--- title: "End of Season Review: Ferrari" canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2014/12/09/end-of-season-review-ferrari/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Chris Barrass" section: "Uncategorised" published: "2014-12-09T15:33:06Z" modified: "2014-12-09T15:33:06Z" --- # End of Season Review: Ferrari [![GP RUSSIA F1/2014](https://www.formulaupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/140140rus-300x252.jpg)](https://www.formulaupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/140140rus.jpg)Ferrari came into the 2014 season with what many people were calling the strongest driver line-up on the grid. Fernando Alonso was retained for a fifth season, whilst Kimi Raikkonen rejoined his championship winning team to replace Felipe Massa. The excitement, however, was short-lived. Ferrari’s aerodynamic woes continued and the Ferrari power unit was nowhere near as powerful as their Mercedes’ rival. The F14T was also designed for Fernando Alonso’s style, with the car lacking the sharp front end that Kimi needs to perform. Tricky conditions in qualifying caused Raikkonen to hit the wall, the result was that for the second time in three years, Kimi Raikkonen was eliminated in Q2 at Australia. Alonso managed a very respectable fifth place on the grid in the wet. Race day saw Raikkonen fight back to seventh, whilst Alonso came home fourth following Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification. Wet conditions in Malaysia’s qualifying session saw Ferrari improve their qualifying performance, with Alonso managing fourth and Raikkonen sixth. Alonso would maintain his place  come the end of the race, but contact in the opening stages of the race ruined Raikkonen’s hopes of a good result and he had to come home a lap down in twelfth place. Raikkonen out qualified Alonso for the first time in 2014 at Bahrain with a second successive sixth place, whilst Alonso had problems and meant he could only manage 10th. The race saw Kimi slip through the field, with Alonso overtaking his team-mate and both cars coming home a dismal ninth and tenth. Stefano Domenicali lost his job after this race and was replaced by Marco Mattiacci. Raikkonen was eliminated in Q2 again at China, whilst Spaniard Alonso managed fifth behind the two Mercedes and both Red Bulls. He would bring Ferrari their first podium of the year with third place, whilst Kimi finished over 50 seconds behind his team-mate in eighth. Alonso was out qualified by Raikkonen at his home Grand Prix in Spain, but managed to lead a Ferrari 6-7 once the chequered flag dropped – a big step back from his win there the previous season. Monaco saw Alonso in front of the all-Ferrari third row, but Raikkonen was hit by Max Chilton and sustained a puncture, dropping him out of the points whilst Alonso just missed out on a podium. The high-speed Montreal circuit saw Ferrari struggle, with Alonso crossing the line sixth and Raikkonen last of the men to cross the finish line in 10th place after ex Ferrari driver Massa and former McLaren driver Perez were eliminated following a high-speed accident on the penultimate lap. Alonso would go one better at Austria, but Raikkonen once again rounded out the points scorers on the short Spielberg track. The wet conditions for qualifying at Silverstone took two of the big teams by surprise, with both Ferrari and Williams misjudging the conditions and failing to get out of Q1. Alonso started 19th and Raikkonen 20th – only ahead of the two Caterhams. Raikkonen was slightly injured in a huge accident on the opening lap, caused by him running out wide through the exit of Aintree, hitting the barrier and passing along the track. The race was stopped on the opening lap for the first time since Monaco 2000. Team mate Alonso recovered to sixth. For the third time in 2014, Raikkonen qualified 12th at the next race in Germany. He failed to make it into the points after damaging his car defending from the fighting Lewis Hamilton. Alonso finished one place behind the Brit in fourth. For the second time in three races, Raikkonen was eliminated in Q1 when Ferrari failed to send him out for a second run. The Marussia of Bianchi pipping him led to Raikkonen lining up 17th. The race itself proved to be brilliant for Ferrari, as they came so close to a race win. The Safety Car came out at the wrong time for Nico Rosberg and allowed Alonso to get up front. He came so close to holding on for a win, only for Daniel Ricciardo to pass him in the closing stages. Ferrari wouldn’t get a better result all season. The summer break was a great chance for Ferrari to improve, but no. Alonso qualified fourth and Raikkonen eighth in the rain, but the Mercedes clash did not help the Prancing Horse. Raikkonen came home fourth, whilst Alonso came home seventh. Ferrari’s home race at Italy was next and they were left red faced, as Raikkonen again failed to make it out of Q2. The race was disastrous for the Tifosi, with Kimi only managing ninth and Alonso retiring with an ERS failure. This was the end of Luca Di Montezemolo, who announced he was resigning as chairman following the team’s continuous poor form. Singapore saw Alonso come home fourth and Raikkonen eighth, whilst the tragic race in Japan saw Ferrari score no points. Alonso retired early on with an electronics glitch, whilst Kimi struggled with the wet and finished 12th. Both cars qualified in the top 10 at Russia, with Alonso managing sixth and Raikkonen ninth on the high-speed Sochi circuit. The drivers qualified in those positions for Austin, with Alonso finishing their and Raikkonen dropping down to 13th place. Despite Brazil being a power circuit, the race at Sao Paulo proved quite successful for Ferrari, who brought home a decent points hall with sixth and seventh place. Alonso’s last race at Ferrari was at Abu Dhabi, where double points were on offer. Ferrari qualified a dreary ninth and tenth, but were promoted two places when the Red Bulls were disqualified for using illegal front wings. Raikkonen lined up ahead of Alonso, but they swapped places during the race and scored six points by finishing in ninth and tenth. The poor form saw Ferrari change team principal again, with Marco Mattiacci being replaced by Maurizio Arrivabene post season. **DRIVER BY DRIVER REVIEW** **Fernando Alonso 161 ponts/6th in Drivers’ Championship** Once again, Alonso has excelled in a poor car. The Spaniard has put in many impressive performances this season in a low powered car and has blown his world champion team-mate Raikkonen out of the window with his domination of the Fin. We still don’t actually know if he will join McLaren next season, but Ferrari have certainly let him down badly in their five seasons together. **Kimi Raikkonen 55 points/12th in Drivers’ Championship** Kimi has had an appalling season. Many expected his move from Lotus to provide Ferrari with the strongest line up on the grid, but nothing came of it. The lack of front end grip in the F14T has meant Kimi has struggled time and time again to get the car to behave how he wants. Next season, he will be partnered by Sebastian Vettel. Both like the same style of car and both are looking to regain their form from past seasons. It will be an important year for Ferrari next season. ## PERFORMANCE COMPARISON - **Fernando Alonso** · **Kimi Raikkonen** - Qualified ahead · 16 · 3 - Average qualifying gap · \-0.528s · \+0.528s - Finished race ahead · 15 · 1 - Laps spent ahead · 854 · 155 Overall, Ferrari have had a terrible season. For the first time since 1993, they have failed to win a race. They’ve now lost their star driver and two team principals. Vettel and Raikkonen have their work cut out rebuilding this team in 2015. It can’t get much worse next season, can it? *Image copyright Scuderia Ferrari and their partners*