Monday, October 31, 2011

India Gp : Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes

Fernando Alonso(3rd):
"It's really great to be on the podium
here in India for the first Grand Prix and I am pleased to have a new
trophy to bring home.
However, the day was double
emotion, the joy of the podium with
sadness of death that struck us
recent days, colleagues, special
that was Dan Wheldon and Marco
Simoncelli.
After the race, hopes to be vice-
champion are still there, but it will be
difficult because McLaren is shaped in time and even if the difference is that 13 points, we know that
on paper we are behind
Red Bull and McLaren, we can
finish on the podium only when there has of unusual events.
The team did a fantastic job, especially the problem of the front wing, which was identified only 20 minutes before departure. A departure that was not perfect and
Button overtook me. Then I was close
Webber I saved my car and
attacked when he returned to the pits and I finally had enough advance, as What the patient always pays.
Abu Dhabi is a special race, I will
may be going to the park to play golf
relax before the race and then I
give the maximum to bring
home the only trophy missing from my collection. "
Felipe Massa(retirement):
"There is not much to say in response
a weekend like this and I am
really unfortunate because I was able to have a good race, I had a good rhythm and it was ruined from my collision with Hamilton, and I can only say I do not share the view of
marshals who have penalized.
I stayed on the ideal trajectory, the
braking to the limit and I was on the part own track, what would I have done better? This is the umpteenth time that Lewis Hamilton and I have
problems in the race together.
In the past, I tried to talk with
him, but he does not listen, then
Now it is best to turn the page and move forward and think about
two last GP of the season in Abu Dhabi a kind of home race for Ferrari
with the huge theme park and
Interlagos, my home race.
I'll try to forget this trip to India
but I assure you I speak of the race,
not the country. "


India Gp : the race


Sunday, October 30, 2011

India Gp : Alonso & Massa Saturday quotes

Fernando Alonso(3rd): 
"It was important to qualify the First 2 lines. Among the four first grid offers good good opportunities to finish the race. Here, unlike other circuits, I do not think there is a large difference in performance between the side even and odd grid. Our first goal is to finish on the podium, and our second will be to fight for the win if the opportunity arises this. This qualification is right for me ample, for the last few races, we have described between the fourth and sixth place, then we have come a long better, which is a good sign. Generally, our race pace is better than those skills, so we wait to see what comes of ittomorrow
, because it does not mean that we will fight for victory. In Singapore, we were out of it, and at Suzuka, a circuit that was not supposed to although we agree, we missed the So ... just win tomorrow, we will try to finish as best possible."
Felipe Massa(6th): "What happened on my last lap timed is a shame.Today we had the potential to get good positions as the Fernando showed. My sixth position is due to my third area where I am more slowly.  In the corner I got on the vibrator and the right front suspension sold because of the impact on the game high, which is too high for me. This is turn very fast, took about 215 km / h, it could be arranged differently. These are details that have need to be improved for the year next. I repeat, I am disappointed, the car has been successful so far. Now I find myself with a train of soft tires in less than a wing and off. This is the first time we had it and it brings a small something in terms of performance.Tomorrow
 overruns will be difficult because of the dust, but I think we will see a lot."



India Gp : Alonso & Massa Friday quotes

Fernando Alonso(no time ; 3rd) :"I lost a lot of time this morning due to an engine problem on my car, but luckily I managed to catch it in the afternoon, I was able to run smoothly. The priority today
 ' Today
 was to get to know the circuit. The car seems to perform well and we hope to continue this momentum. I like this track even though it is very dirty, the slightest deviation of the trajectory, it is as if you were driving on of the ice. This could create problems when passing on Sunday, but maybe by then the situation will have changed. It's nice to have as wide a track in some corners, I think it will add a little show, because you can take different paths. Even the qualifications should be exciting, given the rather high average speed here, especially in the last sector. "
Felipe Massa(8th ; 1st) :"It is always nice to lead to end of a day's work, however, we know that the results from Friday are relative. Of course, it would be the ideal remain in that position throughout the weekend but will be difficult. 
Today, we focused on the behavior of the car and tires to find the best settings for this new circuit. I love this track, it is very interesting, There are corners where the talent of the driver can make the difference. In some places, the track is very wide, it will be can take several paths different race, which will make overtaking easier. The car seems competitive, but we have to wait and see what can to the McLaren and Red Bull tomorrow they are very strong. Tires? The most drives are definitely too hard for this track, it would have been preferable to have the same gums that there are two weeks in Korea, the surface here is very smoother. "


India Gp : FP2


India Gp : FP1


The good deeds of Fernando

Last Thursday, Fernando Alonso went to visit, as an ambassador for UNICEF, Indian children in a hospital on the outskirts of New Delhi in order to campaign for vaccination against polio. Then for the traditional autograph session, all drivers, including Ferrari drivers , signed artwork realised by children from nearby schools. These drawings will be auctioned to raise money for disadvantaged children. Two good deeds for our dear pilots.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

The Paddock news of India

* The announcement of the return of Kimi Raikkonen in williams F1 team could be soon in what it can be read via twitter. It is even possible that he would have already signed his contract for 2012.
* The French driver Charles Pic would, according to his manager, have very advanced contacts with Team Lotus to replace one of the race drivers, probably Jarno Trulli likely that he already has a contract for 2012 ! Some rumors also saythat Charles would come to Marussia Virgin to replace Jerome d'Ambrosio. We must say that Charles Pic brings a budget of 5 million euros of sponsors so that the enormous interest of the teams.
* New York will host a GP from 2013 to 2022 ! the circuit will be located in the city barges along the Bay of the Hudson and will be a mix between Monaco and Spa.
* In HRT, Tonio Liuzzi will leave the wheel for the Indian GP this weekend for the Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan. Therefore Karun Chandhok, under contract with Team Lotus will not race at home .

Friday, October 21, 2011

The news of Friday !

* Ferrari has finally settled its problems because the results of wind tunnel testing of the new front wing , tested in the race at the GP of Korea , are consistent with those obtained in wind tunnels. Good news for the Scuderia! * The rumor ballooned in recent days and could soon be formalized: Nico Hulkenberg would be an official race driver for Force India alongside Paul di Resta for 2012. This would mean that Adrian Sutil should look for another bucket!
* Mercedes have developed for 2012 a f-duct system that will not be actuated by the driver but this simply through a hole at the front wing, which would direct the air flow to the rear of the car. This system was tested during the Japanese GP.
* Always on the side of Mercedes, the team would keep Michael Schumacher beyond 2012. This is perhaps the reason why Nico Rosberg slow to renew his contract. In fact it is rumored that he would have contacts for 2013, with Ferrari or Red Bull !
* Mark Webber said recently that despite the renewal of his contract with Red Bull he had lots of proposals from important teams, which suggests a bright future after 2012 if the Australian driver wishes to change of team.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

The Paddock podium of the Japanese GP

The 3 in:
* Jenson Button:
the British driver has won everything in this race since has been able to increase his lead over Fernando Alonso to gain second place in the drivers championship. He proved once again that he could win without rain and he is the driver to follow at this end of the season.
* Fernando Alonso : Fernando did a great GP from the sixth on the grid to second with having retaining Vettel during the latter part of the race while driving a Ferrari much less competitive. The Spaniard was thought through to victory as he was close to Button at the end of the race but eventually he finished second with a very good strategy that will surely motivate the Scuderia for the final races remaining.
* Sebastian Vettel:
Who would have thought that the young German would win his second world title with a third place? it's true he needed only one point but ultimately Vettel has been able to manage its race without taking unnecessary risks on a track which have not smiled for Red Bull. Seb becomes the youngest double world champion after a season without fail for him!
The 3 out:
* Lewis Hamilton :
but where is(the real)Lewis ? you can really ask all nonsense errors the McLaren driver has done ! Again Massa has paid the price, which will not settle their disagreement! It is high time that Lewis took the upper hand if he does not want to end up far from his teammate who is at the top for the moment!
* Felipe Massa:
Felipe certainly had his race ruined in part by the collision with Lewis but it is not everything! Admittedly Felipe sorely lacking pace especially when you see that his teammate, Alonso managed to finish second behind the wheel of the same machine !
* Mark Webber:
we can not say that Mark has made a bad GP but it is clear that he could do better! but once again he had a bad start coupled with a strategy that was not up to par. And to add he has been unable to attack Vettel at the end of the race because of team orders.

Monday, October 17, 2011

The news of Monday !

* Jenson Button extended his 5-year contract with McLaren. There is talk of a contract of € 100M. What makes silence the rumors that announced him at Ferrari in 2013 although it was revealed that he recently had studied an offer of the Scuderia he apparently refused.
* Force India was partly sold to a developer of Indian sports. then the team will be called Sahara Force India. * Jean Eric Vergne is searching a wheel at Toro Rosso in 2012.
* Nico Rosberg will slow to renew his contract with Mercedes, to the dismay of his team, because he is looking for offers from other teams including Ferrari (which could free up a tub with Massa in 2013) or if Mark Webber leaves Red Bull .
* Eric Boullier has extended the ultimatum for Robert Kubica's return . Robert will have all November to say if he'll comeback or no . If Robert can't comeback , Lotus-renault would probably choose the French driver Romain Grosjean .

Korea GP : Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes

Fernando Alonso(5th) :
"This race was very tight. In qualifying, the Red Bull and McLaren are clearly the most successful teams. But on Sunday, we move considerably the pace of the lead. During my first stint I difficulty maintaining the pace of the best, because after a few rounds, super-soft tires caused understeer on my car. On top of that, my tires were deteriorating faster than normal because I was right in traffic. When I floor the hard tires (yellow ones), conditions have improved and I had a very clear track, which allowed me to attack my own way, but to join the group that fought for the podium was quite difficult. A few laps, I had returned to about 1s Jenson [Button], but I gave up any attack, because I knew it would be impossible to overtake. Our goal is clear , to improve our qualifying pace.
We will not abandon our desire to win a race by the end of the season. I also want to say that we will continue to work for the car in 2012, to test pieces etc ... even sacrificing race strategy."
Felipe Massa(6th) :
"I'm not happy because of glitches prevented me from achieving a better result, despite the fact that I made a good start and I managed to win seats in the first round. Then when you stop, I found myself behind Nico [Rosberg] and Jenson [Button] because I went to the pits along with Michael [Schumacher], and the team had no right to release me before it is passed by my window. I lost a place because that. In the first part of the race, I was super-soft tires and I had a little trouble keeping pace with drivers who were before me, but with the tender, we have managed to maintain a very fast pace. At the second stop, I found myself behind a Toro Rosso and Force India who fought them, I lost time, which allowed Fernando [Alonso] to pass me. Today, our performance was better than the qualifications, which is a factor regular this year.
Now we are going in the direction of India, a new race. I do not know this country and I'm curious to find out"

Korea GP : the race

Korea GP : Alonso Saturday quotes

Fernando Alonso(6th) :
"I can not be happy with sixth place, but this position reflects our current level. McLaren and Red Bull are stronger than us which means that we are fighting us for the fifth and sixth place. That's what went today, but maybe tomorrow will end as Suzuka and we will meet to battle for the win. When the tire degradation is very high, we are generally in good shape but here the situation is not very clear, as the behavior of the tender on long runs with a full tank. Today we lost too much time in the first sector, we lacked speed. On my last run, I immediately lost a few tenths in the first corner and after that I could not catch up so I decided not to finish my tour. Unfortunately I'm starting on the dirty side of the track, what should be a major drawback here.
We will keep an eye on what happens to us and use the right strategy at the right time. The new front wing? I do not like about the improvements on the one hand I think it's a job for the engineers, on the other hand, I prefer to share my opinion only with the team."

Friday, October 14, 2011

Korea GP : Alonso & Massa Friday quotes

Fernando Alonso(no time , 4th) :
"It was a difficult Friday with the changing weather conditions making it impossible for further analysis of the weekend. When we consider that it should not rain tomorrow and Sunday, then it is clear that this day will not means nothing. The goal is always to do the best we can, to understand the behavior of the car here but also to test the parts, like the new front wing. It is really impossible to draw any conclusion, McLaren seemed to comfortable with. We need more laps to see our performance because it is necessary that the tires heat up, because once it is hot grip is better. We'll have to improvise a little, for qualifying and the race . The entrance to the pit exit is much improved with respect to last year, this is not the case for the exit."
Felipe Massa(no time , 7th) :
"It was a complicated day and the track had no grip and tire degradation intermediates seemed more important than usual. There is no other way to explain our time, we Little did. Obviously, it is difficult to prepare as best as possible for qualifying and the race, but it's the same for everyone. The pit exit is dangerous because you can not see other cars and the collision between Rosberg and Alguersuari is an example and so I think that efforts should be done to improve. This is my 150th F1 race and it's nice, I remember times when I won including the worst moment of my career: Brazil 2008. My worst memories? races like Hungary and Singapore, during which the victory narrowly escaped me."

Korea GP : FP1

Japan GP : Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes

Fernando Alonso(2nd) :
"I want to extend my congratulations to Sebastian Vettel, who won his second world title today in a season that has dominated, either in qualifying or the race was perfect and amazing, the title is deserved. For our hand, we can not do more than that, we gave ourselves up to try to make a perfect race, we must now give our best to beat him next year. We were close to victory, we knew that in qualifying we would be behind McLaren and Red Bull, but in the race when there are tire damage variables, then we can exploit opportunities like this. The others were very strong, especially during the five or first six laps, then performance fell. This podium is an inspiration for the last four races of the season.
It was a fun race to which the strategy was important and unlike the last few races, we had a rthme to fight for victory and we will try to do the same in Korea. We will try to win or at least be on the podium ..."
Felipe Massa() :
"I have a bitter taste after this race because our pace was good enough to finish on the podium, Alonso has shown but I finished seventh. It's too bad for my contact with Hamilton, it was slightly damaged my car I saw him at the end of the race, but this has not greatly affected the car. I think the video speaks for itself, he was in trouble with his tires and I was with him when he came up against me for no reason, I let you be the judge of the images but it is useless for me to say more about it. I want to congratulate Vettel for his role, he is great and deserves the title, I am very happy for him."

Japan GP : Alonso & Massa Saturday quotes

Fernando Alonso(5th) :
"I'm not surprised at this result the Red Bull and McLaren were quicker than us, as was already the case yesterday. At least we managed to get ahead of Webber and confirm that it seems that this season I am subscriber places to fifth on the grid. Tomorrow I expect that the degradation of tires are one of the major characteristics of the race, with the possibility of multiple stops. This means that the strategy will be. We hope that we will not have the same problems in Singapore. We will try to make the best choices to fight for the podium, which is a realistic goal. The victory certainly less, as we saw in qualifying, McLaren seems close to Red Bull, the start will be important. Massa and I will try to put pressure on them and try to win tickets, we will try to have our say.
My first run in Q3? I pushed up, but after looking at the analysis of lap times, I do not think I could have done much better than my second run."
Felipe Massa(4th) :
"It was a difficult qualifying session, but at least we managed to keep one of the top four cars behind us. It's never easy to make a perfect lap here and my last lap was good, even if I lost time in the last sector. Tomorrow it will be important to a good start, I Hamilton with me and it does not change much for me, whether he or someone else. The race promises to be complicated, with lots of pit stops to change tires that show a sharp decline, so the strategy will have a key role here. It will be important to find the right pace to be fast without too much damage the tires. Exceed will not be easy despite the KERS and the DRS but maybe that will help tire following strategies. Our goal is the podium, we are not far away, the goal is achievable."

Japan GP : Alonso & Massa Friday quotes

Fernando Alonso(4th , 2nd) :
"This year you have found that all the teams have ups and downs, with the exception of Red Bull, so we should not be too surprised by the performance today, but it seems that our performance is better than those of Singapore. But only on Friday, we had ever had a good Friday and to be fifth in qualifying. In fact I think things are not so different from the situation of including two weeks ago because the cars have not changed. We hope to be able to fight with McLaren and Red Bull but we know that it will not be easy. What we can say is that the sense of today is a bit more encouraging with respect to previous races, but we must keep in mind that the races are more open than in the past, so the final result differs from the grid.
Strategy, tire degradation, the drs are factors that create uncertainty and improve the performance. For example here, I think we'll have a lot of overtaking, more than in past years."
Felipe Massa(7th , 5th) :
"Overall it was a good day compared to other Fridays of the season, first impressions are good and the car feels pretty good, but it is true that we do not know where we stand against our rivals. We have a lot of work for the afternoon qualifying tomorrow, we must learn some important things for the rest of the weekend. In addition, the tire degradation seems important, what will make the race more open strategies and it will have the right and a car in place that should be easy to fly. I think we can fight for the podium, which is our goal and of course I always want to be able to fight for victory, but it's true that Red Bull have a significant advantage, but we must continue to believe in our chances, because in this kind of race anything can happen."

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Fernando's blog : welcome to Suzuka !


I arrived in Japan this morning and I found rain waiting to greet me this afternoon when I got to the track at Suzuka. My first thought was, “better today than Saturday or Sunday,” because this year, a wet track has not really brought us much luck. I’m thinking particularly of Canada, where we really looked to have everything required to take the win but in the end, it turned out to be our only no-score of the season so far. The forecast for the week is reasonably good, at least for the first few days, while on Sunday, the threat of rain is slightly higher. In fact, you can never be too sure what to expect here: for example last year, we had to run qualifying on Sunday morning as there had been a storm the previous day which meant the track was unusable.
I went back home after the Singapore Grand Prix. Now we have these two back-to-back races in the Far East, followed by Formula 1’s debut in India, so with that in mind, I felt it was best to relax a bit with the family before the final rush of the season. Even if it’s true we are no longer even mathematically in the hunt for the Drivers’ title, there are still plenty of reasons to retain our motivation to tackle these last five races with the right attitude. First of all there’s second place in the Drivers’ table. Given how the season has gone so far, with Vettel totally dominant, failing to get on the podium only once, being runner-up would really be a great result for me and for the team. There are four of us in the running, as I am up against Webber and the two McLaren guys and I reckon we will have to wait until Interlagos to find out who it will go to.

Clearly, if one looks at the way recent races have gone, it will definitely not be easy, as my closest rivals seem to have that little bit extra in terms of car performance, but that does not mean it’s a lost cause. We know we have to do everything perfectly if we want to reach our goal and we will be trying right to the very end. Then, there’s still second place in the Constructors’ championship, but this is a much harder target, because there’s a significant gap to McLaren, but it’s not impossible. In the end, myself and all the team just want to end a season that did not go the way we wanted in the best way possible. Taking at least one win would be the maximum, while the important thing is to always be in the fight for the podium places.
I’ve won the Japanese Grand Prix twice; once at Fuji and once here at Suzuka, the latter being the best of the two, but I’m sure no one in my current team would agree with that. I can understand that, because I can appreciate how disappointed they must have been when Michael had to retire while leading ahead of me. It’s always bad to see a car stop with a failure. In fact, the same thing happened to me a few weeks earlier in Monza: Formula 1 can be a cruel sport at times.

After Sunday’s race I will go to Tokyo, a city I like a lot. Along with Felipe, I will take part in an event organised by Ferrari Japan for the launch of the 458 Spider. We will also be auctioning a nose section off a 150º Italia used in the Australian Grand Prix, the one that carried a message of support for victims of the earthquake that hit this country a few weeks before that race. I know Ferrari Japan is involved in various initiatives aimed at gathering funds to build a school at Ishinomaki, one of the areas most badly affected. On Saturday at the circuit, we will meet some kids from that city, so it will be nice to be able to do something significant for them.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Fernando at the parties !

On the occasion of the Singapore GP, Fernando participated in several events organized by Ferrari and sponsors. He first took part, along with Felipe Massa, at the Ferrari party on Wednesday, September 22. The next day, Fernando was involved in an animation of one of his personal sponsors, "Silestone", to celebrate the opening of this brand to the Asian market. On the same day, he was invited to the "Puma" store in Singapore to sign an autograph wall which also was signed by other drivers . Finally, after the GP, Fernando participated in the famous event "F1 Amber Lounge party" in Singapore where all the drivers of the grid had also been invited.

Singapore GP : Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes

Fernando Alonso (4th) : "Unfortunately, we were not able to finish on the podium today, for the simple reason that we were not fast enough. Even if we were the third times in the race, we knew that sooner or Later, we would pass. Today, we were third in the performance of teams, Red Bull was above everything, and followed ... McLaren early in the race, super-soft tires wear out very quickly, so that the tender had a good ride and was quite successful. We fought from beginning to end and I must admit that I am happy with the work the team did because it tries to give us, Felipe [Massa] and myself, a car worthy of the name. At present, driver win the title is no longer possible for us, so our focus now to win instead of vice-champion. "
Felipe Massa(9th) :
"Hide my disappointment and my anger would serve no purpose. The car was not exceptional, but I could definitely finish in the first 6 if Lewis [Hamilton] was a little more thought before acting. In the end race, I went to see him for clarification, but denied he did not even answer me, and left. We crossed into the interview room, I just told him what I thought. The safety car, in addition to everything I had endured so far, did not help the smooth running of my race. I shod a new set of soft tires five laps before the safety car is deployed . With a few turns past behind, my tires were abnormally degraded, and had to return to make new ones. I lost time behind Rubens [Barrichello], and then I had to slow down to let Sebastian [Vettel], which took me a turn. I hope to have a race without any problems in the future, because it is the race incidents such as those I met today that prevents me from completing better placed at the races. "

Singapore GP : the race

Singapore GP : Alonso & Massa Saturday quotes

Fernando Alonso(5th) :
"I am very happy with this result because I think my best lap in Q3 was performed at 120% of our potential risks with the time but was the only way to achieve a time and hope to fight for the top spots . If I had done a turn normal I think I finished in the same position but with an extra half-second delay, rather than one tenth of McLaren. It would have been better to be ahead of them but we do can not say that we are unlucky. I am convinced that the podium is within reach, usually because we are stronger in the race than qualifications and there is no reason why it is not the case here! We will try to win seats at the start, even if there is not much space between the start and the first corner. We will also try to make the most of our strategy and to manage the tire degradation with respect to our opponents. It will be a very difficult race, the cars will suffer and usually the safety car on track! We will see what will happen but I am confident in our chances of achieving a podium ".
Felipe Massa(6th) :
"Sixth is certainly not the desired result, but we must accept it and think the race will not be easy because the tire degradation is important, both in the tender on the super soft and therefore we must be able to adapt as best as possible. I think we need more than ever have a good strategy to be the key to achieving a good race. We are certainly more competitive here at Monza, but it was not easy to do a perfect lap, even if the car has improved a lot compared to the free practice. I have a lot of oversteer, especially when the rear tires are too hot. The incident with Hamilton does not please me, I do not understand why he wanted to go at any price ... We were both in our turn out and he had nothing to gain by doing so. "

Singapore GP : the qualifying session

Singapore GP : FP2

Singapore GP : Alonso & Massa Friday quotes

Fernando Alonso(4th ; 2nd) :
"The first session was interrupted so often with the less time it has cut our capital turns. So we tried to take advantage of 90 minutes of the second free practice session and everything went well. Overall I am happy with what we saw today. Here, as in Monaco we took our bearings to be able to attack the most, not an inch more, because every mistake is very costly. One night race is always special, it usually takes a little time to adjust but then the next day you're up to your capabilities by trying to achieve the best possible performance. The car is more or less as we expected and the feeling this Friday is much better than those of Monza and Spa, but we must be realistic and expect that Red Bull and McLaren are very strong here. We will try to make the most of every opportunity to achieve a good result. "
Felipe Massa(6th ; 4th) :
"The heat was the primary feature of the day, and the cockpit was very hot. From what we could see the tire degradation seems quite high but we know track conditions can change because it was very dirty today. It is also important to make the right choice for brake cooling and engine for the race will be long and difficult, both for drivers in cars. I think we are more competitive than the last two races, and who knows maybe we can fight deal with McLaren, but we must wait and see what happens tomorrow. The difference in performance between the soft and super soft tires seems high, especially for us but that does not mean it will be the same tomorrow. It is to be careful on this track today I hit the rail, fortunately without consequences. "

Singapore GP : FP1