Singapore GP : Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes

Fernando Alonso: "the second place today is like a victory for us after a tough weekend on a track where it's difficult to overtake . The key points of this race were the start and the strategy and in both situations the decisions taken were good. Our choices were aggressive. At the start I overtook four cars, I was much helped by the starts from previous races. I couldn't pass Rosberg on the track so the decision to return to the pits was made when the safety car came on the track even if it was not easy to finish the race with very worn tyres .Fortunately thanks to the advantage I had on Raikkonen and Webber we were able to manage the situation on the final laps, and if I was in the same group as these drivers then it would have been an horror movie ! The gap with the leaders of the Championship has increased and I have to congratulate them because they deserve, we must be realistic about our chances of winning the title because we will need lots of luck. Of course we do not give up on the season because if an opportunity happens we have to be ready to seize it ."

Felipe Massa: "in light of all that has happened in the race today the sixth place is a good result. I took a great start but at the first corner I found myself trapped inside cars that I had overtook just before and I lost places.From then I've always stuck behind other cars and we all know how it is difficult to overcome here. When the safety car came out we had two options: either put the mediums which we were not sure that they will last during the end of race or the super soft tyres to win a few positions .So we opted for the super soft but Di Resta had advance on the same tyres so I was still stuck behind him. In my case I managed to return to the 6th place because many had trouble with tyres. It was difficult and I'm very happy to score points."

Singapore GP : the race results

Singapore GP : the grid

Singapore GP : Alonso & Massa Saturday quotes

Fernando Alonso: "today's result is not surprising because since the beginning of the season, on average, we always started between the sixth and the eighth place, and then we return to the field in the race and that is what we'll try to do tomorrow. Updates in this race made us earn a tenth of a second on our competitors, a result that corresponds to our expectations. Although the gap with the leader is always important, we cannot say that our engineers have given everything, because everyone has done a great job. Expectations for the future are still high, although at the same time, our rivals have not lost time and take a step further. Faced with this, we must be realistic. I think the podium may be within our reach tomorrow, if we do a perfect race and if we choose the best strategy. Here in Singapore, in five years, there always had a safety car and for this reason, here more elsewhere, luck can make a difference."

Felipe Massa: "after having fought so hard yesterday and also in the free practice 3 , today in qualifying, we have finally managed to do a good lap , by completely changing the set-up of the car.Certainly, the gap with the fastest cars is still big , but today, making a time close to the Red Bull or the Mercedes was really difficult, mainly because they have not suffered as much as we of a lack of adhesion and because we are on a circuit of high support .I am expecting a difficult race because anything can happen here and the tyres degradation is particularly high, I hope that we will have a good pace in the race and that we will be competitive. It's tomorrow's race that counts and we will do our best to improve our position in the Championship. I will give everything at the seven next races because I want to finish in the best possible way with Ferrari."

Singapore GP : Alonso & Massa Friday quotes

Fernando Alonso: "we cannot say that it is a good start of the weekend because we are not competitive, but if one considers that last year we had a tough weekend and that we managed to get on the podium, we can say that we should not give up immediately. We still have to analyse the data, but we must be realistic, because when you are sixth and fifteenth is not what we expected with the changes for this race.Now we have a lot of work to do to find the correct setting and the best strategy, then we will need good qualifications and a race of attack from the beginning to the end. However, we know that it won't be easy because it is a track that requires a lot of support and we suffer here as in Hungary, more Mercedes seems to be quick like Red Bull, we will have to deal with Lotus and McLaren."

Felipe Massa: "it was a difficult day, because I had trouble finding the right way to go forward in the two practice sessions. In the first, we were focused on the evaluation of the various aerodynamic parts, while in the second, we were able to complete the program, make long runs, starting on the SuperSofts and ending on mediums. With the team, we decided to go in another direction to try to find a set-up with which I was more comfortable on this track. Unfortunately this didn't give the results we were expecting. I think that for the qualifications of tomorrow, we must retrace our steps, trying to improve the balance of the car. I am sure that it will be better and that will succeed to find new car that I'm used to drive."

Singapore GP : FP2 results

Singapore GP : FP1 results

Fernando Alonso optimistic for Singapore

(Fernando Alonso on the 2012 Singapore podium)

It's an optimistic Fernando Alonso who arrived yesterday at Singapore . And he can ! Because in the last 5 editions of the GP he reached the podium by 4 times(including 2 victories) ! 

Fernando Alonso : "This is a very special race, without right to make mistakes but I love it though because I'm usually rather comfortable there . In 5 starts, I got 4 times on the podium so this year yet, I discuss this weekend in a positive state of mind and confident that I can again do well."
"It's a street circuit, the 'risk' factor is still very high. There is always the possibility of making a mistake, especially in the last sector with turns 18 and 19 passing under the grandstand . It's very easy to crash here with a small loss of concentration. This means the end of the race."
"The F1 calendar becomes more stressful now with all these races outside Europe. I well prepared myself during the summer holidays , on the fitness, in order to have a good end of Championship, without problem. All these changes in time zones are very demanding."
"The Singapore race adds to this a very important physical and mental requirement . This takes place during the night and even if it remains in European hours, your pace is still a little affected on a weekend ." 

Provisional F1 2014 season calendar

* this is the provisional calendar for the F1 2014 season :

-Bernie Ecclestone already claimed there will be 22 races with the arrival of the New Jersey GP .

-The South Korea GP has been removed to the start of the season to make a place for the Mexico GP at the end of the season . 

- 3(and maybe 4 new races if we take care of the New Jersey GP) : Mexico , Austria and Russia 

La Gazzetta de Ferrari

* It's done! Kimi Raikkonen will be back at Ferrari in 2014(his contrat will last 2 seasons)and will team up with Fernando Alonso. A duo that promises to make sparks on the track ! 

* Felipe Massa has several options for 2014 : going to Sauber(with the financial support of Ferrari)to replace Nico Hulkenberg ; going to Lotus or even have a steering wheel at Williams in place of Pastor Maldonado.

* Ferrari will no longer organize the Wroome event that was held annually early in January in the Italian mountains ! The main sponsor of this event, Marlboro can no longer ensure the financing of this event because of the financial crisis.

* James Allison took his duties as technical Director on September 1, he will ensure the management side chassis and aero while Pat Fry will take care of the engineering part.

* Fernando Alonso has bought the Spanish professional cycling team "Euskaltel Euskadi" which faced major financial difficulties. For 6 millions of euros, the Spanish rider bought the licence of this team that will now be based in Asturias and which should also change its name. Fiat and Vodafone could be the new main sponsors of this team which will revolve around Samuel Sánchez. 

Italy GP : Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes

Fernando Alonso: "get on the podium at Monza is always a special feeling because it is the only place where it is possible to feel all the love that fans have for the team and that is the greatest reward at the end of a weekend that was almost perfect.If I say almost is that our opponents in the Championship have won and we extend them our congratulations. We were well Friday and Saturday, able to get both cars in the top five but Red Bull did better than us.When Vettel returned to the pit we were still doing improvements to chronos on our sectors and so we decided to extend our relays as far as possible, at least as long as Webber was not becoming a threat.In this way, might try to reassemble on Vettel because our tyres were cooler a few laps but we tried to do our best and we have to be realistic about our chances in this Championship because it will not be easy to bridge the gap of 53 points in a few races. In F1 anything can happen so we believe everything in our chances until the end, to the Brazil GP , trying to always give us 100%."

Felipe Massa: "I am very satisfied with my race, which was fantastic from beginning to end thanks to a good start, I won two positions .My pace was good on both types of tyres and during the entire race. It's a shame to have lost a place in favour of Webber during our pit stops because the podium was within my reach and it would have been great to celebrate this moment with the fans here.The overruns were not easy because when you find yourself behind a car, you lose a lot of support and this is very delicate in the second sector.Overall, this is a very positive weekend for me and the team because we scored big points but we still have much work to do if we want to progress. For my part , I will do my best until the end of this Championship."

Italy GP : the race results

Italy GP : Alonso & Massa Saturday quotes

Fernando Alonso: "today the qualifications are better than in SPA and the car was competitive which allowed us to fight with the best. Of course, we weren't at the same level that the Red Bull who again are strong, but the race tomorrow will be long and we start from a good position.Here the strategy of aspiration is often used because having a car in three or four seconds before you to go a little faster and it is for this that I have to thank Massa especially in Q3 when he waited for me when I was behind Vergne. The radio messages poorly were understood, as it's often the case there are not the reflection of reality ! I said the word genius and this controversy should not raise doubts about the impeccable work of the entire team.Today we have been able to fight with rivals during all the qualifications and closer us than ever to the Red Bull, and there's not many cars between us and them because aside from Hulkenberg we are just behind.We need to move the Sauber in the first lap in order not to lose too much on Red Bull."

Felipe Massa: "I'm really happy with this result because compared to yesterday the car has improved and that makes me confident for the race.In Q3 I managed to do a great lap in the wake of Webber which was a great help for me even if I lost a bit of time at Ascari, I remain happy with my performance.We were aware that on a circuit like this it is very important to have the cars in the top four and tomorrow's race will be difficult. The weather is uncertain and we are ready to deal with all kinds of situations to get the full potential of the car.It be fantastic to get a good result in front of our fans at home who support us with so much affection." 

Italy GP : the grid

Italy GP : Alonso & Massa Friday quotes

Fernando Alonso: "I have the same feeling as a result of any Friday, so I am neither happy nor disappointed by the level of performance and we must therefore wait qualifications to have a realistic picture of the situation.The Red Bull seems very strong again and we will have to do a lot of work to be as prepared as possible for qualifications and therefore find tenths missing.We need to analyze data but some developments may seem to operate while others need to be improved, but overall it was good.We must take advantage of our package and try to make a good qualification and a good race in front of our fans at home and hope that the weather will be with us because for Sunday there is a risk of thunderstorms this is why we must be prepared in all conditions.Degradation of the tyres is low here and we will definitely see fewer stops than usual."

Felipe Massa: "today we have managed to do all that is expected, namely the assessment of various aerodynamic changes and the search for the ideal level of support.Now our next task is to analyze the data to understand what to do to improve the car for qualifying and the race.Everything is not perfect, especially at the end of the second session, I went out at the first chicane and I had a mechanical problem, I could not change the speed beyond the 3rd speed so I went to the pits slowly. We don't know exactly what happened but I think that this is not very serious.This will not be an easy weekend, our main rivals have made super time with both types of tyres and in race configuration, we will do our utmost to be as competitive as possible."

Italy GP : FP2 results

Italy GP : FP1 results

Belgium GP : Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes

Fernando Alonso : "today's result shows that the qualifying session did not affect the outcome of the race because I think that even starting from pole position I would have finished second because Vettel was faster and that from the start .We made overtakings from the start and cornering, then I was able to pass Rosberg and Hamilton, I was six seconds from Vettel but the final delay is 16 seconds so that we can only congratulate Vettel and his team for the work done.The car worked well in all conditions including with many or less fuel, we had the extra speed that we wanted to be able to exceed without losing too much time.We know that we made a step forward and that we have recovered part of the competitiveness lost during the last races. At Monza and Singapore we will see what will give the suite of development because updates used here worked well, but they were intended that this circuit, it is the results of intense work of 24 / 24 on the track and in the factory. This makes us optimistic for the end of the Championship, because our goal is always the same, namely to fight for the title until the last race."

Felipe Massa: "it was a difficult race for me from the early laps because after making a good start, I had to slow down and lose four or five positions to avoid a collision with Grosjean out of the first corner. From there, things complicated because for a few laps, I had a problem with the steering wheel linked to the functioning of the KERS, I couldn't communicate with the team.When everything was back to normal, it was not easy to catch up, because even if the decision to anticipate my first stop allowed me to overtake several cars, the pace was not good. During the last stint with the hard tyres, the car was very competitive and I managed to win some important places, with a pretty passing on Grosjean. I can't really be happy with seventh place, because today, our car deserved better. However, the fact that we are more competitive than in the remaining races makes me think that we are working in the right direction and we hope to make progress throughout the second part of the season."

Belgium GP : the race results

Belgium GP : Alonso & Massa Saturday quotes

Fernando Alonso : "When you are 9th and 10th you can say that this is not good but the data analysis tells us that the car was more competitive that when recent races . We made innovations which worked well, it is the fruit of our work in mid-July when we have identified our problems.Our misfortune happened in Q3 when I didn't have enough time for a new lap , maybe those who were last in the standings at this moment no were not able to improve, but on my last lap I went to head to tail, an error that cost me much even if the tour following in the same place I had already recovered three seconds.For the race I am confident enough because with all weather variables anything can happen, so we'll see what will happen. We have to win many places but at least we are certain to have reduced our delay on the best both in the dry as in Q2 than in mixed conditions as in Q1.In the end only the rain remains a great unknown because we have never rode on a wet track of the beginning at the end since the beginning of the weekend."

Felipe Massa: "I am really disappointed with the result of these qualifications even if it was difficult to make the right choices at the right time with a so unstable weather. In my first lap in Q3 I went out with mediums tyres and it started to rain, I had therefore two options, return to the pits to put fuel and have one set of intermediate tyres or to make only one change of tyres and return on track for a single lap , option I preferred knowing that I would be alone on the track to try to make a good time.Unfortunately, this choice has not paid for the moment, the rain stopped and other cars have found better track what is really unfortunate because the car has been competitive during the weekend, but it is not today that we specify this.Even if tomorrow we start off, the race is long and anything can happen, the pace is good and hopefully we can make some good overtakings and score major points."

Belgium GP : the grid