Under Pressure - Montezemolo faces a grilling on Sunday night
Ferrari has used its website to publish a letter to fans from company president Luca di Montezemolo in the wake of the team’s frustrating Abu Dhabi GP.
In it Montezemolo – who has faced a battering in the media and bizarrely from Italian politicians – thanks everyone for their support, and insists that Ferrari will bounce back with a winning package next year.
The letter read as follows: A couple of days after the huge disappointment of the outcome of this season’s last race, which still hurts, I want to talk to you. I felt, just like you and the whole team that the goal we have been pursuing over the whole season even when others had written us off was even closer after Saturday afternoon’s qualifying.
Unfortunately a wrong evaluation from the pitwall during a crucial stage compromised the race, preventing the conquest of the title. The five marvellous victories by Fernando and the team weren’t enough to reach our goal. This is the law of sports.
Nevertheless I think that all those who have worked so hard during the year – technicians, mechanics, workers and drivers – have to be thanked for their commitment, their dedication and their competence they showed every single one of them. I thanked them personally last Sunday evening at the track and yesterday at the Works, but today I want to do it together with our fans. Unfortunately the final is not on a level with an exciting season, where we were the undisputed protagonists of an incredible pursuit race and therefore the result leaves us with an even bigger bitter aftertaste.
I also whole-heartedly want to thank all of you, who encouraged us, cheered for us, stimulated us and criticised us, although always with affection and the passion, which characterises those who really love Ferrari. It’s during those moments, which aren’t so easy, when you recognise the real fans like you.
I received numerous messages of encouragement, strengthening our desire to react. We all want to get back onto the track immediately for a return game, but we have to wait until the start of the next Championship. Meanwhile we will continue to work relentlessly on the 2011 single-seater, because we all, together with you have an objective: taking a winning car onto the track as of the first race.
Thank you all and Forza Ferrari!!
Adam Cooper F1 
Who would like to wager that there wont be the annual “Night of the long knives” at Marenello this winter?
So who goes and why?
Massa! He is no longer anything other than a supporting driver and they certainly need someone to push Alonso from within.
Rob Smedley. He is a Brit, in addition to which he was the voice that alerted everyone as to the German GP fix.
Chris Dyer, made the fateful call? Time for him to be moved along, no longer a mock Italian.
Will be interesting to see how this all falls out.
It is self-evident Petrov -Big Girl’s Blouse current owner- has earned the right to become loyal Felipe’s new mate at Ferrari, who will be far better off featuring both drivers from thriving BRIC economies and definitely relieved without zombiebank and its pay driver, also known as Elfraud Fourgates (massdampergate ’05-’06, spygate ’07, crashgate ’08 and radiogate ’10).
“technicians, mechanics, workers and drivers”
But not team management and race engineers…? Hmmm.
How wrong was this decision really? I do think that Ferrari are getting a lot of stick for what was a marginal call imo, and was staying out going to guarantee the 4th place anyway?
Clearly by pitting they were covering Webber to protect against falling behind him into 5th giving Vettel the championship – they were not covering Webber because they were worried Webber getting adequate points to take the championship of Alonso.
Ferrari mistakenly believed that they could get back through the traffic to 4th which ultimately they couldn’t, but was the alternative definitely and obviously better?
Alonso did not have the pace to match Vettel, Hamilton or Button so the best he could hope for from staying out was 4th. But if Webber was able to get through the traffic then Alonso would have fallen behind him to 5th when he pitted – again giving Vettel the title.
And what about Rosberg? Did Alonso have the pace to pull out a big enough gap to pit later and come out ahead of Rosberg? I’m not sure that he did. If not he was again back in 5th (at best) giving Vettel the title.
I have not been able to find any analysis of Rosberg/Alonso’s relative pace – it seems to be an aspect that no pundit has really considered (or at least discussed). Do you have access to the relative lap times in those early laps Adam to see if it was possible for Alonso to pull out a gap to stay ahead of Rosberg if he pitted later?
You’re making this more complicated than it actually is:
Lap 14 (before FA stop): Jenson 2 secs ahead of Alonso
Lap 40 (post JB stop) Jenson 14s ahead of Rosberg
As long as Jenson stayed within that margin of Jenson he would have ended up fourth and ahead of Rosberg. Ferrari acted on the basis that he might have a had a problem staying ahead of Webber and put him a position where he was definitely going to end up behind Petrov and Rosberg. Not clever…
They leave Massa out there also, instead of sending him to the rear of the queue where he was useless. He could have backed the entire pack up for Alonso including anyone else who pitted too soon.