Ferrari news & quotes Malaysia GP 2011

[Rob]

A weekend to tackle one day at a time
April 6, 2011
· Posted by Fernando Alonso

I arrived in Malaysia a few days ago, having stayed a while in Australia, on Hamilton Island. I decided to stay in this part of the world so as to be used to the local time zone, given we now take on two races in the Far East, first in Sepang and then in Shanghai. It’s important to get used to the weather conditions, especially here where the temperatures are around the 30 °C mark and, much more significantly, it’s very humid. I have done some sport, because it’s essential to keep training: in this race you lose a lot of liquid and it’s very tough driving in these conditions, so you need to be on top form to tackle the weekend properly. Being 100% ready in this respect can make all the difference on Sunday afternoon as even on a mental level, this race is very special.

The fact that the weather can change so quickly here makes the preparation work for the various phases of work on track more stressful. Suddenly it can go from sunshine to a short sharp shower and you need to be prepared for every eventuality. It’s not just a problem for us drivers, as its affects the whole team: in some cases you need to be ready with a plan B or C, or even maybe a D for all the various scenarios!

Luckily it’s not all been work, as I was able to have some fun too which is good as it helps you unwind at such a busy time: from the start of testing there hasn’t been much of a break in this bit of the season.

I stayed in touch with the engineers, via email and phone. We re-examined the way the weekend had gone in Melbourne and we discussed our preparations for here in Sepang. We know we have to improve our performance level, but we are equally aware that in the end, the race result was not such a disaster. We will have a few minor updates on the car, but nothing very significant, or the sort of thing you could say would be the key to take a leap forward in performance terms. I believe we must stay concentrated on our own work and try to understand how to get all the potential out of the 150° Italia and I’m sure there’s plenty to come. Before we achieve that, it’s pointless standing here making predictions about how the weekend will turn out. We just have to tackle it one day at a time.

My happiest memory of Sepang circuit goes back to my first ever pole position, which I secured on 22 March 2003. Neither myself, nor my team, Renault, had expected that sort of result on Saturday morning, but come the end of qualifying, we found ourselves with both cars on the front row. It was a very happy moment and I can still clearly remember how the afternoon went, then the dinner and Sunday morning, when I was thinking about what would happen in the race. Every time I come back here, I think of that weekend, at the happiness of taking pole and the feeling of trepidation going into the race. I did not win, as later happened in 2005 and 2007, but I was still third and so managed to jump up on the podium for the first time. It was definitely a weekend to remember for a long time!

http://www.ferrari.com/english/scude...at-a-time.aspx

[Alessandra]

And all the best from us to you Fernando and all the team

[Ste]

Analysis of data collected in Australia: which are the reached conclusions and how is the Team preparing for the challenge in Sepang? Pat Fry explains it from a technical point of view, Marc Gene takes us on a lap on the track in Malaysia where the upcoming race is held on the weekend. Diego Ioverno talks about the organisation of the mechanics at the track. Luca Baldisserri tells us about the FDA tests at the renovated Mugello track with Bianchi and Rigon.

[scuderiafan]

Not Ferrari News, but surprisingly looks like a dry race.

Thu 11:00 Amid the sweltering heat and humidity of Sepang, the drivers put on a brave face during the traditional round of pre-event media interviews today, ahead of practice for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Late afternoon sharp showers and thunderstorms offered a brief respite and an opportunity to cool down, but the latest forecasts and weather models published this afternoon point towards a mainly dry race weekend with less atmospheric potential for spectacular cloudbursts.

Weekend Forecast

As originally forecast on Monday, the first day of track action is set fair for hot and steamy conditions. This will provide Pirelli with its toughest test so far since the Italian tyre manufacturer's return to the sport. The air temperature should reach 33 degrees and that could translate to over 50 degrees on the asphalt, which will no doubt give the tyres a hard time.

This may surprise many, but Saturday could also be a dry one - at least as far as practice three and qualifying are concerned. Dry weather is expected during the morning and early afternoon, although it is likely to remain cloudy with only a few sunny interludes. Of course, the stunning heats remains a factor and temperatures will quickly rise to 32 Celsius.

Sunday is beginning to move much more into focus due to a predicted rise in convective energy in the atmosphere, which could trigger a storm towards late afternoon. This is by no means a done deal, and the forecasts will need to be monitored carefully over the coming days - but, as it stands, race day is now the one to watch.

The chase of Red Bull begins in earnest this weekend after Sebastian Vettel's dominant drive at Melbourne. AUTOSPORT Live will have full blow-by-blow commentary throughout the weekend. Join us for first practice from Sepang on Friday at 01:50 GMT.


Mon 15:00 Cool and predominantly cloudy conditions greeted the teams for the season-opener at Melbourne a fortnight ago, but Formula 1 will turn up the heat in more ways than one at Sepang this weekend for round two of the 2011 campaign - the 13th Malaysian Grand Prix.

http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/325

[vcs316]

Malaysian GP - A difficult day in Sepang - A lot of work for the Maranello engineers

It was a busy time for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, on the first day of practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa covered over one hundred laps, much of them in the morning aimed at evaluating various aerodynamic configurations, while in the afternoon, the two drivers concentrated on the more usual Friday programme at a Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso: “Given how things went today, it looks like being a difficult weekend, but we will do all we can to get close to the quickest. Today, things did not go well and we struggled to find a good balance on the car, so this evening we will look at how we can improve. On a track like this, with such variable weather and with tyre degradation being what it is, there will be a lot of factors in play in the fight for the top places and just being quickest will not be enough. This morning we did a lot of work on the aerodynamics to understand what had not worked the way we had expected in Australia, but even if we had been quick in Melbourne, there would still be work to do. This is only the start of the season: we are not quick enough to fight for the win and pole position, but that does not mean that we have to throw in the towel. Instead we have to step up our efforts to quickly reduce the gap that separates us from those who have done a better job than us.”

Felipe Massa: “It’s logical that I had expected and had hoped to be quicker, especially when compared to the two teams that are clearly in front. Let’s see what we can do between this evening and tomorrow to improve the car. There is not much grip and also tyre degradation is very high and, as could be seen in the final part of the second session, when everyone was presumably running with a heavy fuel load, we were not the only ones having a problem. If the race was to take place in the dry, choosing the right strategy would be very complicated. The soft tyres work better, giving much more grip and they are much quicker, although there is a lot of degradation. The hard seems to be slower and, at first, seems a bit more consistent, but it does not last that much longer than the other. We will have to be ready for anything this weekend. In the last two days, we have seen that at the time qualifying and the race are due to start, it always rains. If that also happens in the next two days, anything could happen.”

Pat Fry: “We got through a lot of work on this first day of free practice. In fact, apart from the usual Friday programme, we wanted to carry out a whole series of aerodynamic tests to try and gather as much data as possible on the handling of the car, especially in terms of the front end. In quantitive terms we achieved our aim because the programme was completed as planned. Now it’s up to us to analyse the data and get the answers we are looking for. It will be a tough job, but a vital one to understand in which direction to go in the development of the car. Having done that, we then concentrated on all the usual Friday tasks, which means looking for the best set-up and especially on comparing the two types of tyre we have here. From what we could see, it looks like being a very busy weekend for the pit stop guys, because the degradation, at least in these conditions, seems higher than in Melbourne. The alternative scenario is rain which seems likely for Sunday…From a performance point of view, allowing for all the unknown factors on a Friday, the situation does not seem that different to the one in Australia: our aim is try and make the most of what we have got at our disposal.”

[Greig]

Sepang, 8 April - It might seem strange for the official Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro press release to talk about the team having had a busy Friday, doing a lot of work. After all, isn’t that what preparing for a Grand Prix should be all about? Yes, but with factors such as tracks being green and a bit dirty on the first day and a need to conserve tyres and look after engine mileage, it is not always the case that cars run all the time during Friday’s three hours of free practice.

However, having analysed all the data from the opening round of the season in Australia a fortnight ago, the engineers had come up with a very long job list to work through today, adding aerodynamic evaluations to the usual tasks of set-up and tyre comparison. Over a hundred laps between Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa delivered a lot of answers, but they also confirmed that the situation has not changed significantly in terms of the order among the teams, with two of Ferrari’s rivals, Red Bull and McLaren still having the edge over the F150º Italia cars. In fact Felipe Massa ended the day with the sixth fastest time and Fernando Alonso was ninth, although both men encountered traffic on their quick laps.

Mark Webber topped the time sheet for Red Bull Racing, ahead of the McLaren duo of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, while reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel was fourth, with another German who happens to have six more world championship titles than the Red Bull man, Michael Schumacher, fifth for Mercedes ahead of Felipe.

There remains one more hour of free practice, starting tomorrow at 13h00, before qualifying at 16h00. There is a heavy chance of rain for the grid-deciding session, although it has to be said that, at least ninety minutes after that time on Friday, the track was still dry, so maybe a wet track is not as much of a foregone conclusion as the pundits are predicting.

[Tifosi]

Not very encouraging from Pat then.

[Vittorio]

When drivers and technical team are saying it's going to be a "difficult" weekend after Practices 1 & 2...well, that's just bloody depressing.

Ah well, here we go again - it's Ferrari on the back foot and playing 'catch up' at the start of a season...

How I do hanker for those days from 2000-2004 when Ferrari was invariably a top contender and often unbeatable...*sigh*

[Ferrari Man]

Its all part of being a fan of any sport... You have to take the lows as well as the highs....... I m sick of being low already...

[Grillo]

Problem is not only Malaysia. China will be difficult too and then we'll be waiting for a major upgrade working and ready ASAP.

[anachronox]

3rd year in a row, we are playing catch up!

I am feeling disappointed! Fingers crossed for the weekend.

[RACERX11]

On the other hand I am positive, we will do abetter race that Australia..

( someone has to stay POSITIVE )

[sagi58]

On the other hand I am positive, we will do abetter race that Australia..

( someone has to stay POSITIVE )

[REDARMYSOJA]

Ferrari, as well as McLaren and the rest of the Ferrari powered cars are going with new engines.

http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre...ocument-34.pdf

[ferrari1.8t]

Ferrari, as well as McLaren and the rest of the Ferrari powered cars are going with new engines.

http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre...ocument-34.pdf

Already a fresh engine? I know we cycle them through various practice sessions and race days, but it still seems kind of premature. It also seems odd that the majority of drivers on fresh engines are Ferrari powered....I am not an engineer though, so who knows.

[scuderiafan]

Malaysian GP - Hitting the target

Sepang, 9 April – One driver on row three and the other on row four: that was the outcome of qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. Fernando Alonso was fifth fastest in 1.35.802 while team-mate Felipe Massa finished seventh in a time of 1.36.251. Both drivers used only set of new soft tyres in Q3, as the team had opted to use the first of the three available right from Q1. Therefore only the Red Bull and McLaren drivers were able to tackle Q3 with two sets of new soft tyres. Pole went to Vettel ahead of Hamilton, Webber and Button.

Felipe was fastest in Q1 with Fernando third, while in Q2 the two Ferrari men finished in the same positions as in the final section. Given the current performance level, objectively, this is the right result, but clearly it is not satisfactory to be a second off the pole position time.

my thoughts exactly. Now get working!

http://www.ferrari.com/English/Formula1/Pages/Home.aspx

[TheProdigalSon]

Step one - Find the problem

Step two - Fix the problem

Step three - top step of the podium. Comon Ferrari!

[Sianellen]

Video:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/9452480.stm


BBC interview with Stefano after qualifying.

[Greig]

Step one - Find the problem

Step two - Fix the problem

Step three - top step of the podium. Comon Ferrari!

Step one - Replace Stefano, enough is enough of being on the backfoot, lead from the front

Sorry but I am knee-jerking

[Hermann]

Step one - Replace Stefano, enough is enough of being on the backfoot, lead from the front

Sorry but I am knee-jerking

With Pat Fry?

[TheProdigalSon]

Step one - Replace Stefano, enough is enough of being on the backfoot, lead from the front

Sorry but I am knee-jerking

Luca has been very quite lately

[crewskas]

Step one - Replace Stefano, enough is enough of being on the backfoot, lead from the front

Sorry but I am knee-jerking

+1
I can't think anyone better though...
And free...

Maybe replace Costa too...

Not Pat Fry though, because is too new in the team and needs time...

[Red_Diamond]

+1
I can't think anyone better though...
And free...

Maybe replace Costa too...

Not Pat Fry though, because is too new in the team and needs time...

When are you going to replace Fry, after the next race?

And replace the pitstop guys, they're too slow. Replace Felipe he can't finish over 7th, replace Alonso, he always looks miserable. Replace Tombazis he hasn't got a clue. Replace Montezemolo, he's gone mad. Replace Maranello, it's outdated. Oh, and replace the cooks, they clearly don't feed the team properly. I tell you what replace the whole Ferrari team with members from thescuderia.net

Talk about being hysterical....

[crewskas]

That's your opinion.
Not mine...


How many years should we stay conservative and say the same (reliability comes first), in order to make some changes?
Because it's already 3...
And before those 3, the team ran by what Jean, Ross, Rory AND Tombazis had made...
When a team in any sport does not perform, the coach is the one to blame.
That's what I know...

About Fry then, I 'd give him at least 2-3 years, about Tombazis I don't even think it's his fault and all the other are just nonsense...

[Red_Diamond]

That's your opinion.
Not mine...


How many years should we stay conservative and say the same (reliability comes first), in order to make some changes?
Because it's already 3...
And before those 3, the team ran by what Jean, Ross, Rory AND Tombazis had made...
When a team in any sport does not perform, the coach is the one to blame.
That's what I know...

About Fry then, I 'd give him at least 2-3 years, about Tombazis I don't even think it's his fault and all the other are just nonsense...

Nikolas Tombazis, Scuderia's Chief Designer. He designs the cars, so how isn't his fault? If you want to point the finger..

The Ferrari team of early 2000s were conservative, the cars were evolutions rather than revolutionary because F1 didn't keep chopping/changing rules every year.

[scuderiafan]

Malaysian GP - Qualifying to match our potential. Domenicali: "We have to be on the defensive"

A very intensive qualifying session for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, which tomorrow sees one driver, Fernando Alonso on the third row of the grid, with the fifth fastest time and the other, Felipe Massa, on the fourth row, having been seventh quickest. Both drivers used four sets of tyres in total (one hard each in Q1 and one soft per driver in each session.)

Stefano Domenicali: “We know that, at the moment, we are not capable of fighting for pole position: two teams are currently quicker than us. Our aim therefore was to be right behind them on the starting grid tomorrow and we managed to do that. Sure, we cannot be pleased with being a second off the pole time, but at the moment we have to be on the defensive, if I can use a footballing metaphor. The forecast is for changeable conditions tomorrow, which could mix things up. Furthermore, this is a very tough race both for the cars and the drivers. If we do everything well in terms of strategy, reliability and the work of the team and drivers, then we can aspire to securing a good result.”

Fernando Alonso: “We weren’t quick enough in Australia and we are not here in Malaysia either, at least not enough to fight for pole position. From what we have seen over these two races, there are two teams who have worked better than us over the winter and clearly we have to make some progress in terms of performance and there is no secret about that: we need to make a step of some quality, we need to be aggressive in our development to make up lost ground. At the same time, we have to stay calm and concentrated and, in the meantime, bring home as many points as possible, exploiting every opportunity that comes our way. The championship is very long and last year, we saw how the situation can change continuously from one race to the next. So, I feel this fifth place is a positive result, because so much could happen tomorrow, especially if it rains. Overnight and this morning after FP3, we improved the set-up of the car and I felt more comfortable than yesterday. I will start from the clean side of the track, which is never a bad thing. It’s difficult to make predictions for the race: yesterday we saw very high tyre degradation, so we can expect three to four stops. On Sunday in Melbourne, our pace was close to that of the McLarens and I was able to fight with Webber, but there in qualifying, McLaren was closer than they are here.”

Felipe Massa: “It was definitely not an easy qualifying, especially looking at the times the top four were able to do. We fought with the others but clearly, compared to the best, tomorrow, we will be running a defensive race. From a strategy point of view, if it’s dry we can expect three or four stops. If it really rained, then anything could happen and we will have to be ready for any eventuality. Today, the best result we could hope for was fifth: I was not able to do that, partly because I did not do a perfect lap, but at least I will start from the clean side of the track. We know we lack aerodynamic downforce: we are working on it, but only when we have made some progress will we be able to fight for the top places.”

Pat Fry: “We are where we deserve to be at the moment, with two teams being more competitive than us. In qualifying, we worked well, making the most of our potential. We are a long way off the top, a second in fact and we are well aware that we have to improve a lot to be where the Scuderia ought to be. We opted to use one set of soft tyres right from Q1, because with the performance difference between the two types of tyre being much bigger than last year, there is no point in taking any risks at this time. Clearly, this choice worked against us in Q3, when both drivers were only able to do one timed run with the last set available, but at the moment, this is the best strategy. There is a high chance of rain tomorrow and we are well aware that, here in Sepang, that can mean there is a risk of a very heavy storm. We will have to be very careful to ensure we make the right decision at the right time.”

Malaysian GP - No surprises in Sepang qualifying

Sepang, 9 April - The top two rows of tomorrow’s grid for the Malaysian Grand Prix feature just two teams, Red Bull Racing and McLaren: no surprises there then, given that while many questions remained unanswered after the opening round in Melbourne, the superiority of these two outfits was clear for all to see. So, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro is pretty much where it could expect to be, with Fernando Alonso “best of the rest” in fifth place on row 3 of the grid. Felipe Massa admitted that, apart from the fact the Ferrari F150º Italia is not yet competitive at the highest level, he did not put together the perfect lap, so the Brazilian will be seventh, starting behind his team-mate, both Ferrari men on the advantageous clean side of the track. In addition, Fernando and Felipe used one set of new soft tyres to make sure of getting through Q1, therefore having one less set for the crucial Q3: but this cannot be seen as an excuse as that choice is a function of the Scuderia’s car not being on the pace of the best.

Thunderstorms, the typical Sepang cliché, have been notable by their absence this week, with just one short but heavy shower on Thursday evening. However, it does seem as though tomorrow sees the highest chance of thunder and lightning hitting the area of the track at a time when it could cause the most chaos in the race. In this case, the permutations are as endless as they are unpredictable and could help Fernando and Felipe to a better result than would otherwise seem available. If it stays dry, then we will finally see the pit stop marathon predicted for many months now, with three or four visits to pit lane expected per car. If every driver made at least three stops to change dry tyres that would make a total of 72 pit stops, because unlike Australia, the two Hispania cars qualified inside the 107% rule, so we will have the full complement of 24 cars lining up for the 4pm local time start.

For the record, it’s world champion Sebastien Vettel who took his second consecutive pole, although it was achieved in the very last seconds of the session, thus relegating Lewis Hamilton to second place. In the second Red Bull, Mark Webber, third, is the only non-champion on the top two rows, ahead of Jenson Button in the second McLaren. Fernando will have the Renault of Nick Heidfeld alongside him on the outside of row 3, while Felipe shares the next row with the German’s team-mate, Vitaly Petrov.

http://www.ferrari.com/English/Formula1/Pages/Home.aspx

[crewskas]

Nikolas Tombazis, Scuderia's Chief Designer. He designs the cars, so how isn't his fault? If you want to point the finger..

The Ferrari team of early 2000s were conservative, the cars were evolutions rather than revolutionary because F1 didn't keep chopping/changing rules every year.

Aldo Costa
Head of Design and Development...


Who decides what approach a new car will have?
The head I suppose...
And Costa was the successor of Rory, in 2005...

Also, where was Newey when our 2000s cars were conservative and winning?

[Red_Diamond]

Aldo Costa
Head of Design and Development...

Who decides what approach a new car will have?
The head I suppose...

Also, where was Newey when our 2000s cars were conservative and winning?

Ermmm, maybe a hard pill to swallow seeing your location or maybe you're just playing dumb but look at this....

http://www.ferrari.com/English/Formu.../Tombazis.aspx Aldo Costa is techincal director.

Where was Newey? Newey was nowhere.

Is it just me or is Ferrari supposed to be a team? It's really annoying when people point fingers to individual team members, as if that will solve anything.

[crewskas]

Trust me, nothing to do with my location...

Newey was at McLaren, until they replaced him.......................................!

I never seen Tombazis though, to talk about "reliability", where as Costa did even on the presentation of the last two cars...!
And if the Head has this approach, no wonder why the whole team is that way...


I thought teams, change members to improve...
Don't know any team in the world, in any sport who likes to have a useless manager (and I 'm not meaning Stefano is)...

btw:
The Technical Director of a formula one team would be in-charge of all aspects of the car that has anything to do with performance and integrity of the cars. The appearance of an F1 car would be credited as per to the advise of a Technical Director. How much the car should weigh, the power output the engines should rev up, the protrusions (spoilers, side skirts, front and rear wings) and everything else about the car except the sponsor logos and the paint. Reviewing of technological developments is among the duties of a Technical Director.

[Red_Diamond]

Trust me, nothing to do with my location...

Newey was at McLaren, until they replaced him.......................................!

I never seen Tombazis though, to talk about "reliability", where as Costa did even on the presentation of the last two cars...!
And if the Head has this approach, no wonder why the whole team is that way...


I thought teams, change members to improve...
Don't know any team in the world, in any sport who likes to have a useless manager (and I 'm not meaning Stefano is)...

btw:
The Technical Director of a formula one team would be in-charge of all aspects of the car that has anything to do with performance and integrity of the cars. The appearance of an F1 car would be credited as per to the advise of a Technical Director. How much the car should weigh, the power output the engines should rev up, the protrusions (spoilers, side skirts, front and rear wings) and everything else about the car except the sponsor logos and the paint. Reviewing of technological developments is among the duties of a Technical Director.

So what does the designer do? Doesn't performance and "integrity" come under he resume too? or does he just sit there and look pretty? If you want to attribute blame, you can't pin it all on either Costa or Domenicali and totally exempt Tombazis.

You win some, you lose some. It's only the start of the season. It's a complete over reaction to be thinking about who to replace. Thank god people like you don't run the team.