Australian GP – Alonso: “It’s very close and difficult to choose one favourite”
Posted: 14.03.2013
Source: Ferrari
Albert Park, 14 March – The official Thursday FIA press conference ran with a new format with more than one presenter, but there were no real changes when it came to the type of question that Fernando Alonso and the five other drivers were asked at what is the first official press call of the 2013 season. Asked if this championship would get off to a better start than last year, the Ferrari man immediately agreed, adding that, “it’s not difficult to start better than 2012, but it would be difficult to start worse! Seriously, we have got a better understanding of this car and in testing it produced the results we were expecting. That gives us confidence and optimism at the start of the season. But who knows; it will be a very interesting championship with a very challenging first part, as the Australian and Malaysian circuits are both difficult and we can also have difficult and changeable weather. We need to start on the right foot and hopefully score some good points for the championship.”In 2012, there were seven different winners in the first seven races, but the Spaniard does not predict a repeat performance. “This year, there is some consistency through the grid and I expect the five top teams to have a little advantage, but of those five teams, it is very difficult to say after winter testing which of them will have the extra two or three tenths that can produce a win,” he commented. “It’s very close and difficult to choose one favourite. I think Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus and Red Bull all showed potential at different times during testing, indeed in different races last year, so it’s hard to choose.”Is the F138 good enough to win at Albert Park was a straightforward question from a Spanish journalist “I don’t know at the moment,” admitted Fernando. “It is dangerous to make any conclusions based on sector times in testing. However, we can say we are happy with what we achieved during the winter and got through the programme we had planned. So we have 100% of the potential within the car and hopefully that will be enough to be competitive. As for this circuit, I like it a lot and I have always been very comfortable here, producing a good performance. The same applies to Malaysia so maybe these two races provide the chance to score good points, but I don’t know just how quick we can be.”Finally, the double world champion was asked what was the effect on him of having missed out on the title by such tight margins in the last two years. The man from Oviedo saw only positives. “I feel privileged to have fought for the world championship title twice in the last three years: not many people have the opportunity to be on the podium and enjoy the ceremony in Formula 1 and even less people have the chance to win races and fewer still to fight for world championships. So I feel lucky and privileged, even if we lost two times in the last three years at the last race and hopefully we can be in the fight again this year, but with a change to the final result! Maybe that is even some extra motivation for me and the team to really have one very happy result at the end of the year.”
Australian GP – Massa: “we have what we need to start off in the right direction”
Posted: 14.03.2013
Source: Ferrari
Albert Park, 14 March – It’s been a tradition of the Australian Grand Prix, even back in the days when the race was held in Adelaide – drivers sitting in the shade on a well-manicured lawn, talking to journalists. And that’s how Felipe Massa’s track activity began here today, as he tackled the usual media session. “It’s the here and now that counts,” claimed the Ferrari man, when asked if winter testing made him confident for the year. “Testing is testing, but it is only now that we will see all the teams running with the same fuel load and the same tyres. In a new championship, everyone starts with zero points. We understood a lot from last year, in terms of which direction we should go in, when building the new car and this one is definitely better than the one with which we started last year. We have had far fewer problems with the F138 and less surprises with the numbers we have seen from it and it was working the way we had expected at the tests. The feeling I get when driving it is much nicer, so it is a much better way to start the season. I don’t think we will get all the answers about the hierarchy of the teams from this weekend, but I am sure we have what we need to start off in the right direction. Saturday and Sunday will produce some answers.”Pirelli’s new tyres were the hot topic after a very cold few weeks of testing, particularly the tendency to degrade quicker than last year. However, the Brazilian seemed relaxed about this part of the package. “The tyres are a bit softer than last year and, on top of that, here in Albert Park we will be using the Supersoft, while last year the softest compound we used was the Soft, so it will be interesting to see how that works,” he said. “We must simply work on understanding as much as possible about all the different types of tyre. But it is nothing different to what we have had to do in the past, because you always have to start by learning about the tyres and how to set up your car to suit them. There are things you can do to look after your tyres – if you look at Singapore last year, I did many more laps than the tyres were expected to last on my final stint. I was being careful, changing my driving style on the Supersoft, which meant that I was able to keep going when the Safety Car came out, thus gaining many positions. So yes, it is always possible that you can adapt your driving to help with tyre degradation. In addition, the way you evolve the car over the season can assist with tyre management.”It was one of the top stories of the latter part of 2012 that Felipe had returned to the form everyone at the Scuderia knew he could deliver and so, hopes have now been raised for the coming nineteen races. “I think my personal expectations have increased after a very good second half of 2012,” admitted the Paulista. “Even if I didn’t win any races, given the limitations of the car, I think I did a very good job and that was good preparation for this year. The car, the tyres are all different, but the rules are more or less the same and I feel this will help me have a better season, a more consistent one from the beginning to the end. I am really confident on that.”
On the right track for safety
Posted: 14.03.2013
Source: Ferrari
Melbourne, 14 March – Felipe Massa’s Australian Grand Prix weekend began with a nod to road safety, a field in which he has been active for a long time now. In this case, it centred on a campaign organised by CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motorsport) aimed at drivers not yet old enough to drive. The programme, which goes by the name of Cams Ignition, was launched this morning at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit and involves a safe driving course, which highlights the importance of concentration and the awareness of the dangers that can arise when driving. Along with CAMS President, Andrew Papadopoulos, Felipe underlined the importance of this initiative. “It is vital that drivers know how to behave when at the wheel,” he said. “I was a kid once and I am well aware that at that age, one can sometimes not attach too much importance to the dangers that lurk on the roads. When you get in a car, it is important to respect the rules and keep a close eye on what others are doing, because often it can just take a moment to put your life and that of others at risk.”
A life size marvel
Posted: 14.03.2013
Source: Ferrari
Melbourne, 14 March – On the Thursday of the first Grand Prix of the year in Melbourne, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa unveiled the first full scale model of a Ferrari Formula 1 car made out of LEGO bricks. The event was part of a new promotion run by Shell in Australia, in collaboration with Ferrari and the LEGO Group. As from 18 March, customers at Shell petrol stations will be able to get their hands on a limited edition model of some of the most evocative cars in the history of Ferrari. These will include the short wheelbase 250 GT Berlinetta, the F40, the FXX and the 458 Italia. To launch the promotion, a team of experts built up a 1:1 scale model of the Ferrari 150 ° Italia, the car with which the Maranello Scuderia competed in the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship. It took several months to design the model, which features real Pirelli race tyres, a seat big enough to accommodate a driver and an exact replica of the steering wheel, also made entirely from Lego bricks.
Australian Grand Prix Preview
Posted: 13.03.2013
Source: Ferrari
The winters seem to get shorter every year and just three and half months on from that thrilling finale in Sao Paolo, here we are about to tackle the first race of the 2013 season. Not a great deal has changed since that November day at Interlagos, but the new year features one less team and one less race, so that Scuderia Ferrari and ten other teams will tackle nineteen grands prix. As far as the rules are concerned, the bulk of the regulations are identical to last year, even if there are a few minor changes such as the fact DRS use is now restricted in qualifying, whereas before it was free. 2013 will mark the end of an era, as it is the last time, for now at least, that the F1 cars will be powered by normally aspirated V8 engines, so that in Ferrari’s case the 056 power plant will be taking its curtain call. Everything remains stable on the technical side at the Prancing Horse team, with the new organisational structure running smoothly and the senior personnel remaining unchanged, while the driver line-up is the same it has been since 2010, the two drivers totalling ten years service at Ferrari, with Fernando Alonso now starting his fourth season with the Maranello squad, while Felipe Massa has already worn the famous red race suit for seven years. The Spaniard feels the team is ready for the challenges that lie ahead. “I think we are more or less ready for Melbourne,” he maintained. “Of course, we would have liked more testing, but the rules are the same for everyone and we completed our programme throughout the tests. I feel confident in the car, while knowing Australia will not be easy. As usual, our aero development will be the key to having a good season, while getting a good understanding of the new, more complicated Pirelli tyres will also be essential.”The stability when it comes to the technical regulations means that the majority of teams was able to get a car to run reliably during the very limited twelve days of pre-season testing, which is why everyone is being very cagey about making any predictions for the 2013 championship. While it’s true that it is very difficult to make any meaningful assessment of everyone’s relative performance, because of different fuel loads and test programmes, at Scuderia Ferrari, we are prepared to stick our collective neck out and make a bold prediction as to who will be the winner in 2013: the answer? The viewers, spectators and race fans, who look set to be treated to a vintage season of close racing, with more than a handful of teams looking like serious contenders for race wins and podium finishes. Felipe Massa reckons the season might not be as open as last year’s. “I expect the drivers from two or three teams to do most of the winning,” says the Brazilian. “As for ourselves, we start the season with a better car than we did last year, so I am happy and positive with the way testing went, when I felt the car evolved from the first day to the last, when I was happy with the balance of the F138 and felt comfortable at the wheel.”One should not expect too many answers on Friday either: as a temporary street-type circuit, Albert Park is very green, with little running completed in FP1, so it will be on Saturday afternoon that teams will stop being coy about what they can do and deliver the year’s first fairly accurate litmus test of relative performance. However, the Melbourne track is good at hiding the truth. One factor that will no longer be a problem is the cold weather tyre degradation we saw in Barcelona in what was a colder than usual final two test sessions. But on the other side of the world, Melbourne is going to be much hotter than usual at this time of year. Currently, temperatures are in the mid 30s, although these should drop to mid 20s on Friday and Saturday and possibly get as low as 19 on race day. However, the experience gained at the Catalunya circuit regarding Pirelli rain tyres will not be useful this weekend. On the tyre front, the choices in Albert Park are aggressive. “We will have the Supersoft tyres and I like that as I always prefer the softer end of the range,” revealed Felipe. “In fact, managing the tyres, as well as making improvements to the aero side of the package through the year will be very important, but we really need to be perfect in every area, also on the mechanical side of the car. Personally, I plan to start the 2013 season the way I went during the second half of 2012 and then build on that.”What can one expect of Alonso and Massa this weekend? Predictions serve no purpose except to turn round and bite you when you least expect it. Clearly, the F138 is better born than the F2012 and it would be disappointing if both drivers did not make it through to Q3 on Saturday evening in Albert Park and therefore secure top ten places on the grid. Anything else would be meaningless speculation. Nevertheless, one can risk an extrapolation based on the relative strengths down the pit lane at the final round last year, which means it is reasonable for the Scuderia to expect to be within the top three teams in Albert Park. “I don’t think we will see one team dominate, but also I don’t expect seven winners in the first races, like last year,” added Fernando. “It will be very close and from our point of view, a good result this weekend would remove some of the stress. I enjoy the Albert Park circuit, it is technical and difficult and the track, being a street circuit, evolves throughout the weekend.” Felipe is also looking forward to finally going racing. “I can’t say Albert Park is my favourite track, but I love coming to Australia, which is a great country with very nice people who really like their racing. The track here is demanding, but I expect the F138 will be well adapted to it and that we can have a good first weekend.”The Australian GP has a habit of providing some surprises, but it would take a brave man to bet on Ferrari adding to its tally of seven wins Down Under, the last dating back to Kimi Raikkonen’s 2007 victory. Fernando was victorious here in 2006, but not at the wheel of a red car, while Felipe’s best result is a third place trip to the podium in 2010.
Operation Australia has been started
Posted: 12.03.2013
Source: Ferrari
Maranello, 12 March 2013 – Here we are. Only a few days left until the first, eagerly awaited Grand Prix of the season. Saturday afternoon in the qualifying and then on Sunday at the race at Melbourne’s Albert Park the F138 will compare itself with its ten competitors under race-conditions to discover what the real situation is.
The last, who left Maranello in the direction of Australia, were Stefano Domenicali and the head technicians from the Scuderia, while the rest of the Team is already at work at the track to set up the box and the infrastructure, necessary for a flawless workflow during the race weekend. Meanwhile the two drivers arrived in Australia, too: Fernando from Europe and Felipe from Brazil. At the moment they are getting used to the Australian climate and the time difference.
The last hours in Maranello were used to meet Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo to talk about the current technologial situation in the preparations and the development programme in the short and medium term. The objective for Melbourne is clear: fighting for a place on the podium while showing that the gap to the top has been significantly closed.
The last, who left Maranello in the direction of Australia, were Stefano Domenicali and the head technicians from the Scuderia, while the rest of the Team is already at work at the track to set up the box and the infrastructure, necessary for a flawless workflow during the race weekend. Meanwhile the two drivers arrived in Australia, too: Fernando from Europe and Felipe from Brazil. At the moment they are getting used to the Australian climate and the time difference.
The last hours in Maranello were used to meet Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo to talk about the current technologial situation in the preparations and the development programme in the short and medium term. The objective for Melbourne is clear: fighting for a place on the podium while showing that the gap to the top has been significantly closed.
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