GP Singapore: The reasons behind the Ferrari bankruptcy

D he Monza bankruptcy was just digested when Fernando Alonso looked up Forward. 'When I look at the rest of the program, our greatest chances of victory are in Singapore.' The optimism had good reasons. 'We were strong in Monte Carlo, but back then we didn't have as good a car as we do today. Our Ferrari is better than the fast ones on slow tracks that require a lot of downforce.'

Ferrari hoped for the tires in Singapore

Friday practice in Singapore seemed to confirm Ferrari's hopes. When comparing the endurance runs, Alonso was on a par with Sebastian Vettel. What nobody knew: Vettel was on the road with significantly more gasoline. Ferrari began to see the light on Saturday. Alonso had to conjure up an absolute lap of chaos on the tarmac to get into the area of ​​Webber, Button and Hamilton. Vettel's best time was out of the question. Nevertheless, the two-time Singapore winner still had good chances for the race. 'Our strength is the careful handling of the tires. The harder the track for the tires, the better for us.'

It should be a fallacy. Alonso was already in the pits after ten laps to get rid of his extra-soft tires. In the past only Nico Rosberg came to the service. Alonso had lost 16.5 seconds to Vettel and 5.7 seconds to Jenson Button after nine rounds. 2I just slipped around. The tires overheated even more. 'The high gasoline weight in the initial phase also killed the tires. Had Ferrari practiced on Friday with more gasoline in the tank, one would have been warned.

Race geared towards Hamilton

From that moment on Ferrari only planned with' soft 'brand tires, which is why Alonso did not come to the safety car phase to the pits to get new tires. He had already picked up his second set of 'soft' four laps earlier. Another change during the neutralization would have meant that Alonso would have had to switch back to 'super soft' in the final turn. That was the Ferrari -Strategists too hot. The fight with Mark Webber for third place had already been given up. 'We geared our race towards Hamilton. Risk would not have brought us any further, at most thrown behind the McLaren. '

After the race, the red camp puzzled why the Ferrarithis time couldn't play to his strengths. Such high tire wear had only been seen once this season. At the start of the season in Melbourne. Alonso differentiated: 'It was only bad with the extra-soft tires. With the soft rubbers, we were on a level with Red Bull and McLaren in terms of degradation. Unfortunately, with a speed that was six tenths to one second too slow.' The World Cup third placed the unusually heavy tire wear down to a simple formula: 'Our car has too little downforce. No grip means too much sliding. And that heats up the tires.'

New rear suspension stresses the rear tire

The technicians see the reasons in the route characteristics and the asphalt temperatures of a constant 34 Degree. Singapore goes for the rear tires because of the many 90 degree corners. A constellation that is not unlike Melbourne. And this time Ferrari drove again with the new rear suspension that debuted with so much success at Silverstone. It allows more suspension travel, but puts more stress on the tires. Good in cool temperatures and on tracks where the rear tire is less stressed.

Ferrari and Alonso are now mathematically out of both title races. Alonso wants to do everything possible to come in second in the drivers' championship. He is one point behind Button and two in front of Webber. 'That will be difficult enough. Depending on the type of track, there are still a few chances of finishing on the podium. I don't like to think about victories anymore. The Red Bull is too strong for that. We have to keep calm and set the course for 2012.' Ferrari will hardly conquer second place in the constructors' cup. McLaren is 84 points away. 'And they currently have the better car,' regrets Alonso.