Fernando Alonso isn’t concerned about whether races have become less exciting under the new Formula One rules.
The first two races of the season were dominated by Mercedes, who’ve led every lap so far. But the two-times world champion pointed out that other sports don’t always produce exciting events.
“There will be some exciting races and some boring ones,” he said, “just like in football, where you can see a terrible nil-nil game and the next one is an exciting five-four which you enjoy so much”.
Ferrari are yet to score a podium finish in 2014 but Alonso believes they will be in contention for the championship by the end of the year.
“It would be extremely sad if I felt I would not be in the fight for the title in Abu Dhabi, as today is only the Thursday of the third race,” he said.
Alonso said Ferrari are improving the F14 T at a faster rate than last year’s car:
“It is early days for the development of the car and this year, instead of the usual half tenth performance increase, we are moving forward two tenths at a time. There is very good room to improve and become more competitive.
“No question, we think we will be in the fight in Abu Dhabi. We need to improve in all areas. We will try to do better, there have only been two races, so there’s a long way to go and we are ready to fight.”
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Image © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo
Batwing
3rd April 2014, 15:39
Thankfully someone points this out. You are always going to have exciting and dull races, matches and series. It is the nature of sport. I don’t know why people have this expectation that everything will be exciting and one race they are like 2014 is dull.
Gerry
3rd April 2014, 15:53
Alonso, F1 have become BORING because the powers at be have stuffed it up!! You should be concerned. The already drastically reduced attendance numbers, both at the race track and TV audience should worry you as it’s beginning to worry the bosses!!! It’s unbelievable what’s going on with F1 at the moment. :(
Tiomkin
3rd April 2014, 16:19
Dear Alonso, wait until you see your paycheck shrinking because F1 has become a farce. Then you might start worrying. Then again you are a multimillionaire so , no worries.
Todfod (@todfod)
4th April 2014, 8:39
Yeah Alonso clearly cares about paychecks above anything else. I wonder why he moved out of a tax free country, back to Spain, to give up on literally a third of his wealth?
OmarR-Pepper (@)
3rd April 2014, 16:31
He’ll be in contention in Abu Dhabi… again, and he may see the title slipping through his fingers… again. Not really rocket science to know that this year is Mercedes-engined cars game. Not even the double points farce will change that by an inch.
PeterG
3rd April 2014, 16:33
I certainly don’t believe F1 is ‘boring’.
1st 2 races of the year were not so bad, Some good racing, Some nice overtaking, DRS not so powerful as in the past 3 years, Cars having to be driven by the drivers.
All those constantly whining about how dull & boring F1 is should just go & watch something else because they quite clearly don’t get F1.
Maybe they should go watch nascar if there attention spans are so bad that they need to have constant action every few minutes to stay interested in whats going on.
Tiomkin
3rd April 2014, 17:22
If they followed your advice then F1 would die tomorrow.
atta
3rd April 2014, 18:59
Just like @Tiomkin stated above, good on ya for enjoying the races ‘mate. But F1 is deadly dull for me – and no longer going to watch it live. I fell asleep during last week’s Malayasian Grand Prix anyway
JimmyC
3rd April 2014, 17:17
As far as I am concerned, almost everything that has changed over the last 20-30 years in Formula One, was done in order to please the American TV audience, and has been a total crock!
Having watched and attended Grand Prix’s since 1970, the competition and the coverage of it has become a joke (today the commentators never shut up long enough to let us listen to the cars!). Why do we need forced pit stops and bull-crap tires to make a race?
The success of the sport over it’s history would suggest that getting in the car and driving it for the full length of a race, was the most exciting and compelling component of what Grand Prix racing was all about! And the old qualifying system was a thousand times more exciting than the procession we have today! What they need to do is go back to the beginning and start all over again!
Fortunately we are overdue for a major shake up, now that the English money-dog is nearing the end of his greedy rein! Maybe TV money won’t be the main reason to hold a GP in the near future?
Sherlock
3rd April 2014, 17:26
Abu Dabi double points basicly nulliefies first two races – the season starts now!
Kim Philby (@philby)
3rd April 2014, 17:35
Alonso says what he should say nothing more, there is nothing here to to read into.
Slava (@)
3rd April 2014, 17:53
No, you will not be fighting for the WDC this year. With Ferrari it is impossible.
George (@george)
3rd April 2014, 18:39
I haven’t been bored by the races so far this year. They haven’t been classics by any means but they haven’t been terrible either. Hopefully when the new designs have bedded in a little and the performance evens out we’ll have more competitive and harder racing.
Poul Winther (@poul)
3rd April 2014, 23:07
In my opinion the first two races have been pretty darn terrible indeed. There are plenty of problems but what worries me the most is that whenever someone seems to go faster to reel in the guy in front, the guy in front just raises the speed a bit and the attacker slows down again to save fuel. The average pace seems to be so far below the maximum, due to all kinds of preservation, that real racing is bound to become seriously limited.
I find it very peculiar that it was ever believed we needed all this preservation and it completely contradicts that the format is already cut down to an energy conserving hybrid solution. Top racing with such an efficient power unit should per definition allow everyone to go all out again and provide real, no bars hold, uncensored racing!
Except for the sound I think the new format is brilliant with its efficient, modern, highly relevant hybrid unit and tons of torque. Why on earth does it also have to be literally bound on hands and feet?
RV (@zenren)
4th April 2014, 0:03
Alonso should compare the equipment cost involved in F1 and football – you just need one ball to play football with 22 players while you need 22 cars and associated equipment in F1. If football gets low revenue from a boring match, it would still be in profits which may not be the case in F1.
bosyber (@bosyber)
4th April 2014, 9:58
Indeed @zenren, with football the cost is the humans in the team, keeping them fit and ‘in shape’, that hard to grasp quality to do magic that lets them work together and win games; hence that is where the money goes, the top teams cost into the hundred of millions on players’ income, don’t they? I hope it has reduced a bit, but for years those same top teams did that partly with huge loans they’d hope to recuperate by selling off ‘assets’, ie. players. Who’s profit, the clubs or banks?
Chris (@tophercheese21)
4th April 2014, 0:32
Fernando is absolutely right. I think some higher ranking gentlemen in Formula 1 (not part of any racing team), and a lot of fans have come to expect that EVERY GP should be more exciting than the last. So when it turns out not to happen like that, they get disappointed, and it leads to knee jerk reactions like…… *drumroll*…… Double Points.
Arki (@arki19)
4th April 2014, 10:05
I have not found the season at all boring so far. It is annoying when one team wins by big margins all the time, but only if that isn’t the team / driver you support!
What I do find boring is when the overtakes are all DRS assisted and practically any other attempt to pass ends up before the stewards. (Except of course those achieved during differing pit stop strategies which I understand are tactically clever but nowhere near as exciting as on the track IMO).
The fuel saving issues have, thus far, not irritated me as much as I anticipated. I think this is because all the teams are doing so and as we saw from the radio transcripts, the fuel can be ‘turned up’ if a driver needs more pace or to overtake.
The engine freeze was boring. Too many aerodynamic aids make things boring as there is no sliding and fighting for control. At least the latest regs have done something about that. Now if only something could be done to stop the drivers having to starve themselves to unhealthy and unnatural levels.
Crazy.
Fun (@functor)
4th April 2014, 11:23
No matter, how many will be there for contention for Title this year by the end, Alonso will surely be fighting with them till the end. I believe Ferrari will improve a lot over the season [this is not like any other season in past where the margin of improvement and learning is not that much – Remember 2009 – Brawn?]. The sheer performance of Merc is relative.
Alonso in 2010, 2012, … 2014 ? Do you see the pattern? LOL
Vettel dominated 2011, 2013.
Even if Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel is fighting for title, Alonso will overperform the car’s potential and to be realistic – If Alonso don’t have bad incidents – Like Accident or DNFs or Unsafe-release, etc. He can fight for championship.
PS: I’m neutral, don’t mind anyone wins but not vettel this year, {Rosberg may clinch his first title, who knows?} – Let’s see!