Whitmarsh: “Ferrari and Alonso are in the title race”
The director of the McLaren-Mercedes team believes that Fernando Alonso and Scuderia Ferrari have now become contenders for the 2012 title, having turned things around after a start to the season where the men from Maranello could hardly aspire to more than a few occasional standout performances.
Before the start of the season in Melbourne, few people gave much for Fernando Alonso’s and Scuderia Ferrari’s chances in the 2012 Formula One World Championship. The Spaniard’s victory in Malaysia, under very particular race conditions, hadn’t changed the general sentiment that the F2012 was a failed car and 2012 a season to forget for the Prancing Horse. It would eventually take until the Spanish Grand Prix, after the Mugello tests, for the Italian team and its double world champion to become realistic contenders for the world championship title. Second in Barcelona and third in Monaco, the native of Oviedo finally seems to have a ride capable of allowing him to hope for more than just podium places, as also evidenced by the return to form of Felipe Massa, which started in Monte Carlo and continued in Montreal.
If the men from Maranello had started the season with the sole ambition of limiting damage, while waiting for better days, they embraced their status as championship leaders and potential title contenders during the Canadian Grand Prix: « For the first time this year, we were not just limiting damage; we were actually looking to win. This is a positive sign, and we must confirm it in Valencia and Silverstone, » explained Fernando Alonso after the race. Indeed, in Montreal, the Spaniard could have very well settled for mirroring Lewis Hamilton’s strategy and finishing the race in, at worst, third place. However, the 2005 and 2006 world champion, along with his team, opted to gamble on victory: a gamble which we now know ended up losing.
Nonetheless, considering the entirety of their Canadian weekend, Scuderia has clearly confirmed their significant resurgence and has donned, in the eyes of observers and rivals, the mantle of a contender for the world crown: “I don’t think Fernando is the championship favorite, but Ferrari has certainly turned things around,” analyzes Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team director. “It’s a great team and they have found their rhythm. It’s good for the sport to have them there, and they should be congratulated. They showed good form in Monaco as well as in Montreal. Although I think no one is the favorite at the moment, Ferrari and Fernando are truly in the title race.”
