22-04-2014, 16:25
(Este mensaje fue modificado por última vez en: 22-04-2014, 16:26 por maripi.)
Coulthard column: Vettel struggles but Alonso & Ferrari progress
By David Coulthard
BBC F1 co-commentator and former F1 driver
Ferrari's revival was one of a number of great stories to come out of the Chinese Grand Prix, which is good news for the rest of the Formula 1 season to come.
When Fernando Alonso was fastest in first practice on Friday and then second to Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes in the second session, the suspicion was Ferrari were flattering to deceive on new team boss Marco Mattiacci's first day at work.
2014 F1 Grand Prix winners
Mercedes
Australian Grand Prix - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
Malaysian Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Bahrain Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Chinese Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
But even taking into account Hamilton's very managed pace in his dominant victory, it was a better all-round performance from Ferrari, and Alonso grabbed the final podium place behind the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton could probably have been another 30 seconds down the road had he really pushed, but Ferrari's pace relative to the rest of the field had vastly improved compared to the previous race in Bahrain, where Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth and 10th.
Ferrari had some modifications to their car's aerodynamic features in China and it was clear from the speed-trap figures that they had made a step forward on engine performance as well.
I have reason to believe this is at least partly due to changes with their fuel, which is an important factor in the performance of these new turbo hybrid engines.
On top of that, Alonso was on fantastic form. In the 13th year of his career, he continues to be like a scalded cat off the grid. He gets really stuck in on the first lap.
That continues to add weight to just what a good driver he is and it's worth pointing out that only at McLaren with Hamilton, in 2007, has a team-mate really given him any trouble.
It's not that one was better than the other; it's that Alonso was not in a happy place back then. He was given the big honeymoon by Ron Dennis and then got jilted at the altar because Dennis turned his attentions to Hamilton.
Raikkonen struggled again, and has now been well behind Alonso in all four races so far.
It's early days, but this is already reminiscent of Raikkonen's first spell at Ferrari, when he was not that impressive.
Okay, he won the world title in 2007, but that was largely because the McLaren guys tripped over each other. And Raikkonen still needed to be gifted the win in the final race of the season by team-mate Felipe Massa to seal it.
Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen has finished well behind Fernando Alonso in all four grands prix this season
Raikkonen did very well at Lotus in the last two years, but was that just a very good package coupled with the fact that Romain Grosjean is just not that good? Or did it all just work for Raikkonen? It's very difficult to judge.
It will be interesting to see how Raikkonen deals with the rest of the season, because right now he is not looking like a guy who is going to have a long-term career at Ferrari.
I'm not trying to discredit Raikkonen, because he is clearly a very talented racing driver.
But when things are not going well, that's when the work ethic he lacks, compared to people like Alonso, seems to let him down.
By David Coulthard
BBC F1 co-commentator and former F1 driver
Ferrari's revival was one of a number of great stories to come out of the Chinese Grand Prix, which is good news for the rest of the Formula 1 season to come.
When Fernando Alonso was fastest in first practice on Friday and then second to Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes in the second session, the suspicion was Ferrari were flattering to deceive on new team boss Marco Mattiacci's first day at work.
2014 F1 Grand Prix winners
Mercedes
Australian Grand Prix - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
Malaysian Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Bahrain Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Chinese Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
But even taking into account Hamilton's very managed pace in his dominant victory, it was a better all-round performance from Ferrari, and Alonso grabbed the final podium place behind the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton could probably have been another 30 seconds down the road had he really pushed, but Ferrari's pace relative to the rest of the field had vastly improved compared to the previous race in Bahrain, where Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth and 10th.
Ferrari had some modifications to their car's aerodynamic features in China and it was clear from the speed-trap figures that they had made a step forward on engine performance as well.
I have reason to believe this is at least partly due to changes with their fuel, which is an important factor in the performance of these new turbo hybrid engines.
On top of that, Alonso was on fantastic form. In the 13th year of his career, he continues to be like a scalded cat off the grid. He gets really stuck in on the first lap.
That continues to add weight to just what a good driver he is and it's worth pointing out that only at McLaren with Hamilton, in 2007, has a team-mate really given him any trouble.
It's not that one was better than the other; it's that Alonso was not in a happy place back then. He was given the big honeymoon by Ron Dennis and then got jilted at the altar because Dennis turned his attentions to Hamilton.
Raikkonen struggled again, and has now been well behind Alonso in all four races so far.
It's early days, but this is already reminiscent of Raikkonen's first spell at Ferrari, when he was not that impressive.
Okay, he won the world title in 2007, but that was largely because the McLaren guys tripped over each other. And Raikkonen still needed to be gifted the win in the final race of the season by team-mate Felipe Massa to seal it.
Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen has finished well behind Fernando Alonso in all four grands prix this season
Raikkonen did very well at Lotus in the last two years, but was that just a very good package coupled with the fact that Romain Grosjean is just not that good? Or did it all just work for Raikkonen? It's very difficult to judge.
It will be interesting to see how Raikkonen deals with the rest of the season, because right now he is not looking like a guy who is going to have a long-term career at Ferrari.
I'm not trying to discredit Raikkonen, because he is clearly a very talented racing driver.
But when things are not going well, that's when the work ethic he lacks, compared to people like Alonso, seems to let him down.
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