Fernando Alonso before being overtaken by Daniel Ricciardo only a couple of laps before the finish. Alonso finished sixth in the championship, with only one other podium, a third-place finish in China. In spite of his worst championship position during his time with Ferrari, he was far ahead of teammate Kimi Räikkönen in the championship. Alonso had severe disagreements with team director Marco Mattiacci. In November 2014 both Alonso and Scuderia Ferrari announced that the season would be his last with the team, with former title rival Sebastian Vettel replacing Alonso at Ferrari for the following season, both drivers leaving their previous
Fernando Alonso was able to defend third place from Hamilton at the end of the race to take another podium. Alonso finished second to Button in Japan, and added a third place in India and second in Abu Dhabi. Alonso closed the season with fourth in Brazil to finish fourth in the Drivers' Championship, losing third place to Webber by one point, after Webber won the race. Having signed a five-year contract extension during the 2011 season, Alonso remained with Ferrari for the 2012 season. Ferrari appeared to be struggling for pace in pre-season testing; in qualifying for the , Alonso qualified