettel in a space of 20 odd laps.
The second biggest advantage will be the clampdown of the Blown Diffuser which also showed its result on the Red Bull car as they were slower in corners and turns.
Ten races remain in the 2011 season and although a little too late, Ferrari are starting to put their best on the track and for anyone who knows history is aware that when the red car starts to push, panic can creep in fast.
After winning the Silverstone race, Alonso stated that the Ferrari team has nothing to lose and will go all out in the next rounds of the 2011 season.
Vettel only needs to finish races in top ten and he will win the 2011 season without any extra effort, but as history shows the young German is due to panic under pressure just as he showed in the 2010 season.
Nevertheless, the Formula 1 world is in for a thrilling battle in Germany and in Hungry before the summer break and the 2011 season prospects are very likely to be decided before that break.
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