Abu Dhabi: End of the road in the midfield for Fernando Alonso at Ferrari
The story between Fernando Alonso and the prancing horse brand ended this afternoon in the midfield of the standings. After five years of good and loyal service, concluding with 11 victories and 3 World Vice-Championship titles, he wraps up the final Grand Prix of this 2014 season in a modest 9th place.
After making a decent start and climbing to 6th place by the end of the first lap, the Spaniard was the first driver in the Top 10 to pit (at the end of the 5th lap). Stuck in traffic and once again struggling with his unruly Ferrari, he seemed to lack motivation, as evidenced by his lack of fight against Vettel, who overtook him on the 47th lap: “The race was difficult, it sums up our entire season well. Ninth place is not where we hoped to be.”
Despite the disappointment of a disastrous season in terms of results (6th in the final Drivers’ standings, with an average of 8.47 points per race, his worst season with Ferrari since he joined in 2010), the Spaniard holds on to the emotion that this last weekend in red provided: « It’s a mix of sadness and emotion to leave Ferrari. After five years, it’s not easy to say goodbye to a team with which I’ve grown so much, both as a driver and as a man. I thank all the Ferrari fans for their support. I will miss the team, the fans, and Italy. Even though we are going our separate ways, I know I’ve had a wonderful experience.»
The double world champion of 2005 and 2006 now turns towards the future and is hungry for victories: “I see the future with enthusiasm, I can’t wait to start my new project. Look at Felipe who left Ferrari last year and is fighting for podiums this year, my goal is to accomplish as much as possible in my new project next year.”
Alonso has also hinted to journalists some information about his future: « We will see how the situation evolves between the different teams next year. Mercedes had a big advantage this year and they will surely keep it next year, but the project I’m joining is a long-term project, I am motivated and I will work even harder to integrate into my new team and win thereafter. »
On Kimi Räikkönen’s side, the race was not much more enjoyable. Despite a convincing start, with a 5th place at the end of the first lap, Iceman fell back in the standings starting from his first pit stop on lap 6. The Finn eventually finished in 10th place and scored points, thanks in part to Nico Rosberg’s mechanical troubles: “It was a very difficult race, but we knew from the beginning that this track would be challenging for us. The start was good, but then at the first stop, I lost positions and from there, we lacked the necessary pace to attack.”
Iceman acknowledges that his season as a whole has been extremely complicated: “All season, we have faced a series of difficulties. But we know in which direction we need to work to be competitive as soon as possible; I have absolute faith in the team to succeed.”
After a 2014 season that will not go down in the annals of the Italian team (no victories, an event since the last winless season dated back to 1993!), the focus is now on work and restructuring. The arrival of four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel and the very likely departure of Marco Mattiacci from the leadership will mark the beginning of a new era for the Scuderia.
