Alonso blames mid-season tyre changes for 'virtually' lost F1 title

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso has said that his title hopes were effectively ended by the decision of change of Formula One tyres mid-season.

According to the BBC, Ferrari has lost competitiveness since more durable tyres were introduced in July following several failures.

Alonso won two of the first five races of the season and was competitive in all, but the Pirelli tyres, which were of a new design this year, began to suffer a series of dramatic failures, the report said.

He said that his team started the season in a good way but then lost out because of the tyres.

Pirelli came under pressure from Vettel's Red Bull team, Mercedes, and the Grand Prix Drivers' Association to change the tyres on safety grounds, the report added.

Ferrari have lagged behind Red Bull throughout the five-year life of the current set of F1 regulations and Alonso is hopeful they will be able to be more competitive under new rules next year, the report further said.

He said that from next year, the team would start from zero and would put all their efforts into the 2014 season.