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