Ferrari has backed Fernando Alonso's aggressive driving in the Malaysian Grand Prix, even though he threw away a podium finish when he clipped the back of Lewis Hamilton's car.
Alonso was fighting Hamilton hard for third place in the closing stages of the race, and was hampered by his movable rear wing not working, but mistimed a move and tagged the back of the McLaren on the run to Turn 4. That incident forced a pit stop and dropped Alonso to sixth at the checkered flag, with the team convinced he would have been in contention for second place. Yet despite losing valuable points, Ferrari has supported Alonso and reckons the extensive tire marbles on the track may have played a part in the crash.
"I like the way he is driving, it is fantastic, but the other consideration is that we need to consider this year is that if you go off line it is a big problem," explained Domenicali. "The track is all dirty with the marbles, so you try to keep your line and, if you just go off the line, you put the marbles on the tires and you lose performance.
"So that is a tricky situation this year – that if you do have a chance to overtake with a clear situation then you have to take some risks because it is not easy. That is the way it is, because without the problem on the rear wing I think we could have really attacked."