Chinese GP 2014 Team news & quotes

[Nero Horse]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhvCviiVCbM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH7p-wuvTYQ&list=UURcfcmDBCczrnod3uLDWsTA

[Rob]

Chinese GP – Closing the gap to the top teams
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Maranello, 15 April – The Formula 1 season has been rushing along at a hectic pace since the curtain raiser in Melbourne, with no less than three Grands Prix taking place in the space of three weeks. The data base of information available to the Scuderia Ferrari engineers has grown since the first race of the year and the numbers generated have been poured over, picked at and used to drive simulation programmes back in Maranello. However, despite the advances made in virtual car development, there is still no substitute for real track time and so Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen are looking forward to getting back on track at the Shanghai International Circuit for the fourth round of the world championship.

That’s particularly true given that the Bahrain Grand Prix proved to be the most difficult race so far for the Scuderia. It was no surprise given that the desert track was always going to highlight the weak points of the F14 T, without ever playing to its strengths. “Since the Bahrain race, it’s been a very busy time for us, as we examined all areas of car performance from the power unit to suspension configurations and aerodynamic improvements,” commented Ferrari’s Engineering Director Pat Fry.

All three races so far have been won by the same team and therefore Fry is realistic about the Scuderia’s short term goals. “We are naturally working as hard as we can on closing the gap to the top teams, with Mercedes having a reasonable lead over the rest of the field,” says the Englishman. “Currently, our first priority is to establish ourselves as the second best team. We are looking at all areas of the car – power unit, aero, suspension. We are trying to make as big a step as we can for each and every race.” As for the challenge presented by 56 laps of the 5.451 kilometres of the Shanghai International Circuit, Fry sees it as typical of the modern breed of race circuit. “China’s an interesting track with a good mix of corner types. It begins with the long slow speed corners early in the lap, then a mix of high speed ones in the middle sector, plus a very long straight, about 1.3 kilometres worth, where you need to tune the cars for maximum top speed. However, even with this straight, normally in Shanghai, you find yourself running more towards the top end of the downforce range and with that long straight providing the one real overtaking opportunity, I’m sure everyone will be looking to trade off speed to make sure you can both attack and defend.” There are other challenges in China starting with the long straight, which will ask questions of the still relatively new power units. The brakes will have a much easier time than in previous races, however tyres, particularly the rears, need careful looking after because of the loads imposed by all the very long corners.

It’s proving hard to make predictions this year – at least when it comes to who can challenge the current leaders – so the Scuderia Ferrari crew will approach the Shanghai weekend in its usual methodical way in the hope that lessons learned so far will see the F14 T run more competitively. In his usual blunt way, Kimi Raikkonen sums up perfectly what lies ahead for the Prancing Horse. “We know what we have to do. The people are pushing 100 per cent, but it takes time.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chinese-gp-closing-gap-top-teams#sthash.LjQyRH2Z.dpuf

[Senna4Ever]

According to Austrian broadcast the weather may change all weekend long. Short but heavy showers expected inbetween ...

so lets see what had happened last two weeks ...

[Gerhard Berger]

i think it's better for us if it rains.

[Cozza]

Lovely weather in shanghai lol

Been here for the last 3 weeks. Today rained in the morning and very very smoggy
That lovely smog were you mouth tastes like metal

[radosav]

I think this is the worst AD in the world. Ha ha ha ha :rotfl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjdYTzlfms0

[WS6TransAm01]

I think this is the worst AD in the world. Ha ha ha ha :rotfl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjdYTzlfms0

Holy hell, that was bad.

[Nero Horse]

I think this is the worst AD in the world. Ha ha ha ha :rotfl

Well, I think we all knew that Kimi can't act lol :lol ...his job is to drive an F1 car. But that was one awkward video, no doubt.

[fratelliferrari]

Well, I think we all knew that Kimi can't act lol :lol ...his job is to drive an F1 car. But that was one awkward video, no doubt.
It almost felt like he did it on purpose :rotfl

[Rob]

Chinese GP – Pat Fry: “Stay focussed”

Pat Fry: “It’s been a particularly demanding Friday, both for the drivers on track and for the guys in the garage. In the first session, Kimi’s car stayed in the garage throughout the session after completing his installation lap. With Fernando we managed to complete several aerodynamic tests and carry out some checks on the power unit. The afternoon ran more smoothly and with both cars we worked on balance and power delivery. Even if we are making progress on all fronts, we are well aware that it’s always hard to know where you stand on a Friday. Today’s low temperatures affected tyre performance and even if we can expect the track surface to be in better condition tomorrow, the rain expected for qualifying could turn the session into a real lottery. But more important than making predictions is to stay concentrated on our work.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chinese-gp-pat-fry-stay-focussed#sthash.1ncRqsrX.dpuf

Chinese GP – Kimi Raikkonen: “A difficult start”

Kimi Raikkonen: “It was a difficult day, that began with a technical problem in the morning session, which meant I only did an installation lap. Once that was sorted out, in the afternoon, we tried to make up for lost time, concentrating mainly on getting the set-up suited to this track, sacrificing some of our race simulation. It’s difficult to give an overall assessment and I definitely missed out a bit because of the lack of track time. This evening we will concentrate on analysing the data we have gathered and tomorrow, we will try and make the very most of the final free practice session to get the car as well prepared as possible for qualifying and the race.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chinese-gp-kimi-raikkonen-a-difficult-start#sthash.e3aaV6NU.dpuf

Chinese GP – Fernando Alonso: “A tough test”

Fernando Alonso: “All Fridays are the same, a day when you especially need to test the tyres to adapt to the circuit and on this front, maybe it was less useful than usual, because the forecast for tomorrow suggests rain is on the way. We have brought some small updates here, which we already tried at the Bahrain test. Everything worked well and that’s good news. Leaving aside the performance of the others, I am happy with what we have done today. At every race, all the teams bring something new and we must try and make an additional step forward if we want to be competitive. This track is particularly tough on tyres, with the Softs especially suffering from graining over a long run, so it will be important to work out the tyre plan for Sunday. If it rains tomorrow, we will definitely have less information for the race and we will have to rely on guesswork. Let’s hope we make the right choices.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chinese-gp-fernando-alonso-a-tough-test#sthash.5DoYCn9h.dpuf

[Rob]

Mattiacci: “Unique pedigree, impressive pride”
Shanghai, 18 April – The new Head of the Gestione Sportiva, Marco Mattiacci met the Formula 1 media for the first time today in the Shanghai International Circuit paddock. Here is what he was asked and what he had to say.

You come here relatively unknown to Formula 1 people. I think even Fernando and Kimi say they knew very little about you. Do you feel you have got a big mission to prove yourself to win the sceptics over?
MM: It is very motivating for me. I accept it because I think sometimes, you can bring a new perspective looking at issues and opportunities, and the fact that I need to prove that I am at the level of Ferrari first and the level of Formula 1, so you have in front of you an extremely motivated person.

There’s a tendency amongst Formula 1 teams now to have a CEO and then a racing director or sporting director below that. Do you intend restructuring the Gestione Sportiva or how do you want to do that?
MM: It’s too early to make such statements. What I know is that I’ve worked in Ferrari for 14 years. I’ve been, for the last four days, in Maranello in the Gestione Sportiva. I think we have an amazing group of talented people. I think we have a history of pedigree that is unique, a pride that is impressive, so to talk about restructuring is too early. Definitely, we are here, I’m here. Mr Montezemolo is extremely focused on giving any kind of support to the team and if needed, to go in the market, but – but – clearly, to go in the market if he really believes that it’s going to be an added value and impact to this team. That’s at the moment what I know.

Can you tell us about motorsport experience? Do you have any at all when you were with Ferrari North America or out here?
MM: If you want, I can tell you that I love racing. I race in my spare time. I spent probably 20, 22 weeks in the track last year. I attended three 24 Hour Daytonas, sleeping at the track, tried to learn as much as I could. It’s not Formula 1 but I love racing. I love continuous improvement. I love challenging the team, challenging ourselves to give a better car and to get as much as we can from the track.

In any way, is your lack of race team experience or lack of experience here an asset to you? Can you look objectively at the team, not stand on reputations? And is that part of the reason you think you’ve been brought in?
MM: I think that in the last 20 years, I have assembled a lot of teams. I am benchmarking a lot of business structure and as I told you, this is a different perspective, not in terms of sporting team but definitely assembled team, working with people, managing people from different nationalities with diversity, diversity in the industry, diversity in nationalities. So I will try to bring, if I have some best practice from that but definitely, this is a very specific culture, I’m aware. Time or reaction is completely different. You need to do things that have to happen yesterday, not in two months like in corporate. So I come with a lot of humility to understand and to work very hard. This is what I can commit to the team, to the drivers that are the best drivers in the world. They will have an extremely humble person that will listen and will fight 150% to be a facilitator and to best utilise the talent that is within Ferrari.

What is your strategy? How long before we see your influence on the team?
MM: I am not a great believer in the word ‘strategy.’ I believe that, every day you need to set a target for improvement. As I said, when you first arrive, you look for what is good and I think that in this team, there is a lot a lot of talent. So I am working with the Chairman, with Mr. Montezemolo, in making an assessment and to see what will be needed. At this moment in time, I really cannot make a call on that.

Is it possible for you to ascertain whether you still have a chance (to win) this year’s championship? Or do you feel your work is to start establishing the campaign for next year? And during the race, are you going to be on the pit wall talking to the guys, making decisions in the middle of races?
MM: “I don’t think we are going to give up. Our goal is to close as much as possible the gap to the leader, which at the moment is Mercedes. You all know racing better than me, there are many variables that can influence a lap, a race or a championship. So, as this is the fourth race it is still very early to take a decision. But our objective is to close the gap to Mercedes as soon as possible, which is not an easy task. Will I be on the pit wall? For sure.

What’s the reason you were wearing sunglasses this morning?
MM: It’s a very good question. If you do in four days almost forty hours of flying and you don’t sleep in the last four days, probably you need sunglasses!

You’re not an engineer but how do you plan to make the car go faster, because this is what you are here for? What can be changed compared to your predecessor?
MM: I am not an engineer, but we have 800 people working to make the car faster. I want to get as much motivation as possible to define a certain project to management. I am not the one who will find an extra second on the car. That will be the engineers who work for us.

We were told the news on Monday morning. Can you tell us anymore about the timing?
MM: I received a call at 5.58 on Friday morning from chairman Montezemolo. He told me this was his idea and I told him that April Fools Day had already happened fifteen days earlier. Then, after the first two or three minutes of discussion I realised it was serious and there was already a ticket ready for me to go from New York to Milan in three hours time. So I arrived in Maranello, at the Fiorano track on Saturday morning.

Was this always on your agenda as an ambition for you to come into it or was this as much a surprise to you maybe as to others?
MM: I never had an agenda about what I wanted to be. I always work extremely hard to be prepared for whatever chance would be offered to me in any environment and that’s the beauty of life. I don’t think you can control or plan too much. I think you need to be prepared.

A great team is about great people. Will this be the beginning of an aggressive recruitment drive now for Ferrari?
MM: You raise a great point. A team is made first of people, people, people, people. As I said, the chairman, we discuss and discuss with the first report and clearly, whatever is needed, we will do, even going to the market but with the clear idea that not just for the sake of going shopping but if we will find someone that will bring extreme added value to a team that, according to all of us, is one of the highest level teams that there is Formula 1. So that’s the philosophy at the moment. But whatever is needed will be done.

You mentioned that there was quite a tight timeframe for you getting the job. Have you had any contact with Stefano at all? Has he spoken to you about what to prepare for and given you any advice for it?
MM: Sure, Stefano is a great person. He’s a friend of mine and we spent a few hours on Saturday, Monday we spent the entire day together so yes. As I said, Stefano is a person I have the utmost respect for, first as a human being, second as a professional so it was natural for us to discuss the roles.

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/mattiacci-unique-pedigree-impressive-pride#sthash.2reNROLA.dpuf

[Rob]

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[Rob]

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[Rob]

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[AfterLife]

Thanks for sharing the pictures. :thumb

[Rob]

Chinese GP – Pat Fry: “Attack and fight back”
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Pat Fry: “The weather forecast for today proved to be right and a light but persistent rain had a significant effect on both sessions. In the morning, we chose to run as little as possible so as not to use up the rain tyres in order to have as many new sets as possible for qualifying and the race. Kimi unfortunately did not get past Q2. Yesterday he lost the first free practice session and today he was fighting with the balance of the car, especially in the slow corners. As for Fernando, he managed to get through the three parts of qualifying without any particular problems and fifth place on the grid tomorrow will mean he can be in the leading group. With him, we will try and exploit any opportunity to attack while with Kimi we will try and move him up the order to take as many points as he can. In both cases, the opening two laps will hold the key.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chinese-gp-pat-fry-attack-fight-back#sthash.854HeFSz.dpuf

Fernando Alonso: “A first step”
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Fernando Alonso: “When it rains you never know how things will turn out as track conditions can get worse lap after lap and so that’s one reason for me to be pleased with the way qualifying went. Fifth place means I can start with the lead group and if I can stay with the leaders we can finish close to the podium. The opening laps will count for a lot therefore and we must try our absolute best to get a good start and to avoid battles, which in the last few races have seen us lose ground. Yesterday, the car was more competitive and that means we can hope for a better race than in the last three. I think that here in China, we have taken the first step towards improving; the car behaved well in all areas and is performing better on the aerodynamic front, thanks to the small updates we have introduced here and we have more power, having revised some settings on the power unit. Certainly, we are still a long way off the pace of the leaders, because they too are progressing, but we can hope to fight for better positions and more points.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chinese-gp-fernando-alonso-a-step#sthash.lH0QiGJP.dpuf

Kimi Raikkonen: “Time lost”
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Kimi Raikkonen: “The past two days have been difficult, because after yesterday’s technical problem, this morning I also only did a single run, but overall, I felt more comfortable in the car. Unfortunately, on my last run in Q2, when I was on my quick lap, I lost a lot of time in the final sector and that meant I didn’t make the cut to Q3. The car’s handling was inconsistent, as it was stable in some parts of the track and less so in others. I had some problems with the balance and this had an effect on my performance. It’s too early to say what happened, but the time lost yesterday definitely didn’t help. Now I want to concentrate on tomorrow’s race and try my best to end this weekend with a good result.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chinese-gp-kimi-raikkonen-time-lost#sthash.CPDcQYxG.dpuf

[Hermann]

I think this is the worst AD in the world. Ha ha ha ha :rotfl


There is more life in my toaster. Anyway, Kimi is not being paid to be a good actor, so it doesn't really matter...

[brembo man]

There is more life in my toaster. Anyway, Kimi is not being paid to be a good actor, so it doesn't really matter...

That is acting at it's best. Look how everyone takes notice and gives reviews on Kimi's interviews and comments. He has a captive viewing audience. He should be paid extra for his speaking part.

[vcs316]

Raikkonen troubled by gearshifts

Kimi Raikkonen said he was having some strange problems shifting both up and down through the gears during qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix.

While team-mate Fernando Alonso was able to qualify in fifth place behind the two Mercedes and Red Bull cars, Raikkonen failed to make it in to Q3 as he missed out on a place in the top ten by just 0.013s. Having also suffered a lack of running on Friday, Raikkonen said it has been a bad weekend so far and needs to get to the bottom of his gearbox problems.

“It's been a pretty painful couple of days,” Raikkonen said. “This morning felt a bit better but it didn't turn out to be a very good day, but that's how it goes. Not really many issues, just some gearbox issues – well not issue but it was just upsetting things. It felt OK at some points but then I just lot quite a bit of time in the last sector on my last lap.

“We had some more things going with downshifting upsetting the car and also the upshifting, so we have to see more closely what it is. We had some issues with it yesterday so it's obviously not the ideal day. I hoped for much better but that's how it goes.

“It's been a difficult start of the year but I'm sure we are going to get where we want to be. We had some good things happening in the last race weekend but it's just started badly. Hopefully we can turn it around for tomorrow and be a bit better.”

However, asked by Crash.net if this year had been worse than expected when he returned to Ferrari, Raikkonen said he was unfazed by the tough start.

“No, I have had difficult years with other teams and with Ferrari. I think 2009 was even worse so it's not ideal but there's only one way that we can go and I'm sure that we can make things better, make me happier and get better results as a team.”

[vcs316]

Fernando Alonso says Ferrari is closing in on Red Bull

Fernando Alonso says the Ferrari Formula 1 team is homing in on Red Bull after making a step forward with its car in China.

Alonso finished a distant ninth in Bahrain last time out, but topped both of Friday's dry free practice sessions in China before qualifying fifth in the wet on Saturday, behind the Mercedes and Red Bulls.



Although Alonso was well adrift of the Red Bulls in the wet, he feels Ferrari has closed the gap in the dry thanks to improvements made to the car since the last race.

"Mercedes is out of reach in dry conditions, but I don't think Red Bull is too far away," said Alonso.

"Mercedes has been very strong in dry conditions, so if we can have a good pace in the race, be close to Red Bull and even fight with them it would be good news.

"Hopefully we can be closer, not 30 seconds behind like in Bahrain.

"Yesterday the car was a little bit more competitive than what we had in the first two races, so the steps that we brought here, they work fine. That's positive news.

"We were too far behind the leaders in the first three races; tomorrow we can hopefully get closer.

"It doesn't mean I will fight for the podium, because I still think we are maybe not up there, but definitely we are closer.

"It's the first step of many that we want to make to be more competitive."

[Rob]

Chinese GP – Pat Fry: “A reward for the team”

Pat Fry: “Today’s result is a reward for the effort that all the team is putting into every area. Both drivers got away well, managing to make up two places immediately and, luckily the collision between Fernando and Felipe Massa’s Williams left the F14 T undamaged. In the first stint, with Kimi we lost a bit of time behind Grosjean and that prevented him from making up ground on his rivals, in a race where tyre degradation and graining played an important role. The choice made at Fernando’s first stop saw him take second place: from then on, we concentrated on managing the gap to the Red Bull and tried to keep Rosberg behind us for as long as possible. This weekend we made some progress and in general, the speed of the car has increased, both in the corners and on the straights, but we have to be realistic about our current potential and continue working, because the gap to Mercedes is still big and no one within our team has any intention of giving up.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chinese-gp-pat-fry-a-reward-team#sthash.9158Vk6c.dpuf


Chinese GP – Fernando Alonso: “A confidence boost”

Fernando Alonso: “After a difficult start to the season, this podium is a confidence boost for the whole team, providing extra motivation for all those who are doing their best to close the gap to the front. And I think this podium should be dedicated to Stefano, as everything we do up to July will also be the result of his efforts. We have definitely made a step forward, because compared to two weeks ago, we have partly closed the gap to the leaders, but we are well aware there’s still a long way to go and we have to keep our feet on the ground. In general, this has been a good weekend for me, as everything went well right from Friday, although the rain made qualifying more complicated than expected. I was on the limit all race long and I really don’t think I could have done any more. This is quite a unique track of its kind and now we must make the most of the long break before the next race to prepare as well as possible for whatever situation arises.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chinese-gp-fernando-alonso-a-confidence-boost#sthash.hCJS97GB.dpuf

Kimi Raikkonen: “A combination of factors”

Kimi Raikkonen: “This has been a really difficult weekend. Right from Friday morning, I suffered with problems that we didn’t manage to solve completely and today in the race, I couldn’t get the result I wanted. The start was good, I made up two places but then I couldn’t make up any more ground, as I just didn’t have the pace, nor much grip at the front or the back. In the final stint on new tyres, the car handled better, but then, as the tyres degraded the situation got complicated again. I think the difficulties I encountered here stem from a combination of various factors, from my driving style combined with the low temperatures and the characteristics of the track. Today, we brought home valuable points thanks to the intense efforts of the whole team and now we will continue to work ceaselessly to improve. Fernando’s result is very encouraging and proves we are moving in the right direction.”

Published on: 04/20/2014
- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/chinese-gp-kimi-raikkonen-a-combination-factors#sthash.e8L21Yh4.dpuf

[Rob]

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[Rob]

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