Thursday, September 22, 2011

La Gazzetta de Ferrari !

* Ferrari is preparing 2012 : Luca di Montezemolo confirmed that Ferrari has stopped the F150 development after Monza to concentrate on the car of 2012. We already have some indiscretions, that the Ferrari of 2012 will have a suspension similar to the RB7 and will be lower. In addition, Ferrari will test new aerodynamic parts including during the rest of the 2011 season to collect more data. Another interesting rumor: Ferrari count ask Rory Byrne to come back to Ferrari as a consultant to give a valuable opinion on the new car. Rory Byrne is currently in retirement in Thailand but did not stay away from the world of F1 as he took part of the group that looked at the technical regulations of 2013.
* The Ferrari driver academy:
Sergio Perez and Jules Bianchi were invited in Maranello with the Ferrari driver academy. In particular, they have done a few laps aboard the F60 and spent time in the simulator.
* Fernando Alonso chat with fans:
Fernando Alonso took part in a chat with community members of Ferrari, during which he addressed several issues:
-first the 2012 season and his desire to win: "It is clear that the results this year have not met our expectations. In the DNA of Ferrari, there is victory and that's what we will pursue in 2012. "
-Fernando also said that the race to be held in Singapore will be more appropriated to the F150 and his driving style than in Monza and he thinks he is more likely to win. He also recalled his admiration for Senna for "his passion and style."
-On a more serious tone he described how he learned of the accident of his friend Robert Kubica:
"When I heard that, I was skiing in Val Gardena with Felipe (Massa, his teammate) and some friends. I went direct to the hospital to be with him. This is the kind of information that we do not wish to receive. "
-Finally, on a much lighter tone, Fernando spoke about his addiction to pizza and pasta prepared at the restaurant "Montana" in Maranello .

Alonso's blog : a win would be great !


Singapore is a special event for me. It’s one of the races that I like the most for the lively atmosphere and for the characteristics of the circuit. It certainly has much in common with Monaco but the fact that you run at night coupled with the extended length of the track compared to the one in the Principality make this grand prix unique. I have always managed to make the podium in the three previous editions and my objective is to make it four out of four. A third victory to go with those of 2008 and last year would clearly be fantastic but I know that it will be very hard. At Monaco we certainly came very close to victory – without the final red flag I think I would have had an excellent chance to overtake Sebastian – but it’s also true that you can’t always guarantee that things go the same way. What is certain is that we will give everything: I think we have the chance to do well as long as we get the best out of every aspect: tyres, set-up, engine, teamwork, everything has to be at 100%.
Last year a wonderful success arrived at the end of an extraordinary weekend. There was a long, nearly two-hour duel between myself and Sebastian, which was raced with the image of his car almost permanently in my mirrors. To win a race like that is thrilling, producing very strong emotions. Speaking of the German driver, I’ve been told that some people have written that I said a bad word to him in the immediate post-race at Monza when we were talking about the pass that happened when the safety car came in: it’s incredible to see how far the made-up stories of certain people can travel! Not only did I never say the word in question to him but we chatted about the episode in a very good way, as was clear to everyone during the FIA Press Conference a few minutes later.

Monza didn’t give us the victory that we wanted but we did earn a place on the podium – what an emotion to stand up there again wearing the red overalls and to hear the tifosi scream my name! That allowed me to pass one important statistical landmark, that of 1,000 championship points (now I’m on 1,001 – only Michael has more). Of course since the new points system was introduced you go forward in this classification much quicker than before but to see four figures next to my name gave me a lot of pleasure.
I arrived in Singapore today at lunchtime. A shower, a bit of rest in the hotel without sleeping – I want to try and remain on the European timetable – and then a quick trip to the circuit, which is less than 100 metres from the hotel. I like going to the track on Wednesday afternoon at the flyaway races, to see how the team is organised from a logistical point of view. Today I then had the chance to do a bicycle tour of the track together with the special personality that is Emilio Botin, the president of the Santander bank, one of our main sponsors. It’s good to see with how much enthusiasm, passion and interest Don Emilio follows us: despite his thousands of commitments, he knows everything about the life of the team and is very curious, a true tifoso! Tomorrow the official engagements start. As ever, Thursday is predominantly dedicated to meetings with the team and to activities with our partners but there are also the first meetings with the engineers. From Friday we begin on the track: we hope to repeat the weekend of 2010 and thus to present another victory to the Prancing Horse and to all our fans. That is our target, one that will remain for all the coming races.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Poll of the week about Kimi Raikkonen

This week let's talk about the possible comeback of Kimi Raikkonen after his surprising visit to the Williams F1 team .
So here is my question :
what would you think if Kimi Raikkonen would comeback ?
You can answer what you want so don't hesitate to give your opinion !

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes

Fernando Alonso(3rd) :
"Back here, carry the combination of Ferrari is very exciting, a place on the podium was within reach, I said yesterday, but we knew why it was necessary to make a great start, we did it with work of engineers and the perfect preparation of the team. The departure was truly a magical moment, like that of Barcelona, ​​but we knew it was not our true position so that sooner or later we would lose positions. But it's always nice to see our fans cheering us and for laps behind the safety car was great. There was nothing to deal with Vettel, it was much faster than us, and we passed easily. The situation was much better deal with McLaren, with the tender we could defend ourselves, but on hard they had an advantage, I think if the race had lasted a few more laps, I could not finish on the podium. However, I am happy with the result because we were better in the race than qualifying, which is a regular factor. Of course, it would be fantastic to repeat the same race in 2010, but we must remain calm and focus on the future to win more races. The objectives are reduced since the title is almost impossible to achieve. We want to win races to try to defend my position in the drivers' championship. "
Felipe Massa(6th) :
"I can not be that disappointed by the sixth day because I could certainly fight for a podium place, but unfortunately the incident caused by Webber I lost too much time and I ended up tenth . This meant that I had a lot of overtaking to do, but hey I'm pretty lucky because the collision with Webber did not cause any damage, he typed my tires and we were in the start of the second turn. I braked a bit late and he was outside, it could never happen. I am really disappointed because the car was not so bad that today, particularly on race pace. We were pretty fast and the degradation was low, now we hope to have a little more luck for the last six races remaining. "

Italy GP : the race

Alonso & Massa Saturday quotes

Fernando Alonso(4th) :
"The fourth place is the most common result achieved in qualifying this season, I am not surprised by this performance. From a general, our races are better than qualifications, so I think this position on the grid can let us hope to achieve a podium tomorrow, which is our goal and more achievable. I think it will be difficult, even if the races of this season we are full of surprises, winning will be very difficult. I will try to win places at the start, which could make my race a little more interesting. It was not easy to find the right balance on the car this weekend, we made many changes to the settings after each session, it was the If this morning because we were not satisfied. In qualifying, the car was better, it was more stable braking in a straight line etc ... It was much easier to drive, we were still in the top five. It is obvious that high temperatures have helped us, otherwise we would not be the 4th and 6th! We hope it will be hot tomorrow, it would be nice to get a good result here in front of our fans. "
Felipe Massa(6th) :
"In all honor, I must say it was a good qualifying, but it was not easy because we knew that our rivals are very fast and we were not sure what to take. We worked hard trying fine-tune the settings of the car, it in one sitting! During Q3, in my last stint I had a good hare, in the name of Michael Schumacher, but I pushed too hard and lost time which forced me to cut the chicane Lesmo. Maybe I could be with Alonso, but I do not think I could have done much better. Tomorrow, I expect a race very difficult with a tire management difficult, especially in the back and it is clear that this is a key factor. The strategy will be important, we want to do well in such an important event for us and Ferrari look forward to going into battle to delight our fans. Our goal is to finish on the podium, even though I know it will be very difficult. "

Italy GP : the qualifying session

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The gossips of the week

* Jenson Button has opened in Harrogate, a spa town in the county of Yorkshire, a restaurant called "Victus" . Here is what the McLaren driver said : "As I eat and I am interested in all the cuisines I really wanted to be part of this adventure, which combines all the ingredients I like when I go out to dinner with friends: excellent food, good atmosphere and friendly service. For me, eating should be a source of joy, and I think they have captured it in Victus."
Here is the website of the restaurant which displays all their menus (personally I like the design of this site): http://www.victusrestaurants.com
*Jaime Alguersuari released an album of electro and house music called "organic life." The launch is scheduled September 14 in Barcelona.
* who is the mysterious elephant seen in the paddock of Monza ? It's a mascot representing an elephant with the Scuderia colors which sat in front of the Scuderia motorhome .
Its name is Nello T which was signed by all team members and will be auctioned in November to support an association working for the defense of Asian elephants. Also the other part of the profits will go to Telethon.
* Always on the side of Ferrari, the lead singer of Jamiroquai, Jay Kay, was invited last week in Maranello. He was able to visit the facilities of Ferrari and be the passenger of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa for a few rounds on board of the Ferrari 458 Spider which he himself took the wheel later. Note that Jay Kay is an avid admirer of Ferrari as it has nine models of old and new Prancing Horse brand.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

The news of the week

* FOTA has published the schedule of private testing of the 2012 offseason: the teams will go on 7th to 10th of February at Jerez and then from 21st to 24th of February and from 1st to 4th of March in Barcelona. Finally it will be the comeback of private testing during the season since a session will be held on the Mugello circuit, owned by Ferrari, just before the GP in Barcelona , more precisely on the may 1st .
* Charlie Whiting made a visit in late August to the organizers of GP from India and validated the circuit. However the license to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix will be issued one week prior to the GP when the project will be completed.
* Fia's plans to create a third free practice session on Friday of each GP reserved to 3rd pilots to make them more useful while allowing teams to test longer parts of their cars.

The news of the week


* FOTA has published the schedule of private testing of the 2012 offseason: the teams will go on 7th to 10th of February at Jerez and then from 21st to 24th of February and from 1st to 4th of March in Barcelona. Finally it will be the comeback of private testing during the season since a session will be held on the Mugello circuit, owned by Ferrari, just before the GP in Barcelona , more precisely on the may 1st .
* Charlie Whiting made a visit in late August to the organizers of GP from India and validated the circuit. However the license to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix will be issued one week prior to the GP when the project will be completed.
* Fia's plans to create a third free practice session on Friday of each GP reserved to 3rd pilots to make them more useful while allowing teams to test longer parts of their cars.

F1 2012 schedule


Here is the schedule that was retained by the FIA for the 2012 season of Formula 1. You can notice that the GP of Turkey is no longer in the program. In addition the new United States GP will take place in October and therefore will experience warmer temperatures compared to June where it was originally scheduled to occur. Bahrain is also back but will no longer be the opening GP , work that remains in the hands of Australia, since it will be the fourth round. Finally there will be five weeks of summer break, relegating the GP of Belgium in September.
Date Circuit Country
1. March 18 Australia Albert Park
2. March 25 Malaysia Sepang3. April 15 China Shanghai
4. April 22Sakhir Bahrain
5. May 13 Spain Catalunya
6. May 27 Monaco
7. June 10 Canada Gilles Villeneuve
8. June 24 Europe (Valencia) Valencia
9. July 10 Great Britain Silverstone
10. July 22 Germany Hockenheim
11. 29 July Hungary Hungaroring
12. 2 September Belgium Spa-Francorchamps
13. September 9Italy Monza
14. September 23 Singapor Marina Bay
15. October 7 Japan Suzuka. 16. October 14 South Korea Yeongam
17. October 28 India Buddh 18. November 4Abu Dhabi Yas Marina
19. November 18 U.S. Circuit of the Americas
20. November 25 Brazil Interlagos


Sunday, September 4, 2011

Belgium GP : Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes

* Fernando Alonso(4th) :
"It's hard or impossible to do better than fourth place today because we have suffered with the hard tires. In these circumstances we are a two second slower than the best. Honestly I did not have a chance to win, but a podium was within reach. The strategy has allowed us to lead in the opening laps but we knew that this limit would be more difficult. I liked the first part of the race, the start was good and there was good duels. It's a shame for the podium, which was our objective to reach in spite of our eighth place in qualifying yesterday. The situation was different today compared to yesterday but we know that with cool temperatures as we are in trouble. At present, we must congratulate our opponents who do a fantastic job, but we do not give up, as it will be possible from a mathematical, we will always be there to try to win and give the maximum pleasure in Monza, an event so special for Ferrari and his fans, we will do the same for the end of the season. " * Felipe Massa(8th) :
"It was a strange race. In the first few laps I was fighting for the top positions, but then I started having problems with the tires on the car, it had more balance. In tire drives the situation has improved, perhaps through changes of fortunes, but it was too late. And I had a puncture on the left rear tire which forced me to make an extra stop. When I found myself behind Rosberg, I have not managed to pass him against the DRS, as its top speed was very good. I struggled in the slow corners at the chicane and La Source, this prevented me from attacking the best ways. The next race is at home, for the team and for me it is very important, we would make a very good result at home. "

Belgium GP : the race

Belgium GP : Alonso & Massa Saturday quotes

* Fernando Alonso(8th) :
"The eighth is not a good result but we must accept it and try to remedy this with a good race tomorrow. I am confident because I know the potential of the car is much better than what we saw today. We were able to manage the Q1 and Q2 but the red flag in Q2 we put a little pressure because we were close to being eliminated. If the conditions were at the level of expectations I I would not think the pole position, but I managed to place me on the first two lines. Malheureusmeent nothing has been as expected, I did not turn me clean and Perez blocked then it was Webber's turn. I have some regrets because I could achieve a better result, no one knows exactly what will be the performance of each tomorrow, we have seen huge differences and it is played on very little . In addition, we have no idea how capable of running the race tomorrow and we will do everything to be on the podium. "
* Felipe Massa(4th) :
"At the beginning of the qualifications, if you had told me that I would be fourth, I would have signed. My result is not so bad, even if the cars in front of me had a much faster rate than ours. But it is true that in Q3 we had the worst possible conditions for us and we could not be better because we have a problem, compared to others, to raise our tires in temperature. I think that tomorrow, if the track is dry, we will be more competitive and I hope to fight with the drivers ahead of me. It is difficult to predict because we do not have much data on the degradation of tires, but I think there will be two or 3 stops. I'm still on the dirty side of the track? We'll see, but it's certainly not as detrimental to Budapest and I think I can make a good start. "

Belgium GP : the qualifying session