Formula One / Ralph Ellis / 15 January 2010 /

Betting.Betfair motor racing supremo David Croft will be providing a comprehensive update from the world of F1 next week but for now Ralph Ellis considers Fernando Alonso's move to Ferrari and asks if the Spaniard can justify his Championship odds.

Sometimes there are press conferences that take you totally by surprise. When the great Lawrie McMenemy signed Kevin Keegan for Southampton, none of the reporters knew why they were there until the moment when the two of them appeared from behind a curtain. I can also recall seeing Doug Ellis introduce Dr Jo Venglos as the new manager of Aston Villa by asking the question: 'Do any of you know this man?'

But sometimes they are merely held to confirm what everybody already knew, and that was certainly the case when Fernando Alonso was unveiled as Ferrari's new driver on the ski slopes of Madonna di Campiglio yesterday.

Until yesterday the Spanish two-times former world drivers' champion officially didn't have a car to drive in 2010. Yet he had still been [5.1] second favourite to collect a third title, and those are the same odds this morning. It was not exactly a secret that he would be getting the keys to the car.

What we need to know is not whether he is driving for Ferrari, but how well he might drive and will he justify those odds. And there were clues that things could go well - even if it started with Alonso falling off his skis and sliding down the hillside on his backside! Ironically the accident happened on a slope named after Michael Schumacher.

Alonso is said by those who have been on Ferrari's annual junket to the Dolomites - where sponsors Marlboro pay for 150 Ferrari staff to mingle with the world's media - to be in relaxed and happy mode. A man who has gone through a couple of seasons falling out with anybody and everybody - especially during his feud with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren - might just have found a more comfortable home.

Much of that is due to the influence of Ferrari's team principal Stefano Domenicali who is the man trusted with making sure that his new recruit has a more harmonious relationship with the team's other driver Felipe Massa.

Alonso says he won't have official number one status. "I have never asked for that in my whole career. But I don't want to be number two. That happened at times at McLaren," is his explanation. But the fact he has two titles to his name while Massa has yet to win a world crown suggests it will happen automatically.

None of the top teams officially designate a number one or two driver any more. It just happens because one is quicker than the other. So Hamilton is [4.4] favourite to win the title while his McLaren stablemate Jenson Button, despite being the reigning world champion, is as long as [12]. While Alonso is [5.1], Massa is [14.5] with questions still to be settled when he races again for the first time after that horrific injury. And with Schumacher a ridiculously short [5.9] on his return to action with Mercedes, Nico Rosberg is [18.0].

Picking out the value in the market is not easy. Curiously Alonso himself named the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel [7.8] and Mark Webber [23.0] as the danger. Something else he said also rang true - the field is more wide open than it has been for years. That might just give him - and Ferrari - a chance to spring a proper surprise.

Five things you might not know about Stefano Domenicali

1. Born in Imola in May 1965, his dad was a powerful figure in the Italian banking industry who wanted Stefano to follow him into the same business

2. As a boy he spent his weekends at the nearby race track, and got a part time job helping out in the media centre to be close to the action.

3. After graduating with a business studies degree from Bologna University in 1991 he joined Ferrari's finance department as a trainee accountant.

4. He was put in charge of the project to build their test track at Mugello, and was rapidly promoted becoming team manager in 1996 and sporting director in 2002

5. Married with two children, his family are never seen at the race track. "They are my escape to avoid pressure," he says.

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