Saturday: Alonso is optimistic for the race with a rejuvenated Ferrari
Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa expressed disappointment with their qualifying session, but the two Ferrari drivers know they have a good car—which has improved—and thus hope to take advantage of it tomorrow during the race.
Fernando Alonso – 2nd and 9th:
« When you finish 9th and 10th, clearly something went wrong and only data analysis will be able to tell exactly what, especially since the car seemed more competitive than in recent races. This is partly due to the new developments introduced here, which we have been working on since mid-July, when it was clear that we had problems. Bad luck clearly played a role, because if the clouds that arrived in Q3 hadn’t left just before the end of the session, then maybe those who were last wouldn’t have improved. In the last part, I spun in my first lap, a mistake that cost me, even though in my next lap at the same spot, at turn 14, I already had a 3-second lead. I feel confident for the race, especially because changing conditions mean that anything can happen, and it isn’t certain that everyone will finish where they start. Obviously, we will have to gain a lot of positions, but at least, we know that we have reduced the gap with the frontrunners and that we can be competitive in the dry. We saw that in Q2 and in the variable conditions in Q1. Only the rain is the big question mark because so far this weekend, we haven’t run on a fully wet track. »
Felipe Massa – 5th and 10th:
I’m really disappointed with the result of the qualifying, even though I know how complicated it is to make the right decision at the right time when the weather is so variable. On my first stint in Q3, I went out on mediums, and it started to rain. I had two options: return to the pits to refuel and put on a set of new intermediates, or try to just change tires. I chose the latter, hoping to benefit from the track at the best moment, knowing I would only have one lap to set a time. Unfortunately, this choice didn’t pay off because, in the end, the rain lessened, and the other cars had better track conditions at the end of the session. It’s really a shame because the car has been very competitive all weekend, but clearly, today we weren’t lucky. Even if we’re not starting from a good position tomorrow, the race is long, and anything can happen. My pace is good, and I hope to be able to execute some nice overtaking maneuvers to score big points.
