Ferrari looking to avenge Valencia “scandal”

Ferrari seeking revenge at Silverstone

Fernando Alonso will be hoping for a return to winning form at Silverstone after Ferrari was livid with the result of the European Grand Prix. A team statement described the outcome in Valencia as a "scandal" and Alonso said that he was sorry for fans who watched "a manipulated race".

Even Piero Ferrari was moved to comment publicly and said "I am incredulous and bitter, not just for Ferrari, but for the sport as a whole".

Alonso later apologised for his remarks, but the Spaniard and his Maranello colleagues had every reason to be upset with a number of incidents during the race.

HAMILTON OVERTAKING THE SAFETY CAR

On lap 10 of the European Grand Prix the Safety Car was deployed after Mark Webber’s high speed accident. Alonso was in a close battle with Lewis Hamilton at the time and both drivers had a chance of victory. The Safety Car exited the pitlane as the leaders entered main straight, and Vettel passed it easily before the Mercedes SLS emerged in front of Hamilton. Lewis initially slowed down when he saw the Safety Car but then made a conscious decision to pass it. Hamilton later denied this in the post race press conference but the video evidence is clear. This gave the McLaren driver a crucial advantage as both he and Alonso were about to make a pitstop under the full course yellow.

Whilst Ferrari viewed this as blatantly malicious, Lewis was free to overtake until the second Safety Car line at the exit of the pitlane. Hamilton simply miscalculated exactly where that line was located, and was only trying to get ahead because he thought he was perfectly entitled to do so. There was no intentional malice in his manoeuvre.

Lewis was able to make his pitstop and rejoin in second place whilst Alonso, caught behind the Safety Car, rejoined in 11th.

HAMILTON’S PUNISHMENT DIDN’T FIT THE CRIME

Ferrari was particularly upset that it took 17 laps before Lewis earned a penalty for his misdemeanour and that it did not impact his track position. Lewis served a drive through on lap 27 and rejoined the field in second place ahead of Kamui Kobayashi. The penalty may have stopped Hamilton from challenging Vettel but it didn't cost him any of the positions he gained by passing the Safety Car.

It does seem particularly unfair that Lewis received a significant advantage by breaking the rules, and the penalty he received did not negate this advantage.

Underlining Ferrari's frustration was that Alonso had the pace to win the Grand Prix, and once again, he missed out on the opportunity due to factors beyond his control.

IT’S BETTER TO BE LUCKY THAN GOOD

Sometimes luck plays a big part in F1 this was one of those examples. The timing of the Safety Car could not be helped by anyone and that is what ruined Ferrari's race. Had it come out a few seconds earlier it would have captured Lewis comfortably, and had it come out a few seconds later both Ferrari's would have got through as well. Safety Cars introduce an element of luck into any Grand Prix and this time that happened to work against Ferrari.

It took the race stewards a long time to serve Lewis his penalty and that meant it didn't cost him any positions. That's unfortunate but again comes down to luck. The stewards had to collect timing evidence as well as footage from the helicopter before handing down their decision, and may also have been distracted by the nine drivers who broke the ‘delta’ time when the Safety Car was deployed.

The stewards did not intentionally delay their decision to benefit Lewis, and if Kobayashi had not been in third place, the penalty would have had greater consequences.

CHANGING THE RULES IN FUTURE

Ferrari's anger was completely understandable. They did nothing wrong in Valencia and were pushed behind a driver who did. With that in mind, this might be a good opportunity for the FIA to clarify the penalties for Safety Car indiscretions and teams will be discussing changes to the rules at Silverstone.

In 2007 and 2008, drivers received stop-go penalties for pitting behind the Safety Car when the pitlane was closed. Perhaps that would have been a more appropriate penalty in this instance as it would have adequately addressed Hamilton’s advantage. Drivers in other categories have been disqualified for the same offence.

Teams might also discuss the possibility of investigating more incidents after the race.

SETTLING THE SCORE AT SILVERSTONE

Ferrari will struggle to beat Red Bull and McLaren around the fast Silverstone layout this coming weekend but will not be short on motivation. The team and its drivers were very bitter after Valencia but know that a British Grand Prix victory will go a long way towards settling the score.

The Scuderia is out for revenge.

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Posted by Martin Porter. - Follow him on twitter @mpondaweb.

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