What are Luca di Montezemolo and the rest of the Ferrari team looking for?

The internet is flooded with polls asking who’s actually better: Fernando Alonso or Kimi Räikkönen.
Back during the 2014 season, I saw at least four or five of these ridiculous debates popping up everywhere...

Look, the goal for the whole team is obvious—they want both the Constructors' and the Drivers' championships. But the real question is: which driver would they actually *prefer* to see take home the title?

And let's be real, before we even bother answering "Alonso or Kimi," we have to be absolutely certain that both drivers will get treated exactly the same by the team.
Personally, I'm wondering if that's ever actually going to happen.

Honestly? I’m not holding my breath. I don't even have a clue which driver might end up being the favorite in the garage...
That’s exactly why I didn't bother voting in any of those other polls... and why I made this one.

I actually stumbled upon a pretty interesting take on this yesterday that basically said this:

A mechanic on the team earns maybe $50,000 to $80,000 a year, while a driver pulls in several million.
It’s highly likely that a mechanic, who spends half his life pulling all-nighters working on the car, might lose his mind seeing a driver refuse to stay in the garage after a race to do his job or deal with some PR nonsense just to keep the sponsors happy—especially since that driver's paycheck comes directly from that sponsor money. It's just as likely he'll snap if someone calls him lazy, incompetent, or an idiot.

Does anyone else think this kind of stuff could actually mess with the mechanics' heads and potentially tip the scales in the driver duel?

So, that's why I set up this poll. I've boiled it down to three options representing what LdM, management, the mechanics, and everyone else really wants:

1. The Constructors' title, with Kimi Räikkönen taking the Drivers' championship.>
The team (and specifically LdM) mostly wants to teach Alonso a lesson and settle the score for all those comments where he acted like he was bigger than the team, which clearly annoyed them...
They'll find every way possible to make sure Kimi wins the title.
They'd even be willing to look like total fools to the rest of the world by admitting they messed up when they kicked Kimi out and paid him to sit out in 2010.

2. The Constructors' title, with Fernando Alonso taking the Drivers' championship.
The team just wants a rock-solid number 2 driver, which is why they brought Kimi in, but they have zero intention of letting him be champion. They'll do whatever it takes to ensure Alonso wins this internal fight.

3. The Constructors' title, and they couldn't care less who wins the Drivers' championship.

If my memory serves me right, Kimi once stopped a mechanic from quitting back at McLaren—or something along those lines.

Besides, how can we trust someone like Fernando Alonso? His mechanics have been busting their tails for four years straight, only for him to take all the credit during a win—or, more often, sneakily trash his own team by complaining about every little technical glitch... Hint: *merdaccia*.

Personally, I don't think Kimi has any issues with that. In fact, I bet the rest of the Ferrari garage is counting down the days until Kimi makes his return.

Kimi just acts like a bit of a joker on the surface—but behind closed doors? He's actually pretty normal.

Honestly, Kimi’s approach to racing is more like what you see from Fernando Alonso these days.

Basically, Fernando Alonso is more likely to alienate his crew by building up this massive cult of personality around himself, whereas Kimi would rather just test the car, give his feedback on the handling, shut up, and drive.

What if Kimi signed just out of pure spite, and in 2014 he ends up completely tearing Ferrari apart?😁

Raymond Thomas5 said:If my memory serves me right, Kimi once actually stepped in to stop a mechanic from quitting while he was at McLaren or something along those lines.

Besides, how can you even compare him to Alonso's crew? Those guys have been bleeding for four years straight just to see him basically crown himself king every time he wins, and if he doesn't win, he just turns around and shamelessly trashes the whole team, complaining about this or that... Hint: total garbage.

Honestly, I don't think Kimi has any issues like that at all. In fact, I bet the rest of the garage is absolutely dying for him to come back to the Ferrari garage.

Kimi is just built that way; he acts like a total smartass on the outside, but behind closed doors, he's actually pretty much normal.

Actually, nowadays Kimi has more of an Alonso-style approach to racing.

I mean, Alonso is way more likely to piss off his mechanics by building up this massive cult of personality around himself, whereas Kimi would rather just test, give feedback on the car handling, shut up, and drive.

where Fernando basically worships himself after a win—it's easy to push a narrative when you're making up the facts.

It’d be just as fair to ask us fans, too.

I am not entirely certain what Lucia Montezemolo’s personal leanings might be—perhaps she favors Alonso, given her complicated history with Kimi—but I suspect nothing would delight her more than watching a high-stakes, nail-biting battle between Kimi and Alonso for the championship title. If she could orchestrate it, I am convinced she wouldn't care which one actually takes the trophy, provided the winner was whoever she ultimately preferred.
I trust, and certainly hope, that the Ford faithful feel the exact same way. 🙏
(If we were discussing Renault, my perspective might differ slightly.)

@clark - I am genuinely curious to hear the thoughts of you Ford supporters on this matter. Though, I suspect a poll like this is somewhat futile; it would be nearly impossible to prevent Alonso fans from tilting the results, considering how deeply they have infiltrated the enthusiast circles.

Raymond Thomas5 said:At the end of the day, look at how he treats Alonso's mechanics—these guys have been busting their tails for four years straight just to see him take all the credit if they win, yet the moment things go south, he turns around and bashes them, claiming the car is garbage... Hint: it's a total piece of junk.

And then there's this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teeOhM4ntEE, which pretty much tells you everything you need to know.

Given Alonso's ego in this rivalry, the entire narrative revolves around him. If he wins fair and square, his fans will be insufferable... remember when he was in the USA back in 2005 and claimed "I'll be better than Michael Schumacher"? But if he loses, or even just starts slipping early in the season, he’ll likely suffer the exact same fate as his predecessor, prost...