Ex-Ferrari engineer Nikolas Tombazis mourns potential Formula 1 titles with Fernando Alonso – missing out on just eleven points in three years
In 2007, 2010 and 2012, Fernando Alonso missed out on the Formula 1 title twice with Ferrari and once with McLaren – three times … only narrowly missed out on the Formula 1 title. If he had collected eleven more points in these three years, he would now have five titles in his pocket instead of the two he won with Renault in the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Engineer Nikolas Tombazis, who mainly worked for Ferrari, but also McLaren and Red Bull, speaks of “key traumas” caused by the missed championships.
“We were so close twice,” the Greek, who now works as Technical Director for Formula 1 at the FIA, told F1: Beyond the Grid. “I really regret that we didn’t give him the car he needed to win the championship. Even if it was close, Red Bull beat us back then. In terms of talent, Fernando should have won many more titles.”
At 42, the Spaniard is now one of the old hands in Formula 1, but Tombazis is convinced that Alonso has what it takes to win a third title. Nevertheless, he still mourns the missed opportunities of around ten years ago: “When we analyze the seasons, we see various reasons why we weren’t so good. We didn’t get the exhaust system right back then.”
Back then, Tombazis says, there were discussions between the chassis and engine departments at Ferrari to get the maximum out of the exhaust. “We never managed to generate as strong an exhaust flow as the other engines,” explains the engineer. “That decided the championship back then.”
If Alonso had scored eleven more points in the right races back then, he would now be a five-time world champion. “It doesn’t wake me up at night, but there are a few key traumas in my career that still bug me,” says Tombazis. “Abu Dhabi is one of them.” Tombazis has suffered a number of setbacks and speaks of a string of nightmares that haunt him
