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

Belgium GP : Alonso & Massa Friday quotes

Fernando Alonso: "it was a good day even if in the morning we lost time because of the rain so in the afternoon we had double work to do.Before drawing conclusions we are expecting the analysis of the acquired data this afternoon on two cars, as Massa and I have tried different aerodynamic configurations with more or less supports what will be the real key to the race, taking account of the weather.With regard to our time, we are closer to the leader but I am not sure what weather I want to have because it is true that cards can be redistributed in the rain but there is so much to gain or to lose.It will be also important to have a good understanding of the tyres on the dry track and understand what has happened to Vettel and Van der Garde even though I do not think that it is a problem similar to that of Silverstone, it is without doubt a set of random circumstances but there should be a thorough analysis."

Felipe Massa: "rather capricious weather has had a great impact on the conduct of free practice with a minimal operation in the morning, but lot of work in the afternoon and we want to see it as a half full glass , because we managed to do important tricks in the morning to get an idea of the behaviour of the car on wet track which is always helpful here. In the afternoon, on dry track we have completed the program and tested the new parts as well as the two types of Pirelli tyres. The result of the racing simulations is that we need still more pace and we will do our possible to properly qualify tomorrow."

Belgium GP : FP2 results

Belgium GP : FP1 results