The real question is, why now and not before?
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The real question is, why now and not before?
"This is ridiculous!" Fernando Alonso, Hockenheim, 2010.
bonne chance Charles
Where on earth do they get these reporters and who had the audacity to ask such a question about the man who was for many the "people's champion" in 2008??????????????Originally Posted by vcs316
Great answers from Nando who seems to be rather adept at handling them. I guess they were trying to get the fur flying in the Ferrari garage-------no way.
Thanks for posting
Forza Jules
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Brazilian GP - Four potential champions in top four places11.5.2010
Interlagos, 5 November – If you learned that both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa had to park their F10s at the side of the track on the first day of practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix, you could be forgiven for thinking that it had been a terrible day. In fact, that was far from the truth, with Fernando Alonso ending the day third fastest and Felipe Massa two places behind him in fifth.
The Spaniard’s engine let go with just a couple of minutes of the morning session to go and the calm expression on his face and on that of the crew in the garage told the story that it had always been planned to retire this V8, which had served its full time in terms of mileage covered, fitting a different one for the afternoon session. In the case of the Brazilian, it was a more unusual failure that left him spectating in the afternoon after completing 19 laps. A hard jump over a kerb somehow triggered a failure in the Neutral Finder button, a device marshals use in the event of a car going off the track and getting stuck in gear. It meant Felipe had no gears to drive back to the garage. But in performance terms, the day had gone well by that point, with plenty of data gathered on both types of tyre, new aero updates seemingly bringing a small performance bonus and the two drivers generally happy with the handling of the F10.
As we head for Sunday and the penultimate round of the season, all the championship contenders, with the exception of Jenson Button, whose chances of retaining his 2009 crown are now very remote, made it to the top of the afternoon time sheet. No real surprise that Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were the dominant force in first and second places for Red Bull. Fernando was third ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren. Felipe, delighted to be racing again in front of his enthusiastic and very noisy home fans, after missing last year’s race, was fifth, with Robert Kubica sixth for Renault.
Tomorrow comes the all-important qualifying session and if the F10 has not always been the best when it comes to getting tyres to work really well on the first flying lap, that might not be a problem on Saturday, given there is a very strong chance of it raining for the grid-deciding session and so wet weather tyres will be the order of the day and timing when to make the qualifying runs will be as crucial as the performance itself.
CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE
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Brazilian GP - Qualifying exciting for the fans, disappointing for the Scuderia11.6.2010
Interlagos, 6 November – The second shortest race track on the Formula 1 calendar, Interlagos always produces plenty of excitement. Throw a wet, but drying track into the mix and you get some real crowd-pleasing action. That was certainly the case in the penultimate qualifying session of the season, but unfortunately the outcome was not too favourable for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro.
Championship leader Fernando Alonso finished fifth fastest in the third and final part of the session, behind the three other remaining pretenders to the 2010 F1 crown. However, the biggest surprise of all was not produced by one of the “Big Guns” but by a young driver in his very first season of Formula 1, Nico Hulkenberg, who claimed his first ever F1 pole position. The Williams man was effectively the only driver to put together a clean lap, right at the end of the session which had seen the field switch from extreme wets to intermediate rain tyres, before the final top ten shoot-out ended with everyone on slicks. Fernando looked set for a front row place, until a mistake from the Spaniard on his last lap, at Turn 10 cost him too much time. As for his team-mate, Felipe Massa never made the most of the dry weather tyres, struggling to get the maximum amount of grip out of them and he will start from ninth on the grid. For the Brazilian, his disappointment is twofold, because not only will he not be best placed to take away significant points from Alonso’s rivals in the title fight, but also he was particularly keen to put on a great show in front of his home crowd.
The surprising Hulkenberg shares the front row with the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel. The second row features the German’s team-mate Mark Webber, last year’s winner here, in third place with the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton alongside him, while Fernando shares row three with sixth placed Rubens Barrichello, thus making it a great day for the Williams team. While the Scuderia was hoping that the predicted rain in qualifying would allow it to get closer to the Red Bulls, who are almost invincible in dry conditions over a single lap, the Ferrari engineers will now turn their attention to dealing with the prospect of a dry race tomorrow. 71 laps of Interlagos is always a challenge and with the F10 showing a good pace over a long distance in free practice, there is no reason why Fernando Alonso cannot leave Brazil, still in a strong position in the championship, before heading off to Abu Dhabi for the final round in one week’s time.
Naughty Word Mod
Brazilian GP - Domenicali: “A result that does not match our hopes or our potential”11.6.2010
Qualifying definitely did not live up to expectations for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, which will see its cars line up in fifth and ninth places on the starting grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa respectively. “We knew that with the forecast weather conditions for today, this would be an especially complicated qualifying session and that was indeed the case,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “A shame, as this result does not reflect our aspirations or our potential. But putting this disappointment to one side, we have to keep in mind that the points are given out on Sunday, which is something we have said after a good qualifying and which bears repeating today. Our closest rivals are there ahead of us and we will stick to them. We will have to try and run a judicious race and pick up as many points as possible, banking on a race pace which, from what we saw yesterday, is competitive with the best. So many times this year the outcome of qualifying has been turned on its head in the race which is often played out to a different tune. We have to concentrate: reliability, strategy, the work in the garage and on track will, as always, hold the key. Finally, I want to congratulate Nico Hulkenberg, a youngster who has just taken the first pole of his Formula 1 career and his Williams team.”
www.ferrari.com
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Brazilian GP - Alonso: “A lot to lose and little to gain”11.6.2010
“Fifth place is not the end of the world. Many times this year, the two Red Bulls have been out in front and Hamilton’s McLaren has been in the fight with us for third place. Today, the surprise came from Hulkenberg, the only one to do a clean lap in Q3: everyone else, myself included, was not as clever, also because the dry line was really narrow and you only needed to get the tyres ten centimetres outside it and you lost a lot of time. There’s a lot to lose in these conditions and little to gain: it would have just needed one wrong choice to already be out of it before the final part of qualifying. Tomorrow in the race, we will have to try and make the most of our strong points, especially our race pace. If we can do a good job of managing the tyres maybe towards the end we can have the edge. The start will also be important: we will try and make up some places, while keeping an eye on what our rivals are doing, because it will be a crucial moment for them too. From a strategic point of view, clearly the presence of Hulkenberg on pole introduces an unexpected variation. The main aim this weekend is to increase my lead over Webber to arrive in Abu Dhabi in as calm a frame of mind as possible. If that’s not possible, then it will be a case of damage limitation.”
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Brazilian GP - Massa: “Lack of grip, a real shame in front of such a fantastic crowd.”11.6.2010
“Conditions today were certainly not easy and the track was changing all the time. In the wet, with intermediates, I was able to do reasonably good times, but when we fitted the soft slicks and the track was still damp, I immediately felt a lack of grip which in the end affected my performance. In fact, all season I have struggled to get my tyres up to temperature and the damp track definitely did not help. A shame, as I was unable to fight for the top places as I had hoped in order to give the Brazilian fans a good result. It is always exciting racing here in front of this fantastic crowd. The race should be run in the dry, which means with very different track conditions to this afternoon. Yesterday, Fernando was very quick over a long run and I think we will be able to make up some places. Congratulations to Nico on his first pole: I can well believe he is in seventh heaven.”
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F1 : 2010 Brazil - Ferrari - Interlagos Formula 1 Saturday report
Formula One report - In changing track and difficult weather conditions, qualifying definitely did not live up to expectations for the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, which will see its F10 cars line up in fifth and ninth places on the starting grid for the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa respectively.
Stefano Domenicali:
"We knew that with the forecast weather conditions for today, this would be an especially complicated qualifying session and that was indeed the case. A shame, as this result does not reflect our aspirations or our potential. But putting this disappointment to one side, we have to keep in mind that the points are given out on Sunday, which is something we have said after a good qualifying and which bears repeating today. Our closest rivals are there ahead of us and we will stick to them."
"We will have to try and run a judicious race and pick up as many points as possible, banking on a race pace which, from what we saw yesterday, is competitive with the best. So many times this year the outcome of qualifying has been turned on its head in the race which is often played out to a different tune. We have to concentrate, reliability, strategy, the work in the garage and on track will, as always, hold the key. Finally, I want to congratulate Nico Hulkenberg, a youngster who has just taken the first pole of his Formula 1 career and his Williams team."
Felipe Massa:
"Conditions today were certainly not easy and the track was changing all the time. In the wet, with intermediates, I was able to do reasonably good times, but when we fitted the soft slicks and the track was still damp, I immediately felt a lack of grip which in the end affected my performance. In fact, all season I have struggled to get my tyres up to temperature and the damp track definitely did not help. A shame, as I was unable to fight for the top places as I had hoped in order to give the Brazilian fans a good result."
"It is always exciting racing here in front of this fantastic crowd. The race should be run in the dry, which means with very different track conditions to this afternoon. Yesterday, Fernando was very quick over a long run and I think we will be able to make up some places. Congratulations to Nico on his first pole. I can well believe he is in seventh heaven."
Fernando Alonso:
"Fifth place is not the end of the world. Many times this year, the two Red Bulls have been out in front and Hamilton's McLaren has been in the fight with us for third place. Today, the surprise came from Hulkenberg, the only one to do a clean lap in Q3. Everyone else, myself included, was not as clever, also because the dry line was really narrow and you only needed to get the tyres ten centimetres outside it and you lost a lot of time. There's a lot to lose in these conditions and little to gain. It would have just needed one wrong choice to already be out of it before the final part of qualifying."
"Tomorrow in the race, we will have to try and make the most of our strong points, especially our race pace. If we can do a good job of managing the tyres maybe towards the end we can have the edge. The start will also be important, we will try and make up some places, while keeping an eye on what our rivals are doing, because it will be a crucial moment for them too. From a strategic point of view, clearly the presence of Hulkenberg on pole introduces an unexpected variation. The main aim this weekend is to increase my lead over Webber to arrive in Abu Dhabi in as calm a frame of mind as possible. If that's not possible, then it will be a case of damage limitation."
Chris Dyer:
"This result leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth because we had the potential to do better, but we knew that in these conditions anything could happen. We had been expecting it since yesterday. The wet track should have been an opportunity to close the gap to the Red Bulls who, on a first flying lap in the dry seemed quicker. But it could also have been a risk because there was always the chance of finishing much further back on the grid."
"At the end, everyone fitted slicks and it was very difficult to put together the perfect lap, only Hulkenberg managed it. Tomorrow, the race should be run in the dry and yesterday, we saw that our pace over a long run is not bad. Our main rivals are all ahead of us on the grid and we will try and make up some places, both with Felipe and Fernando, although without taking any excessive risks."
The Source
#KeepFightingMichael
Alonso laments lost time in early stages
Fernando Alonso was pleased with his fifth consecutive podium finish in Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix although the Spaniard, who remains championship leader, was left regretting the time he lost when overtaking slower cars in the opening laps of the race.
From fifth on the grid, the title winner of 2005 and 2006 retained position after the five red lights went out before overtaking the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton and Williams of Nico Hülkenberg on Laps 2 and 7, respectively.
“I think we lost too much ground in first laps of the race, trying to overtake Hamilton and then Hülkenberg,” the Ferrari driver explained after the race.
“Obviously we were very close on race pace with Red Bull and we had a chance when the Safety Car came out, but we found ourselves in the wrong position again, with seven cars between Mark and us.
“Overall I think a good race for us, overtaking Hamilton and Hülkenberg - we knew it was not an easy thing to do.
“Of course congratulations to Red Bull, Constructors’ World Champions only six years after entering Formula 1, of course a great achievement.
“Now we will see what happens with the other championship in Abu Dhabi - we’ll see what we can do and of course it will be a very exciting end to the championship.”
#KeepFightingMichael | #CiaoJules
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Brazilian GP - Fernando on the third step of the podium, Felipe fifteenth on Sunday in Interlagos11.7.2010
Interlagos, 7 November – Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari finished the Brazilian Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the Formula 1 World Championship in third place at Sao Paolo’s Interlagos circuit. The Spanish driver drove his F10 across the line across the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, to maintain his lead in the Drivers’ classification. The one-two finish for the British team means it has clinched the Constructors’ title. Felipe Massa was less fortunate, ending up fifteenth after a series of unforeseen events which affected his home race.
Now Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has just the final round ahead of it, next weekend in Abu Dhabi when the final act of the Drivers’ championship battle will be played out.
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Brazilian GP - Dyer: "A real shame for Felipe and a perfectly run race from Fernando"11.7.2010
“We are very disappointed for Felipe, who had everything in place to have a good race. Unfortunately, there was a problem at the pit stop which meant he had to immediately come in again, which pretty much put him out of the running. As for Fernando, he got the maximum result he could, in the light of how qualifying went yesterday. The way he ran his race was perfect, with some fantastic opening laps, during which he managed to deal with first Hamilton and then Hulkenberg, and after that he managed the car and the strategy in just the right way. There was some tension at the restart after the safety car period, because the two McLarens had opted to fit new tyres: we knew there was a chance of tyre degradation, which might have put us in difficulty. Fortunately, at that moment our race pace was very good and we were able to manage our advantage over them. Our aim was to arrive at the final race still fighting for the title and we have done that, even getting there with a driver leading the classification. It will definitely be tough but we will do all we can to bring home this championship title.”
www.ferrari.com
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Brazilian GP - Massa: "It's not my year: I'm sorry for the fans"11.7.2010
“Everything happened to me today and it is a real shame that I was unable to obtain the result that was within my grasp, even after yesterday’s qualifying and by that I mean a good finish. When I went back out on track after the first stop I immediately felt that something was strange with the right front wheel and I had to come back to the pits immediately to change tyres again. From then on, my race was pretty much over. Towards the end, the Safety Car presented me with an opportunity and in fact, I managed to make up a few places. Then came the collision with Buemi which knocked me back again and, with the cars that had to lap me, several times I lost contact with the drivers I was fighting for position. When I had a clear track ahead of me, I managed to do competitive lap times, which confirms that the potential was there. I would have liked to have been fighting it out at the front here, but it wasn’t possible: I will try and make up for it in Abu Dhabi at the final race. We still have a very important target to reach and we will do our utmost to succeed in that.”
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Brazilian GP - Domenicali: "Another podium to fight right to the flag"11.7.2010
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro takes away fifteen points from the Brazilian Grand Prix, thanks to a third place for Fernando Alonso, while Felipe Massa finished fifteenth. Thanks to this result, Fernando continues to lead the Drivers’ championship, while the Constructors’ title is now out of reach for the Scuderia.
Stefano Domenicali: “First of all, I want to congratulate Red Bull Racing and Renault for taking the Constructors’ Championship title, which is a very important achievement. We said the Drivers’ title would go down to the final race and we will now arrive in Abu Dhabi with Fernando currently heading the classification. We knew it would be a hard task to bring home the title, as our main rivals are very strong and they demonstrated that once again this afternoon. Now we face eight crucial days. We know what we have to do and we will prepare everything with the maximum attention to detail: each one of us knows we have to give a hundred percent at our specific tasks and, maybe even a little bit more. As for the race, I think Fernando did the most he could after yesterday’s qualifying: his opening laps were exceptional and he managed to pass first Hamilton and then Hulkenberg in decisive fashion, but without taking excessive risks. Then he had to manage his race and he did that in impeccable fashion, even after the Safety Car, when the situation could have turned out to be very tricky. Felipe was unlucky at his pit stop, when a problem in fitting the front right meant he had to come straight back in for another tyre change. That was a shame as he could have finished in a good position. Lastly, I would like to thank the Brazilian crowd for their continued support: going into the race there was talk of the atmosphere being a bit tense for Ferrari. In fact there was nothing of the sort, confirming the great passion and sporting spirit of the fans in this country.”
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Brazilian GP - Alonso: "I would have happily signed for this result"11.7.2010
“All things considered, I am pleased with this result. We have only lost three points to our closest rival and, given how things turned out yesterday in qualifying, it went well: if this morning, I had been told it would finish like this, I would have happily signed for it! I want to congratulate Red Bull and Renault for the Constructors’ title: to reach the top in just a few years is a great achievement. We were very cautious in the very first corners, because everyone was very aggressive and we did not want to risk touching anyone. Then, we immediately lost too much ground to Vettel and Webber: it took me several laps to get past Hulkenberg, while passing Hamilton is never easy. My race pace was good, as we had seen on Friday. When the safety car came out, we thought it might be an opportunity to attack, but there were too many backmarkers between me and Mark and it took too long to get past them: a shame , because at that point, the car was really very competitive. Now, we go to Abu Dhabi: we know what we have to do and taking the title depends on us.”
www.ferrari.com
#KeepFightingMichael
Alonso Focused On Finishing In Top Two In Abu Dhabi
Fernando Alonso says he’s focused on keeping the destination of the World Championship in his hands by winning or finishing second in Abu Dhabi.
Either result will guarantee him the title, irrespective of what any of the other contenders do.
“Well, I think I need second place if Mark (Webber) wins to be mathematically champion,” said Alonso. “A fifth if Sebastian (Vettel) wins, so we will see what happens. We saw today how very easy things can change. With a safety car in the late part of the race, maybe some people change tires, some others not, so if you make the wrong decision at the wrong moment you find yourself eighth or ninth and the championship is over.
“We need to go to Abu Dhabi very concentrated, very focused. It is going to be a stressful weekend for all of us, but this is Formula One and anything can happen next weekend. For me, we will start from zero and see who does a better job in seven days’ time.”
Alonso says he can’t make any predictions: “I think we have to see how the car performs there. I think here, with a better qualifying yesterday, or a dry qualifying maybe we could have overtaken a Red Bull at the start, because we did a very good start, and then the race changed from there.
“We will see if we can be in front of them in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. If not, probably the start will be our next opportunity and then we see.
“I just need to finish second. It doesn’t matter who wins in Abu Dhabi if I finish second. So the main goal for us is to be on pole on Saturday and to win the race on Sunday. If we cannot do that, because we are not quick enough, we try to be second. With that, the problem is finished.”
#KeepFightingMichael | #CiaoJules
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