Look out for Ferrari

Ferrari is the oldest, most successful, most glamorous team in Formula 1. Never too far from the front of the grid, the cars in red play a larger part than most in making Formula 1 the spectacle that it is. Ferrari can never be counted out, and the team from Maranello is due a championship.

2011 was not a good year for Ferrari. Only the brilliance of Fernando Alonso spared the Scuderia some serious embarrassment. Felipe Massa’s performance was probably more representative of the car. He finished sixth in the championship, never finishing a race higher than fifth. Alonso won the British Grand Prix, to give the legions of Ferrari fans something to shout about. It was the only success for Ferrari in 2011.

But 2012 is an interesting prospect. The blown diffuser, which was so well developed by Red Bull, and helped them to their second consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, has been outlawed for this year. It was arguably the difference between Ferrari and the Red Bulls and McLarens, as demonstrated at Silverstone, when the FIA declared the blown diffuser illegal, and Alonso won the race. When the FIA subsequently reversed the decision, the Ferraris were once again off the pace of the Red Bulls and McLarens.

The success at Silverstone in 2011 showed the fundamental pace of the Ferrari. The car was generally quick, and if the new Ferrari is to be an evolution of the last one, then that pace should carry over into the 2012 car.

With Alonso in the car, anything is possible. If the Ferrari is good enough, he can win the championship. Look out for Ferrari.