Ferrari Needs New Strategy
We are three races into the 2009 championship and Ferrari has no points. Whether it is reliability, design or motivation, the team is simply lack and needs a new strategy
Ferrari is a disaster and there is no doubt about it. Whether Ferrari fans like to admit it or not, the 2009 season is a lost cause. Even with a new diffuser, it appears the car is going to be slower than Brawn, Toyota and Red Bull. I never thought I would write that! Regardless, the team needs to take a breather and come to a rational decision. It needs to forget about 2009 and start working on 2010. The team needs to take a hard look at what they are doing and make some major changes. Let’s take a look at the key ones.
The first change is to boot Kimi Raikkonen. I’ve defended Kimi to the end, but it has gone too far. The way Massa just blew by him in the corner in the Chinese race really shows how far Kimi has fallen. The team needs someone to develop the car. Rumors of a contract with Fernando Alonso abound. If it exists, buy him out of Renault. Alonso can develop a car like nobody, so bring him aboard. If not Alonso, paying Red Bull a huge chunk of change for Vettel would be a wise move. The point is to get two drivers who can develop the car because development time is at a minimum.
Alberto Costa needs to go as well. This man has designed two pieces of junk in four years as the primary designer of Ferrari. Rory Byrne is a consultant for Ferrari. It is time for that to end. Pay him whatever it takes to bring him back to the lead design position. The man is the top designer in Formula One. Combining his design prowess with the development skills of someone like Alonso is the way back to success.
Ferrari team manager Luca Baldisserri needs to be fired. The strategic decisions of the team have more often than not been laughable in most races. It is one thing to be beaten by a better car, but another to just repeatedly shoot yourself in the foot. Replace him with Chris Dyer. Dyer is the race engineer for Raikkonen who used to run Schumacher’s team. Clearly, he is a better strategist then the bumbling Luca. He certainly could not do worse!
Michael Schumacher brought Ferrari back from a period of extreme misery. Now that his era is over, the team stands on the cusp of returning to that period of terrible results. Action must be taken now to stem that tide. Luca di Montezemolo must act now or step aside for someone who can make the right decisions. It is a pity that Ross Brawn isn’t available!
Lemmy