Even this season, after starting the F1 campaign on a high note – a win in the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix – Ferrari were unable to develop their car properly in order to stay on top. Alonso's explanation is quite simple: the lack of in-season testing imposed by the FIA last year, in order to cut costs, was tough to handle by the Ferrari engineers.
Innovations, something that Ferrari were well-known for prior to the 2009 season, have been practically reduced to a minimum, as the Scuderia technicians are left with their hands tied throughout the season. All research is now conducted in the F1 simulator, and the only time the designers have some decent time to develop an innovative part or system happens in the off-season.
“The goal is always to win but it's not so easy. You cannot invent new things without testing. There is little room for creativity; our technicians have their hands tied,” said Alonso in some recent interviews with the Spanish media.
Teams are now using the Friday practice sessions to test their novelties in terms of aerodynamic parts, and the time to process the data is quite limited through the 3 days of a racing weekend. This makes the team that starts off well in the championship hold the upper hand over its rivals for a longer period of time, as the trailing teams have a limited amount of time to catch up.
Despite this state of events – experienced by all teams, not only Ferrari – Alonso remains confident of his chances to bag a 3rd world title in the series in 2010, and reckons the next race will be a good starting point for his and Ferrari's recovery in the championship.
“We want to be fighting for pole position in Germany and Hungary. The German track has quite simple corners so I am expecting a grand prix with very close times,” said Alonso, who admitted that a win before the summer break is necessary in order to keep his title chances alive.
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