Saturday: Ferrari suffered in Monte-Carlo
Felipe Massa was unable to participate in qualifying due to an accident during the morning practice. He will start from the very back, which significantly reduces his chances of scoring points. For Fernando Alonso, who is in 6th position, the aim will be to minimize the damage compared to his rivals for the title, who are better positioned than him.
Fernando Alonso – 4th and 6th:
Unfortunately, it didn’t go as we would have liked, even though we really did our best. We were not as competitive as during the two practice sessions on Thursday, but I don’t think we can blame the lower temperatures for falling back because the conditions are the same for everyone. We had less grip today and suffered a bit more with the softs this morning. I think it’s much simpler than that: we struggled to adapt our car to this very particular track, so different from all the others. We are generally better in races, but it’s a different story here because it is almost impossible to overtake. It’s a race where anything can happen, and we have to be very careful at the start to avoid getting stuck in the pack.
Fortunately, the Mercedes are in front, which means my main rivals are not too far, with Kimi next to me and Vettel only one row ahead. I hope I manage to overtake both of them so they don’t gain more advantage in the championship. I’m really sorry for Felipe because the team did their best but wasn’t able to finish in time for qualifying. I’m well aware that starting at the back of the grid here in Monaco can make an already difficult race even more complicated. However, I hope he can do his best and that we can both score as many points as possible.
Felipe Massa – 16th and Non-qualifying [22nd on the grid]:
« I am disappointed not to have been able to participate in these qualifications and it was really frustrating. This morning, in the last practice session, I braked on a bump, the car settled, and the front wheels locked up, and from there, I couldn’t do anything. After hitting the rail, I was expecting the next impact into the barriers. Fortunately, I am fine. I only have some muscle pain. But the car was severely damaged, and the mechanics’ efforts to repair it were unsuccessful. It was a lot of work for the team, they worked extremely hard, and I really have to thank them for that.
It’s really a shame to start from the back, especially on a track where it’s very difficult to overtake, but we have to stay optimistic and focus on tomorrow’s race. We will need to work a lot to see if we need to change something in terms of settings and strategy, to try something different that could give us the advantage. We know we are starting from a very difficult position, but the race is long and anything can happen. We will do our best and seize any opportunity, pushing to the maximum as always.
