2013 Korean GP: Team Preview - Ferrari

Pat Fry, Ferrari Technical Director, has hinted on shifting focus to the 2014 season. (Getty Images)

Is it time for Ferrari to believe that the season is pretty much over for them? Is it time to focus on 2014? The answer to these questions most certainly remains a yes.

Ferrari had earlier hinted that they will be assessing the situation after the Singapore GP. A race win for Fernando Alonso could have allowed them to delay the decision but a third consecutive second place for him meant it was high time for Ferrari to shift focus on developing and testing some of the components for the 2014 season.

That apart moving to South Korea and just six races remaining in the season, Ferrari would have to continue to fight hard to keep a charging Mercedes at bay and keep their second place in the Constructor’s tally intact.

Fernando Alonso

Even though Ferrari fans would be hoping for miracle that could see Alonso take the fight to Seb Vettel, the fact remains Alonso needs to get a couple of wins in the bag to stand a chance of even getting close to the German. A 60-point gap won’t be easy to overcome.

Yet Ferrari would be looking to fight till the end at least to show the world that they are right behind Red Bull. Alonso, a one-time race winner at Yeongam in 2010, would have to do something different to beat Vettel as he has managed only to come second in the last three races with Ferrari unable to match the Red Bull for speed.

Though Alonso is capable of pulling out a stunner even after starting at the back of the grid (as evident in Singapore and some of the earlier races in the season) his qualifying performance has definitely been the dampener.

The Spaniard is still trying to get his first and surprisingly elusive pole position in 2013 and is yet to start in front of the grid in the three edition of the Korean GP. Ferrari needs to be absolutely spot on with the setup and configuration of the F138 on a technically challenging circuit. After all they wouldn’t want Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton to reduce the gap in both the constructor’s and drivers tally.

Typhoon Fitow has been predicted to disrupt the proceedings on Sunday and it might just prove a lucky charm for Alonso as he remains the king when it comes to racing in wet conditions.

Felipe Massa

The Ferrari number two is yet to find a seat for next year and would be looking to perform better after a fairly decent outing at Singapore. With Massa taking a stand of not helping Alonso in the remaining races, he has set his goals clear of landing a seat with a team who could help him challenge the front runners (Lotus being the best choice for him).

While his selection still remains under the wraps, Massa would be trying hard to outdo his own teammate. He has managed to do that in five races in the season by managing to keep his nose ahead of teammate Alonso at least in qualifying.

In Singapore, Massa struggled in the race though managed to get sixth place and more importantly crucial points to help Ferrari stay ahead of the Mercedes. While Alonso might not need a helping hand from the Brazilian, Ferrari would be hoping he performs consistently to help them stay ahead of the charging Mercedes.

Ferrari Performance Analysis at the Korean GP

	Fernando Alonso	Felipe Massa
Wins	1(2010)	Nil
Pole Positions	Nil	Nil
Podiums	1	1
Best Finish	1st	3rd