Team Strategy

[Flat.tyres]

Im just wondering whether Ferrari should put their efforts behind Massa and get Kimi to assist his team mate in the title race.

Kimis 18 points behind the lead McLaren and 16 behind the second one with 7 races to go. of course, mathamatically he can still easily win but hes got to take over 2 points off both McLarens each race to have a shot where Massa is about 1.5 points and has a much better chance. but will they?

[andreag]

I don't think the'll decide to go for one driver until the end of Turkish GP. But I'm sure they won't face their home GP with a possible fight between their drivers, giving a victory to McLaren.

My bet is Monza winner will be decided before the race (it's a Ferrari track; I don't think McLaren has any chances there).

But I also bet that no Ferrari fan will accept it as team orders.

[ioan]

Im just wondering whether Ferrari should put their efforts behind Massa and get Kimi to assist his team mate in the title race.

Kimis 18 points behind the lead McLaren and 16 behind the second one with 7 races to go. of course, mathamatically he can still easily win but hes got to take over 2 points off both McLarens each race to have a shot where Massa is about 1.5 points and has a much better chance. but will they?

Who knows?

[ioan]

I don't think the'll decide to go for one driver until the end of Turkish GP. But I'm sure they won't face their home GP with a possible fight between their drivers, giving a victory to McLaren.

My bet is Monza winner will be decided before the race (it's a Ferrari track; I don't think McLaren has any chances there).

But I also bet that no Ferrari fan will accept it as team orders.

Stating that 2 months in advance sure makes your point more valid! :p :

[F1MAN2007]

I think the championship is still widely open before to decide who is to support who. More races to come and all is possible.

Mathematically it looks worse for Kimmi but still hope.

[Flat.tyres]

But I also bet that no Ferrari fan will accept it as team orders.

well, its not team orders. Its strategy and all teams plan what they need to do for the best outcome and getting #1 on the car is what they need to achieve.

Kimi qualifying light with Massa heavy and Kimi holding the McLarens up for 15 laps to keep Massa in contention for the pit stops is not cheating but being sensible.

[F1MAN2007]

Im just wondering whether Ferrari should put their efforts behind Massa and get Kimi to assist his team mate in the title race.

Kimis 18 points behind the lead McLaren and 16 behind the second one with 7 races to go. of course, mathamatically he can still easily win but hes got to take over 2 points off both McLarens each race to have a shot where Massa is about 1.5 points and has a much better chance. but will they?

"He (Raikkonen) is 18 points behind the leader and there are seven races to go and we have the potential to win every race, so if we are able to do a good job, it's still possible." ( Jean Todt)

Source :http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61098

[Flat.tyres]

"He (Raikkonen) is 18 points behind the leader and there are seven races to go and we have the potential to win every race, so if we are able to do a good job, it's still possible." ( Jean Todt)

Source :http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61098

if he wins every race and if Alonso comes second, McLaren and Alonso will win. its not about mathamatical possibility but what will give the team the best chance of winning the title.

personally, I think that they need to make a decision now to give themselves the best chance but perhaps they will wait 1 more GP and see how they stand.

the longer they wait, the better for McLaren so Im not worried.

[F1MAN2007]

if he wins every race and if Alonso comes second, McLaren and Alonso will win. its not about mathamatical possibility but what will give the team the best chance of winning the title.

personally, I think that they need to make a decision now to give themselves the best chance but perhaps they will wait 1 more GP and see how they stand.

the longer they wait, the better for McLaren so Im not worried.

Apart the SAGA issue results this week, otherwise it will be hard and really hard for Ferrari to win the manufacturer championship. Unless they apply team strategy from next race.

[andreag]

I think they will wait two races, not one. Next race is Hungary, were McLarens should be on top, and if results are as expected, Ferrari drivers wiil stay on 3rd and 4th positions without a clear favourite.

Istambul can be another story, as teams will be balanced and it's the perfect oportunity for a Ferrari driver to give a big jump, so Monza, being the home race, would place the chosen Ferrari driver in the way to the final fight.

[janneppi]

If Kimi has doesn't finish higher than fourth in the next race and Alonso wins, it might be the time to think about helping Massa, if Kimi wins and especially if he closes the gap on Massa four points, everything will be open.

Personally, I'd rather have Kimi come on top of Massa even if Alonso wins another WDC than Massa to beat Kimi. ;)

[BriannaBee]

If Ferrari really want to try to win the WCC, they have to keep supporting both drivers equally. If the WDC is a priority, they have to support Massa.

[jens]

Well, situations change so quickly and Ferrari is unreliable (next time maybe Massa retires?), so that's tough to nominate No.1 driver. You guys are changing your minds too quickly - just after the British GP many of you thought that now Kimi has established himself as a team leader.

Better enjoy a team-mate battle between two top drivers instead of looking forward to see one of them getting No.1 preference.

And I also don't like such theories that with a third of a season to go, there are calculations that what if one finishes 1st in all of the races to come and the other one is always second, etc,... and what will the final standings look like then. :p : Every race has a different result, not the same, especially when competiton is tight, so better try to take into account more variables!

[Hawkmoon]

Ferrari can't win the constructors championship. They have to take about 4 points per race off McLaren and I simply can't see that happening. They've made far too many mistakes, both driving errors and mechanical ones, this season. McLaren have made virtually none.

As for the drivers title, I don't think Ferrari can support one driver over the other. Kimi is the quickest guy out there at the moment and I firmly believe that he would have won at the weekend with out that mechanical fault. He's got the car underneath him and the Ferrari is quicker than the McLaren. The Nurburgring should have suited McLaren but even Alonso admitted that he couldn't live with the Ferraris in the dry. Hungary won't be a repeat of Monaco.

The thing that will help Ferrari is that McLaren are in the same boat they are. McLaren can't nominate a No. 1 either so Hamilton and Alonso will continue to take points off each other. This could help Ferrari close the gap.

[Valve Bounce]

What if it rained at Spa, and Lewis, Fernando and Massa all ran off or got punted off in the first corner and Kimi went on to win. The gap would then be narrower. But then, nothing like that could possibly happen at Spa now, could it? :confused;

[andreag]

Ferrari can't win the constructors championship.
They can. Maybe they win it in a couple of days with still 7 races to run.

[Ranger]

Im just wondering whether Ferrari should put their efforts behind Massa and get Kimi to assist his team mate in the title race.
Massa can't seem to race as well as the other three under pressure (IMO) which would undermine Ferrari's search of a title.

The more important stumbling block, however, is Ferrari's concerning lack of reliability. That is what will ultimately lose the drivers title for them. As soon as they pick a #1 driver to fight against a better, or at least a more reliable team (this year), they'll face the increased risk that it will backfire as their #1 may be on the receiving end.

Recent history has shown that a driver in the fastest car who is considerably faster than his team-mate will not win a title if reliability hinders those chances. For Ferrari's and everbody elses sake I hope they go for it open-slather.

[ioan]

Massa can't seem to race as well as the other three under pressure (IMO) which would undermine Ferrari's search of a title.

The more important stumbling block, however, is Ferrari's concerning lack of reliability. That is what will ultimately lose the drivers title for them. As soon as they pick a #1 driver to fight against a better, or at least a more reliable team (this year), they'll face the increased risk that it will backfire as their #1 may be on the receiving end.

Recent history has shown that a driver in the fastest car who is considerably faster than his team-mate will not win a title if reliability hinders those chances. For Ferrari's and everbody elses sake I hope they go for it open-slather.

In 2 races time we will know much better.
But if they let their drivers to take points of each other till the end of the season than they can't win the WDC for sure.
And what difference will make choosing one of them for no.1 driver to their reliability?! I don't see why this would mean more failures. :rolleyes:

[andreag]

In 2 races time we will know much better.
Of course; but in 3 races we'll know even better, and in 7 races we'll know for sure.


But if they let their drivers to take points of each other till the end of the season than they can't win the WDC for sure.
That's not true. If they let their drivers to take points of each other till the end of the season, one of them will win the WDC for sure.

Obviously I'm talking about all teams, as this thread is entitled "Team strategy", and not "Ferrari strategy".

By the way, I always thought you were a Ferrari supporter, it doesn't matter who were their drivers. Now I'm thinking that Kimi's past in McLaren has biased you through Felipe. Am I right?

[Flat.tyres]

how dare you suggest that ioan is in any way biased :s hock: a more objective, level headed, informed fan of F1 I have yet to meet :D

pigs fuelled and ready to fly ;)

anyway, I was referring to Ferrari strategy but you are correct, it does apply to all teams. fortunatly, unless Ferrari start significantly eating into their lead, McLaren can continue to race their drivers which I hope will give us a good finish to the title and no arguements about favouritism etc.

[ioan]

By the way, I always thought you were a Ferrari supporter, it doesn't matter who were their drivers. Now I'm thinking that Kimi's past in McLaren has biased you through Felipe. Am I right?

It's more about Kimi's fans behavior and his own way of doing things that make me favor Felipe over him. But none the less I'll be happy if he manages to win the WDC at the end of the season.