Alonso captured third place from Jenson Button but had to surrender the position later on.
| Fernando Alonso | Felipe Massa | |
| Qualifying position | 5 | 7 |
| Qualifying time comparison (Q3) | 1’12.591 (-0.477) | 1’13.068 |
| Race position | 4 | 5 |
| Laps | 71/71 | 71/71 |
| Pit stops | 3 | 2 |
Ferrari drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | |
| Fernando Alonso | 85.195 | 78.988 | 78.835 | 78.839 | 79.032 | 78.82 | 78.51 | 78.458 | 78.678 | 78.439 | 78.542 | 78.745 | 78.531 | 78.656 | 78.38 | 82.074 | 91.993 | 77.897 | 77.899 | 78.26 | 77.93 | 77.923 | 77.762 | 78.013 | 78.003 | 77.789 | 77.339 | 77.812 | 77.904 | 78.043 | 77.815 | 77.647 | 77.96 | 77.761 | 81.167 | 91.156 | 77.019 | 76.981 | 77.081 | 76.792 | 76.924 | 77.296 | 77.475 | 77.036 | 76.735 | 76.951 | 76.854 | 77.346 | 76.838 | 77.69 | 77.32 | 77.458 | 77.422 | 81.191 | 91.438 | 76.797 | 77.027 | 77.742 | 76.873 | 76.603 | 76.877 | 78.083 | 76.621 | 76.977 | 76.181 | 76.193 | 76.745 | 77.972 | 77.862 | 76.257 | 77.06 |
| Felipe Massa | 86.525 | 79.668 | 79.033 | 79.505 | 78.86 | 78.861 | 78.78 | 78.63 | 78.728 | 78.679 | 78.849 | 79.28 | 78.972 | 78.994 | 78.899 | 78.704 | 78.847 | 78.985 | 78.925 | 79.405 | 83.942 | 93.729 | 78.268 | 78.298 | 78.649 | 78.842 | 78.312 | 78.307 | 78.344 | 78.169 | 77.976 | 77.891 | 78.37 | 77.642 | 77.756 | 78.175 | 77.84 | 77.907 | 78.65 | 78.088 | 78.257 | 78.794 | 78.129 | 78.407 | 81.349 | 92.157 | 77.747 | 77.77 | 78.069 | 77.8 | 78.216 | 78.043 | 77.526 | 77.288 | 77.485 | 77.318 | 77.55 | 77.471 | 77.756 | 77.734 | 77.709 | 77.589 | 77.396 | 77.271 | 77.693 | 78.008 | 77.768 | 79.575 | 77.998 | 77.782 | 78.258 |
Fernando Alonso
| Start tyre | Soft |
| Pit stop 1 | Soft 20.773s |
| Pit stop 2 | Soft 20.664s |
| Pit stop 3 | Medium 20.752s |
For the ninth time this year, Alonso took fifth place on the grid: “We got much closer to the McLarens than we could have expected,” he said.
The Ferraris were quicker early in the race on soft tyres and Alonso picked off Lewis Hamilton and the start before hounding Jenson Button.
He lined up on the outside of Button at Ferradura on lap 11 and claimed third place as the McLaren driver backed off to avoid some debris.
But when they came to use the harder tyres at the end of the race it was the usual story – Ferrari struggled and McLaren were much quicker. Button reclaimed third for Alonso with ease in the DRS zone.
“On the medium tyres, we no longer had the speed to fend him off,” said Alonso.
“I also had a problem with the DRS which would not activate: I was not fighting closely with other drivers, but it would certainly have helped me gain a few tenths while overtaking.”
With Webber winning, Alonso slumped to fourth in the points standings, but he wasn’t bothered: “Losing out on third in the drivers’ championship is definitely not a big problem. First place is the only one that really counts.”
Fernando Alonso 2011 form guide
Felipe Massa
| Start tyre | Soft |
| Pit stop 1 | Soft 21.696s |
| Pit stop 2 | Medium 21.053s |
Massa had a scruffy qualifying session and had to make a second run in Q2, using up a set of soft tyres. He was beaten to sixth by Nico Rosberg.
Due to his tyre use in qualifying he was the only driver from the top three teams to run a two-stop strategy, and staying out late allowed him to lead a couple of laps before falling back.
His fifth place came under attack from Hamilton before the McLaren driver retired. But Stefano Domenicali reckoned Massa would have been able to keep the place:
“Felipe was forced to adopt a strategy which looked slower on paper, but he had a good race all the same and would have finished fifth on track even without having to wait for the retirement of the second McLaren.”
2011 Brazilian Grand Prix
Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
28th November 2011, 15:12
Once again Ferrari were derailed by their poor performance on the hard tyre. I’m pretty happy to see the back of a season that seemed to have the same pattern for every race with Alonso: Great start, constantly fighting his way up to a podium position, then being reeled in for the last 20 laps.
Roll on a more competitive 2012! Here’s hoping!
BasCB (@bascb)
28th November 2011, 16:14
Won’t be a positive message for them, that this tyre will be used next year as well. Although having all tyres a bit softer might be fine for Ferrari.
bosyber (@bosyber)
29th November 2011, 11:35
I would hope they set a team to work on a different suspension for next year at the latest before two races were over, it was a pretty clear problem, both for qualifying, and then in races with the harder compound. They clearly overestimated the wear on the tires.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
30th November 2011, 13:53
@BasCB I hope for their sake they develop a car that gives them a little more freedom on the tyre choices Pirelli make. Any race with a compound above the soft has just been a write off for them really.
BasCB (@bascb)
30th November 2011, 16:42
One would think that a top of the pack team like Ferrari would be able to get that done, right?
But they had a bit of the same problem last year, if I remember right.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
30th November 2011, 22:40
@BasCB Pretty basic really!
sid_prasher (@)
1st December 2011, 19:29
yes…they are the most vulnerable to tyre changes. Its strange that they can’t get their act together on this.
colin grayson (@lebesset)
28th November 2011, 21:21
having a car which is so good on the softer tyre it is not surprising ..that’s what allowed him to pull away from button
only vettel seemed to have a set up which worked on both tyres
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
28th November 2011, 15:25
alonso has scored 20 podium in 38 race with ferrari & this year he has scored 257 pts that’s even more than the 2010 world champion
that’s consistency !!!!!!!!!!
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
28th November 2011, 15:30
Massa actually had a puncture in qualifying which prevented him from doing 3 stints on options, it wasn’t just the extra use in qualifying.
Even so, I think considering he was 6th in the first stint, it actually was a good idea to try something different and go for a 2-stop strategy, as it got him in the mix with the McLarens.
Fixy (@)
28th November 2011, 20:55
All season I wanted Massa to do a two-stop strategy. As he always pitted after Alonso and had more life in his tyre, it could’ve helped him. Considering there was rain predicted, it was a good idea to keep him out without further stops in case it came. It didn’t, and the pace he lost on old tyres deleted any advantage of pitting one time less than the others.
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
29th November 2011, 14:30
Yes, it was good to see them try an alternate strategy, but the problem for Ferrari was that they were so slow on the harder tyres this year, so couldn’t afford to risk a long stint on them.
You could see how Felipe (and Fernando) dropped off when they put the medium tyres on.
Eggry (@eggry)
28th November 2011, 16:24
Alonso and Ferrari did all they can do, so there should be no complain. Massa was quite disappointing not to mention 2 stop strategy was not a good idea. 2012 would be a serious year for Massa. I expect in-season line up change if Massa is same to this year…
DaveW (@dmw)
28th November 2011, 16:56
That’s a sweet thing to say for Massa by Domenicali, but there is no way Massa finishes fifth with Hamilton on the track. Ferrari were so slow on the hard tires it was ridiculous. Button caught Alonso like he was chained to a post. Massa was set to lose way more than 20 seconds struggling around on his worn soft tires.
Again a brilliant job by Alonso, all considered. He was quicker than Button on the softs and probably Hamilton too, before succumbing to his car’s terrible infamous flaw. He should be driver of the year. I’m starting his campaign now.
Massa needs to part ways with Smedley for 2012. At the least, he needs someone with credibility in the team and possibly someone with a different technical approach. There is no reason to keep this failed combination if you are going to keep Massa in the car.
Hairs (@hairs)
28th November 2011, 18:08
I think Smedley needs to part company with Massa. It used to be a joke that Rob was half engineer, half driver, but this season it has gone to ridiculous extremes. He’s now telling Felipe when to brake, how to turn into the corner, and has to tell his driver to speed up.
Can you imagine any engineer telling Vettel, Hamilton or Alonso they need to go faster? Or how to turn the car? (Hamilton obviously could have used some advice in that respect this year, but still). Rob Smedley is widely admired and respected up and down the paddock, by any account I’ve heard. If anything, his reputation is being tarnished by Felipe’s diminishing credibility. Remember how mediocre Massa was before he landed in Ferrari, and was trained in by Rob and Michael?
If Rob and Felipe were to get the bullet tomorrow, I know which of them would have team bosses banging down their door with a contract…
suka (@suka)
28th November 2011, 19:30
Rob really did not accept the number 2 driver mentality so he has lost his driver in the process. Massa on the other hand, accepted the number 2 driver role, at least for this season but it turned out looking too bad even for a number 2.
Considered above, I (an F1 fan) would keep Massa and release Rob.
suka (@suka)
28th November 2011, 19:38
Alonso, the driver of the year!?
Yes, I doubt any other driver would do as much under the circumstances but we got to admit Vettel has done really exceptionally the first half of the season which was nerve breaking for the most superior team.
Hairs (@hairs)
28th November 2011, 18:13
One last piece of Massa news, from
Wow. Delusions galore in that.
Hairs (@hairs)
28th November 2011, 18:14
That’s weird. Should have read “Nextgen-Auto” as the link text. Never mind, Rob Smedley will sort it out for me.
bosyber (@bosyber)
29th November 2011, 11:42
@Hairs I thought it was a good thing to do by Hamilton, and by Massa to accept it. Having read that piece I can only hope Massa was somewhat misquoted though. No problem with Hamilton indeed Massa – but maybe some other issue to look at there?
I am happy to hear that most drivers thought that India incident was a racing incident, but I still believe that Massa had enough small bits of blame collected for conduct on track to get the penalty, just as Ham got blamed more the more he hit people. Both should just accept that and improve next year.
dutch in sweden (@dutch-in-sweden)
28th November 2011, 21:14
I do not understand the deal with Massa this year, OK you’re a number 2 driver in your team, but he was not even that. I wonder who should be glad that he will be at Ferrari, even Alonso whould be better if he had a teammate that could challange him now and again (not to much, he can’t handle that).
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
29th November 2011, 2:29
To me Alonso was the vest driver today,his start was electric & that pass over Button has to be one of the best of the season.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
30th November 2011, 13:53
@wasiF1 I was just thinking the same myself regarding that pass on Button.