25/09/2011
NEWS STORY
Only 14 points for Scuderia Ferrari at the end of the fourth Singapore Grand Prix. Fernando saw his run of podium finishes come to an end, ending tonight's race in fourth place, while Felipe, whose race was compromised when he was he hit by Hamilton, causing a right rear puncture, came home in ninth place. After fourteen races, the Spaniard finds himself third in the Drivers' classification, while Felipe is sixth and the Scuderia is still third in the Constructors' classification.
Stefano Domenicali: The result itself is not a surprise, but the performance definitely was, and in a bad way. We were slower than we expected and we must carefully analyse the reasons why things turned out this way. It will be a useful exercise for the coming races and also when looking to the future. Fernando did his best, staying in the hunt for a podium finish right to the end and he is still definitely in the running for second place in the Drivers' Championship. Felipe could also have been up there with him, but his race was ruined by the puncture caused by Hamilton: our Brazilian is definitely having an unlucky time of it at the moment and yet again, as in Monza, he had to fight his way back up the order through no fault of his own. Now we must roll up our sleeves and maintain our motivation for the remaining races of this season, in which our aim has to remain the same, namely to try and win some races. At the same time, we must learn as much as possible about the behaviour of this car, to apply the lessons to the one that is currently at the design stage.
Fernando Alonso: Unfortunately, today it was impossible to finish on the podium. We were not fast enough and, even if we were third for some parts of the race, we knew that sooner or later we would be overtaken. Sure, if you nail the start and something unusual happens and you do everything perfectly and then some, the podium might come your way, but at the moment, the reality is that our car is third best in terms of performance. Then, as happened today, if the Safety Car wipes out the few seconds advantage we had put together over Webber and the backmarkers, who were maybe a bit distracted, create unexpected problems, then everything becomes more difficult. At the start, on the Supersofts, we had very high degradation, while on the Softs the situation got back to more or less normal compared to Red Bull and McLaren. We fought all weekend long and I'm pleased with the way the team worked, because they always did their very best and we got the most we could have done out of this race. We have five difficult races ahead of us, but our motivation does not change: at some point maybe we will be able to attack, while there will be other times when we have to defend, but either way, we will always do our best.
Felipe Massa: There's no point in me hiding the disappointment and anger I feel at the end of a race that could have delivered a very different result. The damage following contact with Hamilton penalised me a lot because I lost so much time in the early stages when the traffic was still very heavy. After the race, I tried to talk to him to clear the air but he walked away without even answering: so I told him what I thought when we found ourselves in the interview area. On top of that, the Safety Car added to my troubles: I had changed tyres a few laps earlier and had fitted the Supersofts which definitely would not have got me to the end of the race, while other drivers were able to make the most of the race being neutralised to make their stop without losing too much time. In the end, first of all, I lost some time behind Barrichello and then I had to let Vettel by, which meant I was a lap down on him and had lost any chance of finishing seventh, given that Sutil and Rosberg in front of me were struggling with their tyres. I would really like to have a trouble free race at some point, something that I have not experienced recently, if you look at Monza for example. Today, a top six finish was definitely within reach.
Pat Fry: We have to be honest and accept that this result reflects the relative strengths of the teams at the moment. Our car is third best and to finish fourth is more or less what we might have expected. We cannot say the same as regards our performance level, which did not match our expectations. Tyre degradation, especially with the Supersoft, was very high and we must try and understand why. In terms of strategy, I think we took the right decisions: the Safety Car certainly did not help, because both Felipe and Fernando had made their stop a few laps earlier and so they could not exploit that advantage compared to their closest competitors. In the end, we left Fernando on the Softs, because it was the best choice to cover Hamilton, the only one who could have taken the position off us. Unfortunately, by this time, the podium was already out of reach. To those who ask what will motivate us as we tackle the remaining races, I would say that we have a lot of work to do, both to try and improve the performance level of this car and to get pointers for next year. We have some new parts in Japan and Korea which will be useful on both these fronts. We are Ferrari and we won't let ourselves be discouraged by a poor showing.
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