Ferrari refuse to throw in the towel

Fernando Alonso's weekend at Spa saw his title chances slip

Aug.30 (YallaF1.com) Scuderia Ferrari came away from the Belgian Grand Prix with fourth place thanks to a strong performance by Felipe Massa, but their title hope Fernando Alonso failed to score in a race that was incident filled and run in changeable weather. Nevertheless the team are not throwing in the towel.

Alonso was unlucky at the start and after that things failed to improve

Team principal Stefano Domenicali said after the race, “The situation in both championships is certainly more difficult, but it is still not impossible for us to reach our targets: for those with short memories, I remember that three years ago, we found ourselves in a much worse situation and we all know how it went in the end.”

Early on in the race Alonso was T-boned by Rubens Barrichello at the Bus Stop on the opening lap and had to make an unscheduled pit stop. After that he staged a strong climb up the order before spinning out of the race on lap 38 as the rain came down.

Stefano Domenicali with Felipe Massa and Rob Smedley

Domenicali reflected, “Fernando saw his race compromised right from the first lap, the unwitting victim of an accident and then, despite fighting his way up the order, he ended up off the track in the sort of incident that can easily happen in a rain-affected race.”

The team boss added, “Apart from that, and any other considerations, we must recognise that our performance in this Grand Prix did not match our expectations and interrupted a positive trend that began a few races ago: we have to understand why immediately and take the necessary countermeasures.”

Alonso trails points leader Lewis Hamilton by 41 points, while Ferrari 80 points off Red Bull Racing who lead the constructor’s standings.

The Spaniard was visibly disappointed and said afterwards, “It is very disappointing, because this is a bad result, but it does not mean I have given up on my chances of winning the title.”