F-1ing About: A Comprehensive Guide to All Things F-1, Part 2

It’s been a huge week in Formula 1 with some major driver changes for next year, most notably Lewis Hamilton’s deal which will see him taking over from the legendary Michael Schumacher at Mercedes in 2013. We’re all still waiting to see what the knock-on effects of this will be, so there are a few drivers in real fear of being booted out of their seat for next year. As a consequence of this, expect to see many drivers on their best behaviour over this coming weekend as they play the PR game in an attempt to convince the people that hold the purse strings that they are worthy of a multi-million dollar contract.

On track, it should be the usual mayhem that comes with the Japanese race in Suzuka. It’s a very high speed track and there’s the threat of a some appalling weather on the horizon which always adds some randomness to the proceedings.

With only 6 races left his season, Alonso, Vettel, and Hamilton will be the ones to watch as they all clamber for that elusive world title. Let’s not forget however, that there are another 21 drivers out there, and any of them could provide a major upset one way or another.

Continuing our guide to the teams and drivers of 2012, this week we begin with the most famous of them all.

Ferrari

Fans : The Tifosi

Yes that’s right, the Ferrari fans even have their own name, Tifosi, which is derived from the word for Typhoid, such is their rampant unrelenting and infectious passion for the team in red. Ferrari is a religion and a way of life in Italy, and these fans are the noisiest and most dedicated of them all. When they win, expect 24 hour parties and unbridled joy. When they lose, expect Italian suicide rates to climb dramatically. Fanatic doesn’t even come close.

Team Principal : Stephano Dominicali

This amiable bespectacled Italian is fortunate /unfortunate enough to have one of the most desired / unwanted jobs in the whole of F1, depending on how the team is performing and the subsequent Tifosi and Italian press fallout. Ferrari has failed to produce a decent racing car over the last few years, prompting Domicalli to refer to it as ‘a dog’ on one occasion. This is not the sort of thing a team principal is meant to say to the world’s press, but for Stephano, there is no place to hide, so it was full marks to him for saying what the rest of the world was thinking. Fortunately, this year’s car is very reliable and good enough to mix it at the pointy end of the gid. They are also fortunate to have the one thing which every team wants: Fernando Alonso.

Driver : Fernando Alonso

Universally regarded a the best driver in F1 today, Fernando had a few wilderness years before signing to Ferrari in 2010. This double world champion is in good shape to get the title this year, and it has been a mark of just how great this man is behind the wheel, that the Ferrari is anywhere at all in 2012. He has approached this year with a determination and maturity that were lacking in his last year at McLaren where he would regularly stamp his feet and run off crying whenever his then rookie teammate, Lewis Hamilton, wiped the floor with him, which was often.

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