Saturday: Ferrari could not have asked for more today
After three qualifying sessions, Ferrari still cannot get closer to the leaders or even to McLaren. The Italian team will start from the 5th and 6th positions on the grid tomorrow, a result that hardly promises a podium, but you never know... Ferrari's performances have always been more flattering in the race than in qualifying since the beginning of the season.
Fernando Alonso – 5th and 5th:
« We could not do better today in qualifying. The 5th and 6th places are the maximum we could achieve given the highly competitive situation. We already knew that Red Bull and McLaren were two strong teams, but we also had to deal with Mercedes GP, which seemed much better than in Sepang. We are trying every day to close the gap, to improve performance. We are a great team and know how to respond. Yesterday, we even tried new appendices, but it’s still too early to use them in qualifying or in the race. »
«We hope to make great progress in Turkey. I believe the team is currently doing a flawless job managing the qualifiers. It is never easy to find the right balance between taking risks and securing a good position. For the race, I still believe the podium is possible, especially with the adjustable rear wing which is likely to create opportunities for overtaking during the race. »
Felipe Massa – 6th and 6th:
The qualifications went a little better than in Malaysia, but we are still behind. Vettel’s performance is not a surprise, whereas Webber’s is. The McLarens are also faster than us, and Mercedes has significantly improved and will be a formidable competitor tomorrow. In Q2, after the red flag, I tried to get out as quickly as possible to have a clear lap. Pérez was ahead of me, but I overtook him on the out-lap, which allowed me to set a good time.
I am hopeful to see our performances improve during the race, as in Malaysia. If that’s the case, we can aim for a podium finish.
Stefano Domenicali – Team Principal:
«First of all, I wish to express my sympathy to Paolo Santarsiero, one of our mechanics who underwent surgery on Thursday at the Shanghai hospital for an aneurysm. I want to commend the medical team that reacted appropriately. It’s incidents like this that show life is more important than a race. Nevertheless, we are doing our best here, and at the moment we are not in the lead. The gap is similar to other qualifying sessions with the leaders, so we cannot be happy with our progress. We can only hope to do better in the race tomorrow.»
