08-10-2013, 22:55
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24422038
Ferrari have been pretty average for three years - Gary Anderson
By Gary Anderson
BBC F1 technical analyst
Fernando Alonso's hopes of winning the world title effectively ended with his sixth-place finish in Korea.
The Ferrari driver still has a mathematical chance, but realistically it is all over and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, victorious at Yeongam, will probably win it.
He'll do so in either India or Abu Dhabi, or perhaps even Japan next weekend.
Korea was a poor race from Ferrari and to have any chance of the championship, Alonso needed to win it, or at least be ahead of Vettel.
The car was not quick enough and Alonso never looked comfortable with the situation.
He was off the road far more than is usual for him, and it looked a little like he was rattled.
Ferrari have lost quite a lot of performance in recent months but even with that they have tended to go forward in the races compared to qualifying.
In Korea, they even lost that.
Ferrari needed to show after the summer break they knew how to make progress with the car - and they still do.
For three years now, since the start of 2011, they really haven't proved capable of effectively developing their car to a level that will allow them to fight for world championships.
They progressed a little early in 2012, but that season started so badly there was a lot of room to go forward.
Over that three-year period, you would have to say Ferrari have been pretty average, and that's not a good place to be when there is a new car for next year that has to be designed under a new set of regulations.
In that situation, if you're telling yourself you're going to do well next year, you're telling yourself a lie to help you get to sleep at night.
I'd be telling myself I needed to find a solution on this car first.
Worries for Ferrari's future
There is a reasonable difference between the chassis regulations this year and next but if you don't know what's going on with what you have after five years under one set of rules, there is no obvious reason you'll know under the next.
Ferrari have made it clear they feel they are behind on the technology through which teams use exhaust gases for aerodynamic effect, which Red Bull do better than anyone.
Red Bull use their rear bodywork to keep the exhaust gases attached all the way to the area they want them.
Lots of other teams - including Ferrari - have it blowing across a hole and when you do that, the gases just get swept away by the mass airflow.
It's much harder to get them going in the right place.
The result from Korea is not a coincidence; Red Bull, Lotus and Sauber finished ahead of everyone else and they are the only teams who use that bodywork philosophy.
Exhaust blowing will not be a feature in the same way next year because the exhaust pipe has to exit high up in the centre of the car.
But the fact teams such as Ferrari - and McLaren and Mercedes - have not adopted Red Bull's solution suggests there is something awry in their modelling of how the car will work.
Teams base their design decisions on data - so the data those teams are getting on that must be wrong and they need to look at that.
The benefits of the right design
Korea was a perfect demonstration of how that exhaust design works.
Play media
Sebastian Vettel
Vettel wins incident-packed Korean GP
There was a bit of a kerfuffle before the race about Red Bull allegedly having traction control because their traction was so good in Singapore.
But good traction is exactly what allowed Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg to stay ahead of Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in Korea, and it comes down to the exhausts giving better rear downforce coming off the corners - and therefore more grip.
Sauber have a Ferrari engine - while Red Bull and Lotus use Renault - so there is no magic Renault engine mapping.
Sauber struggled earlier this year with the rear of the car giving up in corners. But since they switched to their new rear bodywork configuration around the Belgian Grand Prix, that problem has gone away and their performances have improved enormously.
That has to be down to the exhaust system.
It allowed Hulkenberg to get on the throttle early and get good traction out of Turn One so, even with the help of the DRS overtaking aid, Alonso and Hamilton could not get close enough to pass him into Turn Three.
Ferrari have been pretty average for three years - Gary Anderson
By Gary Anderson
BBC F1 technical analyst
Fernando Alonso's hopes of winning the world title effectively ended with his sixth-place finish in Korea.
The Ferrari driver still has a mathematical chance, but realistically it is all over and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, victorious at Yeongam, will probably win it.
He'll do so in either India or Abu Dhabi, or perhaps even Japan next weekend.
Korea was a poor race from Ferrari and to have any chance of the championship, Alonso needed to win it, or at least be ahead of Vettel.
The car was not quick enough and Alonso never looked comfortable with the situation.
He was off the road far more than is usual for him, and it looked a little like he was rattled.
Ferrari have lost quite a lot of performance in recent months but even with that they have tended to go forward in the races compared to qualifying.
In Korea, they even lost that.
Ferrari needed to show after the summer break they knew how to make progress with the car - and they still do.
For three years now, since the start of 2011, they really haven't proved capable of effectively developing their car to a level that will allow them to fight for world championships.
They progressed a little early in 2012, but that season started so badly there was a lot of room to go forward.
Over that three-year period, you would have to say Ferrari have been pretty average, and that's not a good place to be when there is a new car for next year that has to be designed under a new set of regulations.
In that situation, if you're telling yourself you're going to do well next year, you're telling yourself a lie to help you get to sleep at night.
I'd be telling myself I needed to find a solution on this car first.
Worries for Ferrari's future
There is a reasonable difference between the chassis regulations this year and next but if you don't know what's going on with what you have after five years under one set of rules, there is no obvious reason you'll know under the next.
Ferrari have made it clear they feel they are behind on the technology through which teams use exhaust gases for aerodynamic effect, which Red Bull do better than anyone.
Red Bull use their rear bodywork to keep the exhaust gases attached all the way to the area they want them.
Lots of other teams - including Ferrari - have it blowing across a hole and when you do that, the gases just get swept away by the mass airflow.
It's much harder to get them going in the right place.
The result from Korea is not a coincidence; Red Bull, Lotus and Sauber finished ahead of everyone else and they are the only teams who use that bodywork philosophy.
Exhaust blowing will not be a feature in the same way next year because the exhaust pipe has to exit high up in the centre of the car.
But the fact teams such as Ferrari - and McLaren and Mercedes - have not adopted Red Bull's solution suggests there is something awry in their modelling of how the car will work.
Teams base their design decisions on data - so the data those teams are getting on that must be wrong and they need to look at that.
The benefits of the right design
Korea was a perfect demonstration of how that exhaust design works.
Play media
Sebastian Vettel
Vettel wins incident-packed Korean GP
There was a bit of a kerfuffle before the race about Red Bull allegedly having traction control because their traction was so good in Singapore.
But good traction is exactly what allowed Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg to stay ahead of Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in Korea, and it comes down to the exhausts giving better rear downforce coming off the corners - and therefore more grip.
Sauber have a Ferrari engine - while Red Bull and Lotus use Renault - so there is no magic Renault engine mapping.
Sauber struggled earlier this year with the rear of the car giving up in corners. But since they switched to their new rear bodywork configuration around the Belgian Grand Prix, that problem has gone away and their performances have improved enormously.
That has to be down to the exhaust system.
It allowed Hulkenberg to get on the throttle early and get good traction out of Turn One so, even with the help of the DRS overtaking aid, Alonso and Hamilton could not get close enough to pass him into Turn Three.
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