Before Formula One’s half-term break, the lessons learnt by strugglers Ferrari — not exactly dunces but certainly sadly short of the mark expected of them — could keep a disgruntled Fernando Alonso astride the Prancing Horse.

Promises and shake-ups behind the scenes at the team’s Maranello HQ in Italy have boosted the 33-year-old ex-champion’s confidence.

And kingpin Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s almighty head, has vowed: “There is more to come.”

Truth is that it is a team in turmoil and far removed from the level of excellence of its pedigree as a force to be reckoned with on the grand prix scene. Currently they are running an embarrassing 251 points behind pacemakers Mercedes.

Spanish flyer Alonso, 32 times a winner, has been forced to compensate with daring and outstanding skill for his car’s shortcomings and he came agonisingly close to his first victory of the season with a stirring second place in Hungary last time out.

He is contracted until the end of 2016, but rumours abound there have been hush-hush moves by rival teams to lure him away with improved offers on his £20m-a-year deal with the Italian legends.

He is already Formula One’s top-paid driver, but McLaren, among others, are rumoured to be ready to up the ante to capture him.

But Ferrari want him to commit to them to the end of his career and they have been briefing him at secret meetings in Maranello with assurances they will improve his car.

Stories of his disgruntlement and frustration at Ferrari’s flop show in the shadow of Mercedes runaways Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton and the outfit’s disastrous slide down the rankings have been the centrepiece of paddock gossip for weeks.

“There is a huge amount of work yet to be done,” confessed new team boss Mario Mattiacci, desperate to reassure Alonso as his frustration increases and his dreams of a third crown dim.

Alonso, enjoying a brief burst of respite, looked back on his rhapsodic Hungarian breakthrough and said: “We have had some tough races this season and to finish second in Budapest was extremely satisfying and a nice surprise. It tasted like a victory.”

Team technical director James Allison, saddled with the enormity of the task to recover lost ground in a team riven with doubt, said: “I hope the presentations I, and my colleagues, have put his way will have been convincing.”

Then he admitted the car has weaknesses and has been a 200mph puzzle — difficult to drive, edgy and lacking in finesse.

“We don’t have as much downforce as the people who are quicker than us and our car is too tricky to drive,” he said.

And he went on: “It is easy to point out the weaknesses, but much harder to set out a programme to address them. But that is what we are up to. It is vital for our drivers to buy into what we are trying to do and the effort we are making to give them a car that can be a winner.”

Actions, so the saying goes, speak louder than words and Alonso in particular, in contrast to his hard-pressed teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who looks as though he is going nowhere except through the exit door, will want to see the proof of the promises. And soon.

— The writer is a motorsport expert based in the UK