Mediawatch: Ferrari can't beat Newey, Alonso the hero, Ocon the zero
Mediawatch: Ferrari can't beat Newey, Alonso the hero, Ocon the zero
Ferrari's failure to lure the technical genius that is Adrian Newey to Italy came back to haunt them again on Sunday.
The Scuderia's long pursuit of the Red Bull guru has always come up short, and once again it is about to cost them dear.
In the aftermath of a drubbing for the red cars at the hands of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez on Sunday, Gazzetta Dello Sport devoted significant space and words to the Newey factor. One which continues to cause pain at Maranello.
The Italian daily gives a large percentage of the credit for the dominance of the RB19 to the 64-year-old Newey, and bemoans the fact that this season is already over.
Alonso the hero, Ocon and Alpine the zero
Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon were Alpine team-mates in 2022, but boy did they experience contrasting fortunes in Bahrain on Sunday.
Alonso roared to a spectacular podium in his Aston Martin debut, while Ocon was widely mocked on social media after picking up not one, not two but THREE penalties in one race.
Spanish daily Marca went to town in its ratings after the race, awarding Alonso a perfect 10 for his epic drive into third place in the AMR23.
Ocon and his team Alpine though were given an embarrassing ZERO for keeping the stewards very busy on Sunday evening.
The honeymoon is over for Fred Vasseur
The vibes coming out of Ferrari in pre-season were overwhelmingly positive. A fantastic launch of the SF-23 and the hope that it was a car to finally challenge Red Bull and Verstappen. Oh and a new team principal in Fred Vasseur.
Fast forward a few short weeks and those vibes are now very different. A DNF for Charles Leclerc on Sunday and a distant fourth for Carlos Sainz made sure of that.
The response from the Italian media was predictably frenzied, with Turin daily Tuttosport screaming 'Ferrari, Vasseur's honeymoon is over'. Welp.
Verstappen already untouchable
In France the vibe around Red Bull's dominance on Sunday was very familiar. L'Equipe says reigning world champ Max Verstappen is 'already untouchable' after just one race of a 23-race season.
The leading Paris publication also pays homage to that man Alonso for his delicious drive into third, describing him as 'an old rogue' for the way he outsmarted seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
F1 opener a TV flop for Sky Germany
These are grim times for F1 in Germany, and leading daily Bild emphasised the fact in its post-Bahrain commentary.
This is a once mighty motorsport market, which now has no driver capable of challenging for wins and no team capable of challenging for a title. It also has no home Grand Prix any more, and no free-to-air TV coverage with Sky now having exclusive rights.
Well that exclusivity brought with it a ratings slump over the weekend, with the audience for the opening race dropping 160,000 from 2022. Some 1.29million tuned in for the first race of the season last year - but this time it was down to 1.13m.
The figures for qualifying on Saturday were even worse - with only 320,000 viewers tuning in - only just over half of last year's 543,000.
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
EXCLUSIVE: F1 record holder claims changes made things tougher for Verstappen
- 59 minutes ago
Ricciardo SNUBS team-mate in 'pressure' claim
- 1 hour ago
F1 team announces 2026 title bid in BLOW to Red Bull
- 2 hours ago
Brundle questions Ferrari Hamilton decision with Vettel comparison
- Today 14:57
- 1
McLaren driver opens F1 'school' with stars among SHOCK first students
- Today 13:57
F1 Chinese Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today from Shanghai
- Today 13:38
F1 Race Calendar
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
-
GP JAPAN
5 - 7 Apr
Max Verstappen
- GP CHINA 19 - 21 Apr
- GP USA 3 - 6 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
- GP CANADA 7 - 9 Jun
Related news
Hamilton to open Wolff talks at Mercedes amid Ferrari F1 move uncertainty
Hamilton WARNED by Ferrari chief over performance levels
Brundle issues WARNING to 'under pressure' Ferrari star
F1 pundit says SHOCK team have ‘broken the back’ of rivals
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860