Alonso

Korean Formula 1 Grand Prix ends in spectacular result for Ferrari

An historic and very long race in Korea came to an end in the dark with a great result for Ferrari and opening the Formula 1 championship up yet again! Read more

Ferrari is ready for the F1 Grand Prix on the Sepang circuit in Malaysia

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro is already hard at work at the Sepang circuit, outside the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, preparing for the third round of the world championship, which it currently leads in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ categories.

“We are happy with the Melbourne result, even if, on Sunday morning, we might have expected a slightly better one,” said Stefano Domenicali. “Considering what happened in the race, we can be pleased with finishing third and fourth, partly because our closest rivals either failed to score, or at least did not pick up many points. We are surely not the only ones to be pleased with the afternoon’s work in Albert Park: F1 fans the world over can tell themselves they watched a truly spectacular motor race and those who made such a fuss about Bahrain being dull, should now think again. I have always maintained it is impossible to draw conclusions about the state of our sport after just one Grand Prix, but that does not mean we should now claim that Formula 1 has returned to some sort of golden age, if indeed there ever was one!”

A new driver pairing always takes time to break in, but in Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, the Scuderia seems to already have a strong partnership: the Brazilian had a difficult weekend throughout, but he made the best of it, getting a very good start, before adopting a sensibly cautious approach when dealing with a lack of grip. As for the Spaniard, he drove a truly fantastic race, demonstrating not only his skill in going from last to fourth, after his first lap spin, but also the fact that he knows how to be a team player.

“Back-to-backs,” the term applied to Grands Prix on consecutive weekends present a tough logistical challenge, which all the teams undertake in conjunction with FOM, (Formula One Management) who are responsible for shipping cars and equipment from one race to the next. Late on Sunday night in Albert Park, the entire team set about re-preparing the two race cars and packing everything into containers.

“Once packed, all the containers are positioned in the pit lane, from where trucks take everything to the airport,” explains Massimo Balocchi, the team’s head of logistics. “We provide all the Customs documentation and FOM does the rest.

“Then, in Sepang, the reverse process takes place with the equipment delivered from Kuala Lumpur airport, ready for the team to start work on Tuesday. Not all the material we use goes by air. In order to save time and money, at the start of the year, in January, we send four separate container loads to Bahrain, Australia, Malaysia and China. These contain much of the infrastructure we need to use, but not the technical equipment or car parts. These containers then return by sea to Europe, where they are repacked and then dispatched again to the last races of the season.”

Balocchi is also in charge of all personnel movements for a team of around 65 people – the 45 permitted to actually work on the cars and the additional press, marketing and Paddock Club staff. “We always try and stay in a maximum of two hotels at each race,” says Balocchi.

“That makes the logistics easier in terms of how many cars we use to move around. We have an agreement with Europcar and the local FIAT importers also help on this front. As for the hotel bookings, I normally do this one year in advance, so for example, I have already discussed our 2011 requirements in Melbourne with the hotels this week.”

Ferrari ready for the Sepang Grand Prix

When Fernando Alonso faced the media this afternoon at the Sepang circuit, the questions began with a look back at what had been a spectacular drive to fourth place in Melbourne: “It was a great show for everybody, a good race to watch and also enjoyable from inside the cockpit,” commented the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver. “The car was quick enough for me to be able to overtake, after going to the back of the field and in the end, fourth place was a good reward for the team and I am extremely happy about it. Maybe with the spin at the first corner I lost the opportunity to win, but these things happen. It was very good for our championship situation.”

The double world champion heads the classification, but he is aware of the very strong opposition he faces. “The McLarens, Red Bulls and Mercedes are our main rivals and only later in the year, will we see which of the eight drivers are in contention for the Drivers’ championship. After just two races, everybody is still a contender and in the fight, even if currently the Red Bull is probably the quickest and they are the guys to watch at the moment, even if they have not put together the perfect weekend. When they do, they could finish a race first and second, so we cannot relax and must keep working to improve the car, especially as I expect McLaren and Mercedes to be more in the fight very soon.”

Even though the Melbourne race was a truly exciting one, some elements of the press are still pursuing the argument that F1 needs more overtaking. Alonso is not so sure. “As I said after Bahrain, Formula 1 might not be the best sport when it comes to overtaking, but it is about other things also, like technology, precise driving, with everything under control on the track, in the garage, in the factory, where margins are counted in millimetres or less in the way cars are built,” said the Spaniard. “This formula is about watching the cars that have the maximum performance of any form of motor sport and the best drivers putting on a good show. Of course, when it rains the races can be more entertaining. The arguments have been the same for many years and there have been many fantastic championships, for example last year and I’m sure we did not see so much overtaking, so I believe the current situation is not linked to the new rules regarding no refuelling.”

Felipe Massa also met the media in the Sepang paddock. The Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver began with an assessment of the opening two rounds. “We did not have the fastest car for the first two races, but the whole team did a good job,” began the Brazilian. “In the first race we were quick enough to qualify at the front and in the second race we had our cars third and fifth on the grid, but we were not quickest in terms of overall race pace. We made up for that by being more reliable than the quickest and, in a 19 race championship, while of course it is important to be fast, you also need to be consistent and reliable. That means we must now work on improving performance on the F10 and we have some ideas on which way we need to go, for example improving the level of downforce and we are working very hard on that.”

Pit stops are much quicker this year, since refuelling is banned and the Ferrari man was asked about the Scuderia’s performance in this area. “I am very happy with the pit stop in Bahrain, whereas the one in Australia was not so good and I also lost time with traffic, which meant I lost two places. Maybe without that, I could have left the pits ahead of Button. We need to keep working on this and although we have not yet used the traffic light signal system, we are keeping an open mind and considering the possibility of using it.”

You can never say that Massa has had no opposition from within his own team, having been paired in the past with two world champions, so how does he feel being up against another title holder? “When you race for Ferrari, you expect to have a strong team-mate, as the team has always had good drivers. This is my fifth championship with Ferrari and I have learned a lot working with Michael and Kimi, but I also did a great job myself, working with the team and we must continue in that direction, now that I have a new team-mate in Fernando.”

As for this weekend, Felipe is looking forward to another good fight. “I hope we can beat the Red Bulls and all the other cars in fact. It will be tough, because, as I said this is a very challenging circuit, which is difficult from the physical point of view. I like it though, because it has high speed corners and quick changes of direction and it can be tough on tyres, which means we will need to have a good set-up to help us look after them.”