Ferrari Looking Good For 2007

[touringlegend]

Apparently Coulthard is talking to Ferrari for 2007, according to one of the British tabloids.

But it seems to be a case of he's said the market at the moment is one where every available driver is talking to every team, and that has been turned into a story.

[Bononi]

Yeah, I've heard Ide is talking to them too...

[Gt_R]

It's the easiest way for a big team to blame their own poor performance due to "unfair treatment" from a key supplier when it's time to answer to the board.

If a team as big as Mclaren cannot get a good deal with Bridgestone, we have to really ask... is it down to their incompetence to fight for a good deal, or what?

Bridgestone, or any other business, do not give preferential treatment to their customers/clients/partners without a justified reason. And Ferrari doesnt even make that many cars to make OEM tyres an attractive option. The reason is because Ferrari makes it a point to work closer with their suppliers, treat them with due and mutual respect, loyalty, and provide closer cooperation to make the whole partnership more attractive. Not to mention that in all reality, Ferrari is still a stronger image than Mclaren. Hence, is it anti-competition, or simply incompetence?

Ferrari looks to be in good shape. People talk about how key personnels are leaving Ferrari and how Ferrari will collapse. But look around. Alonso is confirmed leaving Renault, Newey (and a few key designer/engineers) have already LEFT Mclaren. Mike has left Toyota... Honda is promising big things with nothing... Williams is frankly weak as an engineering F1 team (compared to their good days where engineering is their forte). And unlike Renault which has yet to find any successor to Alonso (and maybe even to Pat and Flavio), and Mclaren has really been left shaken by the many key exits, Ferrari has long planned for the eventual departure and has been promoting and nurturing hometown talents for a seamless shift of powers. Hence i frankly don't find much to worry about in Ferrari, and if say i'm Kimi, Ferrari definitely seem a safer bet. At least, they are in the Commission, and at least they are not going to threaten to quit every 2-3 years.

Looks good, i'd say.

But F1, it's hard to say for sure.

[Dutton]

There will be no preferential treatment in the scenario of sole tyre supplier imho.

Bridgestone stand to gain nothing from it. They will finish in all the positions regardless...

What will happen is the teams who do more testing/are-winning-more will have more input on development (that is no different than, for example, with Goddyear's monopolies). It is a natural occurance.

I don't see any particular Ferrari strategy. It doesn't make much sense.

[Sodemo]

I distinctly recall complaints in 1999 by Jordan that the spec Bridgestone tyre was designed to suit the Ferrari, and everyone else just "had to make do".

[Dutton]

I could, possibly, see that argument for 00.

However, for 1999? Following 1998, when Mclaren had just won both titles for Bridgestone, and Ferrari only had one pre-season to get with Bridgestone. I don't buy that at all. If they were going to have any inherent tendencies towards anyone's needs it would've been Mclaren's.

[Sodemo]

Originally Posted by Dutton

I could, possibly, see that argument for 00.

However, for 1999? Following 1998, when Mclaren had just won both titles for Bridgestone, and Ferrari only had one pre-season to get with Bridgestone. I don't buy that at all. If they were going to have any inherent tendencies towards anyone's needs it would've been Mclaren's.

I'll try and find the exact quote and get back.

It could just be that Bridgestone wanted a Ferrari championship...?
Back in 1999 Ferrari still hadn't won a championship in what, 20 odd years? Maybe they just had a "hidden objective" to want to achieve this with Ferrari, as after all, back in 1999 Ferrari was still popular, weren't regarded with distgust by many members of the paddock, and still had a good image sporting wise...

I believe that the PR that they would have recieved by winning with Ferrari would have been worth millions, and who can blame them. If you were to report back to your board of directors, "oh yea we won the championship with Jordan", "Jordan, who are they?".
Everyone knows Ferrari.