Grimacing Gazpacho for Alonso and Räikkönen at Ferrari

It was Fernando Alonso who first appeared before the press. The Spanish double world champion seemed dejected by the fact that he almost got lapped by the winners. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a surprise for him: “We have already finished a minute behind the leaders in previous races but with a safety car. So now, without a safety car, it’s a minute and thirty.”

He still tried to hold on to the fact that Ferrari is third in the championship: « The two Mercedes are in a different category but we are not that far from the others. So clearly, for the Constructors’ Championship, we have to do everything to get second place. »

One of the disappointments of the race for him was that the two Ferrari drivers were unable to keep Sebastian Vettel behind them even though he started 15th on the grid: « The important thing wasn’t about which of us, Kimi or I, would finish ahead because, for the team, it amounts to the same number of points in the end. But we were not able to keep Vettel behind us, which is really unfortunate because that’s why I changed strategy during the race. »

If he didn’t want to acknowledge that his own chances in the championship were already reduced to nothing, he no longer harbors many illusions for this season: « It has been a year since we last won. We are very far from the leaders because for now, we are not even in a position to fight for victory. We absolutely need to work even harder to at least get closer. »

As for Kimi Räikkönen, he was much quicker in the press room than on the track as he only answered three questions from the group of journalists in front of him. He aligned with his teammate’s viewpoint, stating that there is a lot of progress to be made in order to compete: « This may not be enough for this year, but we know there are areas where we can improve a little and others where we have tremendous potential to progress. »

From our special correspondent in Barcelona