Alonso under attack for bad show at Spa

Fernando Alonso had a miserable Belgian GP

Aug.31 (GMM) The Italian press rounded on Fernando Alonso after the leading Ferrari driver dropped more than forty points off the championship lead after a dismal race day at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

Fernando was out of sorts during qaulifying and race day at Spa

After showing early promise with the Ferrari F10′s latest upgrades in practice, the team newcomer qualified just tenth at Spa before being taken out on the first lap by Rubens Barrichello.

Ferrari then fitted intermediate tyres that had to be changed shortly afterwards, before Alonso lost control over a kerb and crashed.

“An Alonso flop. While Kimi Raikkonen always drove brilliantly at Spa, his successor slipped on a puddle,” remarked the Milan-published Il Giornale.

The sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport said Ferrari’s championship chances “are now gone”.

Alonso facing media criticism after Spa weekend

But that’s not the message being trotted out by the Maranello team’s officials, and La Stampa reports that Ferrari is pressing ahead with development of the car.

In the coming days, a straight line test at Vairano is scheduled.

“In addition to reviewing solutions for Monza, engineers will try to understand why the innovations introduced at Spa-Francorchamps did not work as expected,” said the La Stampa report.

Ferrari acknowledges it is running out of time.

“Everyone in Maranello is aware that if more ground is lost, it could compromise any chance of a comeback,” said the team.