2018 could finally be Scuderia Ferrari’s year in Formula One. The Maranello team has not won a title since 2007 with Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen, but for the first time in the new ‘hybrid’ era the Italian side now appears to have the fastest car. And former Scuderia Ferrari driver Alain Prost is confident that 2018 could be Ferrari’s season, admitting he was wrong in his assessment of the Italian side’s prospects for this season :
“I made a mistake last year when I said that every time there is a change of regulation, Ferrari was rarely there,” the Renault advisor recently told Italy’s Autosprint – “In the winter Mercedes and Red Bull seemed to be a little better, but it turned out that they (Ferrari) are there in qualifying and tyre management, and also Kimi Raikkonen is there at Sebastian Vettel‘s level which will be a great help. I think this year Ferrari can win,” Alain Prost added, as reported by Autosprint.
The four-time Formula One Drivers’ Champion said he thinks the biggest difference for Scuderia Ferrari this year is represented by the engine performance: “I think the engine has progressed more than the chassis,” said the F1 legend – “The six drivers for Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull can be competitive in all circumstances” – Alain Prost continued. “It’s more difficult for Hamilton, who has usually fought for championships against single drivers only.Now he will not be able to manage races in the same way against four or five competitors, but for us it will be exciting.” – the former Scuderia Ferrari driver concluded.
Alain Prost signed to join Ferrari in 1990 becoming the first driver signed to the team after the death of team founder Enzo Ferrari in 1988. The Frenchman replaced Gerhard Berger at Ferrari and was partnered with Britain’s Nigel Mansell for 1990 (Berger took Prost’s seat at McLaren). Just one year later, he had his contract terminated before the end of the season, immediately prior to the Australian Grand Prix, due to his public criticism of the team and car.
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