David Croft says major questions must be asked at Ferrari and rules out a move to the Scuderia for Paul di Resta.
Crofty says Ferrari must solve wind tunnel problems
David Croft says major questions must be asked at Ferrari as to why they cannot get new parts to work consistently on the F2012.
Despite leading the Championship, Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's position owes more to reliability and ailments of their rivals rather than outright pace from the Scuderia.
A new rear was trialled and abandoned in Singapore after the resulting aero performance was not as expected.
"At Ferrari the question they really need to answer is why are they coming up with parts in the wind tunnel and they are coming up with parts in the factory but they are not necessarily parts that are working out at the race track," Crofty told
Sky Sports News Radio.
"Fernando Alonso might have led the World Championship for the last seven races but he's not finished in the top two since his win in Germany - he desperately needs a really good weekend.
"Ferrari have switched their wind tunnel usage to the Toyota factory in Cologne, it's not that far I suppose from Maranello, but it is not what they would have wanted. It is the second time in a couple of seasons that Ferrari have had troubles with their wind tunnel and the data not correlating. They need a strong car, they need a strong weekend and maybe if it doesn't come at Suzuka, it will come in Korea or India after that.
"But for Fernando Alonso, just two good weekends might be enough to secure him the World Drivers' title. But the gap is closing and the rivals are all queuing up behind him and he might have led the World Championship for seven races yet, but he is not home and hosed. Alonso desperately wants a good weekend and what better way would there be to start this final stretch than with an impressive weekend.
"He is going to face stiff competition in Japan though from Hamilton and McLaren and Vettel and Red Bull who are chasing their third win in four years at this Japanese track - Vettel was so dominant in qualifying last year and Red Bull are aiming for a fourth successive Suzuka pole. You have to respect Red Bull at this track, you have to respect Hamilton, but Alonso is not too shabby either."
Meanwhile, on the driver front, some reports continue to link Paul di Resta with a move to Ferrari as a replacement for Felipe Massa, however Crofty is positive that move for the Scot is not on the cards.
"Yeah that's not going to happen," he added. "I think Ferrari will take Felipe Massa for another season. I am convinced they are still waiting to see if Robert Kubica can return to Formula 1 or not, they've given him every chance to do so and would love to partner him with Fernando Alonso.
"Paul di Resta may end up being the unlucky man in the driver merry-go-round, where he doesn't actually end up at a different team. I think di Resta is an exceptional talent and we will see more to come from him in the years to come.
"You could argue that Lewis Hamilton has rather nicked the place he was earmarked for at Mercedes - that's just the way it goes unfortunately in life and Paul has just got to keep putting the performances in and people will take notice and who knows where he might end up."
