2013 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix

Stefano Domenicali: “I am happy with the performance of the team on a weekend that was not easy for us and on a day when unfortunately, it was the wrong Bull that stopped. Clearly, with yet another win for Vettel, to whom I send my congratulations, the Drivers’ Championship situation is becoming difficult, but until the outcome is a mathematical certainty, we will continue to push. I don’t think we could have picked up many more points today, which all the same have strengthened, albeit only slightly, our position in the Constructors’ Championship. A reasonably clear scenario emerged from Friday’s practice, in which apart from the leaders being very strong, we were also up against Mercedes and Lotus, who were also back to being very competitive here in Singapore. We finished ahead of them in unfavourable conditions and this should motivate us to give it our all over the last six races. We definitely have to be realistic about our chances, even if we have a duty to ourselves and those working in Maranello, to try and score as many points as possible, because we don’t want to give up on doing well in both classifications. We have seen how performance levels can change depending on the circuits and during the coming week we will prepare to tackle the Korea-Japan doubleheader in the best way possible”.

Fernando Alonso: “Today’s second place is like a victory for us, at the end of a difficult weekend on a track where it’s very tricky to overtake. The key points of this race were the start and the strategy and, in both cases, the decisions taken proved to be the right ones, even if they were aggressive choices. At the start, I managed to pass four cars, helped by having watched the starts from previous races here, but then I couldn’t pass Rosberg. The decision to pit when the Safety Car came out paid off, even if it wasn’t easy to get to the finish with the tyres on the limit. Fortunately, thanks to the advantage I had over Raikkonen and Webber, we were able to manage the situation over the final laps: if I’d been in a group, it would have been like the end of a horror movie! Now the gap to the championship leaders has increased and apart from congratulating them, because they deserve to be where they are, we must be realistic, because to win the title now, we would need a lot of luck. Sure, we cannot think of giving up right now because if that luck does show up, then we will be there to take it”.

Felipe Massa: “Given everything that happened in today’s race, sixth place is a really good result. After a fantastic start, at the first corner I found myself stuck inside the cars that had braked early and, at that point I lost places instead of making up some. From then on, I was always stuck behind other cars and we all know how hard it is to overtake at this track. When the Safety Car came out, we had two options: to fit the Medium tyres, with which we weren’t sure to go all the way to the end, or the Supersofts, to try and regain some places. We went for the second option, but Di Resta was ahead of me on the same tyres and so I was stuck behind him. In the final stint after the third stop, I managed to retake sixth place, making the most of the fact that many were struggling with their tyres. It was tough from start to finish and I am very happy to have brought home a good points haul”.

Pat Fry: “This weekend, even if we didn’t have the fastest car, we did manage to maximise our performance getting everything possible out of our driver-team package and the result is absolutely positive. With Fernando, the decision to stay out all the way to the end after the Safety Car paid off handsomely. Our competitiveness in the race was better than we had seen in the previous days, but even if we knew that things could change today, we must try to improve, especially in situations where the track characteristics don’t suit our car. Fernando pulled off an amazing start, as it’s really rare to make up four places at the start here in Singapore. Felipe also got away well, but then, his inside line meant he had to move over to avoid a collision. At Fernando’s first stop, we had to cover Webber’s early stop: we knew we would have found ourselves in traffic behind Di Resta, but the pit stop window was very limited and we preferred not to take the risk. When the Safety Car came out, we had half a lap to take a decision and, in the end we brought both drivers in, trying different strategies. We tried to play an ace with Fernando and luckily we did not have to go through a repeat of what happened in Canada in 2012. For the final six races, one group of engineers will still concentrate on the F138, because we want to continue to try and improve so that we can be more competitive”.

Singapore, 22 September – Many believe Fernando Alonso is being fanciful when he says the Drivers’ championship is not decided yet. However, one has to admire his determination after tonight’s incredible drive to second place under the spotlights at Marina Bay. Felipe Massa also delivered a strong performance, taking the chequered flag in the same sixth place from which he started the race. Fernando’s race featured two tyre changes, the Brazilian’s three. The Spanish Ferrari driver also talked about being realistic earlier this weekend and sure enough, the need for realism took its usual form, as Sebastian Vettel was simply on a different planet taking another well-deserved victory for Red Bull. Joining them on the podium, having struggled with back pain for much of the weekend, was Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus.

As the lights went out, Rosberg briefly passed Vettel but the pole man got it back at the first chicane, while Fernando made a blistering start to go third at the first corner, by just driving along the wall, ahead of Grosjean and Webber and that was the move on which his second place was built.  Felipe maintained his sixth place grid position, after briefly ceding it to Hamilton’s Mercedes. By this time leader Vettel in the Red Bull had already built up a gap of over 4 seconds to second placed Rosberg in the Mercedes. Fernando was 1.2s behind the German.

The gaps grew bigger so that by lap 4, Vettel led Rosberg by 6.2, with Fernando 2.2 behind and 1.2 ahead of Webber in the other Red Bull. Grosjean’s Lotus was under a second behind the Australian, with Felipe exactly 1.0 behind the Frenchman, with a 0.8 cushion over Hamilton in the Mercedes. The rest of the top ten was made up of Button, Hulkenberg and Perez. Raikkonen brought his Lotus down pit lane to start the first run of changes, rejoining with another set of Supersofts. Lap 11 saw Fernando put in a fastest race lap. Several cars at the lower end of the order came in for tyres on that same lap. Felipe made his first stop, fitting the harder tyre on lap 12, dropping to 13^th.

Webber, Button and Hulkenberg all pitted on lap 13, the Australian taking on Mediums. Fernando came in next time round, also fitting the Medium tyre, dropping to sixth behind Di Resta’ Force India. Rosberg came in from second on lap 15, as did Grosjean and the German’s team-mate Hamilton. With Vettel yet to pit, the order behind him was Rosberg, Di Resta, also on zero stops, with Fernando fourth, right on the Scotsman’s gearbox, losing precious time to the two leaders. Vettel changed to the Mediums on lap 17, keeing the lead, while Fernando was still trying all he could to pass Di Resta, the only driver not to have pitted at this stage.

Finally, on lap 20 of the 61 lap race, Fernando had some clean air ahead of him as Di Resta came down pit lane and the Ferrari man set about cutting back the 7.5s gap to second placed Rosberg. The Spaniard trailed the leader by over 16 seconds, while Felipe was seventh, 3.4 behind Hamilton and 1.5 ahead of Button. The race was settling into a pattern until lap 24 when Ricciardo crashed the Toro Rosso into the barriers which brought out the most familiar site at the Marina Bay Circuit, the Safety Car.  Fernando, Felipe, Grosjean, Button, Raikkonen, Perez, Hulkenberg and Gutierez and Maldonado all dived into the pits to take advantage of the race being neutralised. Fernando was now on another set of Mediums, but Felipe returned to the Supersofts. The Spaniard rejoined in fifth place behind the Safety Car, the highest runner to have made a second tyre change at this point, with Felipe eighth. In fact, the SC helped Fernando a little bit, as it cancelled out much of the time lost behind the Force India.

The race was live again on lap 30 and it was a repeat of the opening scenario, with Vettel immediately pulling out a lead of over 3 seconds on Rosberg, with the rest of the field tightly packed behind the Mercedes, in the order, Webber, Hamilton, Fernando in fifth, Grosjean, Di Resta, with Felipe eighth, now held up by the Force India and Button and Raikkonen completing the top ten. Grosjean had a long pit stop with a technical issue on lap 33. He then pitted again to retire, which promoted Felipe to sixth. Webber and Sutil made their second stops on lap 40, so Fernando was now fourth. Next time round Rosberg changed tyres, so Fernando was back in a podium position again, with 20 laps remaining.

Felipe and Di Resta came in together on lap 42, the Brazilian dropping to twelfth. Lap 43 and Hamilton switched to another set of Mediums, so that Fernando was now second, half a minute behind Vettel on older Primes, but the German brought the Red Bull in on lap 44 for a final change, with enough of a margin over the Ferrari man to maintain his lead. Lap 54  saw Raikkonen pass Button to secure a trip to the bottom step of the podium.  At this point Felipe was ninth, but with Di Resta crashing out, the McLarens spiralling down the order and Webber’s car expiring, the last handful of laps meant Felipe was back where he started in sixth to give a welcome boost to the Scuderia’s points fund.

In an amusing post-race moment, Fernando was not alone when he returned to parc ferme on his slowing down lap, as he stopped to give Webber a lift home, the Australian perched on the side pod of the F138! Now there’s a two week break until Korea – Japan, the first of three sets of back-to-back races.

5 podium places for Fernando Alonso from six Singapore Grands Prix. Today’s second place can be added to the wins in 2008 and 2010 and the third places in 2009 and 2012. All three of Scuderia Ferrari’s podium places in this race have come courtesy of the Spaniard.

18 the number of points scored by Felipe Massa in five Singapore Grands Prix participations. This evening’s sixth place is the Brazilian’s best result here, having finished eighth on two occasions and ninth once.

26 points for Ferrari in Singapore, the highest team score here. It’s the fourth time this season that the Scuderia has achieved this, the last dating back to the Spanish Grand Prix. Alonso’s 18 points and the 8 from Massa sees the team increase its lead over Mercedes in the fight for second place in the Constructors’ classification, in which Red Bull has a solid lead.

41 podium places for Fernando Alonso from 71 appearances at the wheel of a Ferrari. Tonight’s is his eighth podium finish of the season: two wins, five second places and a third. In total, Fernando has finished in the points in 90% of all races he has driven for the Scuderia (64 out of 71.)

Singapore, 22 September – Scuderia Ferrari finished the Singapore Grand Prix in second place with Fernando Alonso and sixth with Felipe Massa. The Spaniard thus consolidates his second place in the Drivers’ classification, with 187 points. The Scuderia picked up more points than any other team tonight, strengthening its second place in the Constructors’ championship.

Both Ferrari men started on the Supersoft tyres and, as the lights went out, Alonso got a great start, making up four places to lie third at the first chicane. Massa dropped one place to his team-mate, but passed Hamilton in the Mercedes to retain sixth.

Felipe pitted on lap 12 to fit Medium tyres, with Fernando doing the same two laps later. The Safety Car came out on lap 25 and both Ferrari men pitted for their second stop, the Spaniard again fitting Mediums, the Brazilian switching back to Supersoft. Massa made his third and final tyre change on lap 42, fitting Mediums for the final stint. However, Alonso stayed out, doing no less than 36 laps on the same tyres. It allowed the Spaniard to stay second, crossing the line behind the winner, Sebastian Vettel and ahead of third placed Kimi Raikkonen.

The final stages witnessed a great climb up the order for Felipe Massa. Having dropped to fourteenth after his final stop, he worked his way up all the way back to sixth place at the flag.

Fernando Alonso: “Today’s result isn’t surprising, because from the start of the season, on average we have always started from between sixth and eighth place and then made up ground in the race, which we will try and do again tomorrow. The updates brought to this race have gained us a tenth of a second on our competitors, a result which matches our expectations. Even if the gap to the leader is still significant and the improvement might not be that evident, we cannot say our engineers have not put in the effort, because everyone has done a super job. Expectations for tomorrow are still high, even if in the meantime, our rivals have not wasted their time and along with other teams like Mercedes and Lotus have made a further step forward. Faced with this, we must be realistic and try to make the most of any errors they might make. I think the podium can be within our grasp tomorrow, if we have a perfect race and make the best choices in terms of strategy, tyres and the right number of stops. Here in Singapore, in five years there has always been a safety car and for that reason, here more than anywhere else, luck can make the difference”.

Felipe Massa: “Having struggled so much yesterday and in the third free practice session, today in qualifying, we finally managed to put together a good lap, completely changing the set-up on the car. Certainly the gap to the quickest cars is still big, but today, doing a time that is close to that of the Red Bulls or Mercedes was really difficult, partly because they have not suffered as much as us from a lack of grip and because we find ourselves on a high downforce circuit. I am expecting a difficult race because anything can happen here and tyre degradation is particularly high, even if I hope we have a good race pace and can be competitive. It’s tomorrow’s race that counts and we will do our utmost to improve our position in the Championship. My effort over the next seven races will be the maximum, because I would like to end my time with Ferrari in the best way possible”.

Pat Fry: “Today we managed to improve both cars, finding the right compromise between performance over a single lap and also on a long run. Even if this was not enough to put our drivers on equal terms with those in the top places, we worked well as a team to extract the most from the package we had available to us. There were definitely some external factors that didn’t do us any favours, such as the stop-start nature of the track and the lack of grip that seemed to affect us more than our rivals. Here, only those with the best traction manage to be comfortable when tackling the numerous chicanes and that explains the difference in performance between us and the cars at the front and the size of the gaps compared to those at Monza. Historically in Singapore, there is an almost hundred percent chance of seeing the race neutralised and this year too, we will have to be ready in case the Safety Car comes into play. In some instances this could be a help, in others it can destroy your race and so we need to think about having a flexible strategy. Here, reliability also plays a very important role, because the high temperatures put the cars under a lot of strain, also from a mechanical point of view. Ahead of us we now face one of the most difficult Grands Prix of the year and many variables could affect the outcome: we will try and push to the maximum, making the most of any opportunity”.

Singapore, 21 September – At all other races on the calendar, while the mechanics and engineers work late into the night, they can hear the noise of the crowd having fun, either in the campsites around the track, or just sitting out in the main grandstand, watching the work in the garages. However, here in Singapore, where the local crowd headed off to their beds after yesterday’s night time practice, the paddock was a silent place as the eleven teams got down to the task of preparing the cars for the second day of the Singapore Grand Prix. With or without anyone watching, wherever in the world and whatever the time of day, the sport is all about teamwork, and it’s teamwork that our technical director, Pat Fry credited with producing a marked improvement in the performance of the F138 today, compared to Friday night.

However, all things are relative and clearly having Felipe sixth on the grid and Fernando seventh, is not ideal, especially as the gaps to the quickest were quite big. Therefore, tomorrow’s race on paper will be about trying to pick up as many points as possible, although the stated aim of trying to finish some races ahead of series leader Sebastian Vettel looks like a difficult task, as the Red Bull is on pole position, which is always worth a little bit more than usual on a street circuit where overtaking is very difficult. The technological toys like DRS and KERS are less effective on city streets and overtaking is more likely to feature a driver on fresh tyres passing another on older rubber.

Alongside Vettel is Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes, with Row 2 made up of Romain Grosjean in the Lotus and Mark Webber in the other Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes will be on Felipe’s inside tomorrow, while Fernando Alonso, on the clean side of Row 4 has another world champion for company, Jenson Button eighth in the McLaren.

The Scuderia duo can also hope for a stroke of good luck, as fate has often played a part at this track, where the arrival of the Safety Car is something to take for granted rather than it causing a surprise. We keep saying it, but the Scuderia never gives up and so anything is still possible tomorrow night under the harsh artificial lights of the Marina Bay circuit.

Singapore, 21 September –  Qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix had the crowds packed into the grandstands holding their breath until the chequered flag at the Marina Bay circuit. Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso ended the spectacular night session in sixth and seventh places respectively, in what was a closely fought contest.

In Q1, Alonso and Massa did a first run on the Medium tyres, doing 3 and 7 laps respectively. Then, both F138s went out on the Supersofts, which produced a notable drop in lap times. Fernando ended up third with a 1.45.115, while Felipe was 13th with a 1.45.658.

In Q2, both men went out first on used Supersofts from the previous session, improving their times. In the final 3 minutes, the two Ferraris were back on track with new Supersofts, with Fernando going sixth fastest in 1.44.153 and Felipe eight in 1.44.376.

Fernando and Felipe did just a single run each in Q3, using the final set of Supersoft tyres, which saw Felipe taking sixth in 1.43.890, ahead of Fernando who did a 1.43.938. Pole went to Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull with a time of 1.42.841.

Singapore, 21 September – Sebastian Vettel was fastest in the third free practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix, this afternoon at the Marina Bay circuit. The German Red Bull driver lapped the spectacular street circuit in 1.44.173, to finish ahead of Romain Grosjean (1.44.364) in the Lotus and Nico Rosberg (1.44.741) in the Mercedes. Best placed Ferrari driver on the time sheet was Fernando Alonso, sixth in 1.45.257, while in the other F138, Felipe Massa was tenth in 1.45.935. Both Ferrari men ran the same programme, which because of the nature of the track and the heat, focussed on mechanical set-up as well as a further evaluation of the Medium and Supersoft compounds brought here by Pirelli.

Fernando Alonso: “We can’t say this was a good start, because we weren’t competitive, but if we consider that last year, at the end of a difficult weekend we managed to get on the podium, we definitely aren’t throwing in the towel yet. We have yet to analyse the data, but we certainly have to be realistic, because when you have one car in sixth place and the other in fifteenth, it’s clearly not the result we were hoping for, without taking into consideration the updates we have brought for this race. Now, we have a lot of work to do to find the right set-up and the best strategy. Then we will need to put in a very good qualifying lap and attack from start to finish in the race. However, we know that won’t be easy because on tracks which require high downforce, we suffer more and, just as in Hungary, apart from the fact that Mercedes seem to be on a par with Red Bull here, there are others who also look strong, like Lotus and McLaren”.

Felipe Massa: “This was a difficult day, because I struggled to find the right way to move forward in both sessions. In the first session, we concentrated on evaluating various aerodynamic components, while in the second one, we managed to complete the programme, doing a long run, starting on the Supersofts and ending on the Mediums. Along with the team we decided to go in another direction to try and find a set-up with which I was more comfortable on this track. Unfortunately this did not produce the results we were expecting. I think that for tomorrow’s qualifying we need to retrace our steps, trying to improve the balance of the car. I am sure it will be better and that I will manage to once again find the car I’m used to driving”.

Pat Fry: “As usually happens on a street circuit, the evolution of track conditions is a key factor, especially when you are working on finding the most suitable set-up and aerodynamic configuration. Therefore, we mustn’t get caught out by the track improvement, but rather concentrate on what the drivers are feeling. Today we tried to get a good understanding of the car’s handling and turned most of our attention to the behaviour of the Medium and Supersoft tyres, which come under a lot of strain because of the temperatures here. As has been the case for the past few Grands Prix, in both sessions, Fernando and Felipe worked on different programmes, so as to acquire as much information as possible, to get the most out of the package we have this weekend. It will be important to have good front end grip, while optimising traction from the rear to tackle the sequence of corners that make up this high downforce circuit. On Friday, it’s never easy to understand where one is compared to the others, but certainly our main rivals seem to have something extra”.

Singapore, 20 September – The second free practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix was run as usual under the spotlights, which give this event its unique character, as the cars tackled the Marina Bay track’s 23 corners.

Fernando Alonso set the sixth fastest time in 1.45.691, while Felipe Massa was fifteenth this evening in 1.46.870. Both men started with a run on the Medium compound tyres, with Alonso doing six laps with a best time of 1.47.451, while in the other F138, Massa did eight laps, the fastest being a 1.48.786. Both drivers then switched to the Supersoft on which they set their best times of the day.

The second half of the session was given over to practice starts and the usual race simulation, using both types of tyre available this weekend. Fernando completed a total of 32 laps, with Felipe doing 33. Fastest was Sebastian Vettel who did a 1.44.249 in the Red Bull.

Singapore, 20 September – The Singapore Grand Prix is not just an amazing sporting spectacle which takes place in a unique setting, it is also an opportunity to promote Formula 1 in one of the most economically and commercially dynamic parts of the world. That’s why in recent days, Shell, one of Scuderia Ferrari’s main partners, has organised two important promotional events, one in Manila and the other actually in Singapore itself.

Felipe Massa was the first Ferrari driver to officially represent the team in a public event in the Philippines. Felipe was the star of a meeting with the public and media at the SM Mall of Asia, the biggest shopping centre in the country and the third in the world in terms of its total surface area. During the event, the Brazilian also met the three winners of a competition organised by Shell in collaboration with the biggest radio station in Manila.

Again in Singapore, Massa took part in an event organised by the Maranello team’s fuel and lubricants supplier. At the Shell Atrium, Felipe, helped by Australian chef, Ryan Clift, a master of molecular gastronomy at the Tippling Club, one of the most sought after restaurants in Singapore, tried to work out the best recipe for success, making the most of his experience as a driver, using ingredients supplied by the Shell engineers. He produced a dish inspired by a passion for energy and performance which guides the partnership between the Scuderia and Shell. As for the taste, one would have to ask the general public who tried it at the end of the event!

The presence of the Scuderia was also an opportunity to celebrate in style the opening of the Prancing Horse’s new showroom in Singapore, designed by the importer, Ital Auto, according to the new corporate identity guidelines set out by the Prancing Horse. On Wednesday afternoon Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa performed the ribbon cutting ceremony at the showroom, along with Commercial Director Enrico Galliera, the Brand Director Andrea Perroni, the Director of the Far East hub, Giuseppe Cattaneo and the CEO of Ital Auto, Teo Hock Seng.

The showroom features a couple of gems, in the shape of the Atelier where customers can create and see their dream Ferrari on a sophisticated configurator, choosing materials and colours just as can be done in the factory in Maranello, and then there’s the area dedicated to Pr1ma, where for the first time outside Italy, it’s possible to buy items from the collection which captures the quintessence of the spirit of the Prancing Horse.

Singapore, 20 September – Lewis Hamilton came out on top at the end of first practice for the thirteenth round of the Formula 1 World Championship, on the streets of Singapore. The session began at dusk and ended under the glare of the 1600 spotlights that line the street circuit. The Englishman took his Mercedes round in 1.47.055, ahead of the two Red Bulls of Mark Webber (1.47.420) and Sebastian Vettel (1.47.885.) For Ferrari, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were seventh and twelfth respectively with times of 1.48.362 and 1.49.493. Both men used just one set of the Medium tyres on a track that offered little grip, as they worked on the usual Friday programme of comparing different aero configurations. The second session gets underway at 21.30 local time.

There are so many aspects of this Singapore Grand Prix that are completely different to the other rounds of the championship and today, Scuderia Ferrari also jumbled up the usual order of things: instead of bringing in its two drivers to face the media one at a time, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa shared the floor together and were also joined by Team Principal, Stefano Domenicali. It was a genuine show of unity after the announcement that Felipe Massa will be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen from the start of next season.

The Finn is no stranger to the team, but for our Spanish driver, this will be a brand new relationship and Fernando was immediately asked how he found out about the change. “I was always informed about the team’s movements, even at a time when the decision had not yet been taken, he said. “However, once they decided not to keep Felipe, they asked me what I thought and I told them that in my opinion, Kimi was the best out there in the market, especially when next year’s championship will see many changes and will require a lot of car development work in January and February. I told the team it was important therefore to have a team-mate with a lot of Formula 1 experience and I am happy with the choice.”

Fernando saw only positives with the new pairing, brushing aside suggestions that two world champions in one team could make for a difficult working relationship. “My motivation will be the same, always doing my best and sometimes that will deliver the results expected of me and sometimes not, but I don’t believe any team-mate can push me more than I push myself,” he maintained. “Having two champions will make no difference. Even when I came here, people said that it would be a difficult relationship with Felipe who had been here for many years. After four years together, I can say he is one of the best friends I have here. Anyway, I consider Felipe like a world champion as well. Remember, he was a world champion when he crossed the line in 2008, so it’s not like he’s a rookie driver!”

Felipe has faced every question imaginable from the press over his years with Ferrari, but even he looked shocked when a journalist asked if he had really told a Brazilian TV company he would no longer help Fernando this year in his bid for the title. “I don’t help Fernando, I don’t help Ferrari, I don’t help anyone, I just help myself!” he exclaimed, finding it hard not to join in the laughter that came from the audience. Back in the real world, he outlined his short term aims: “I plan to do the best I can for the last seven races, coming at the end of what has been a fantastic and very long career with Ferrari. This team is part of my history, where I have spent the majority of my career, including eight years as a race driver and others as a young driver. In 2003 I lived mostly within the team and I know everyone and have many friends, so I will be trying the hardest for the rest of this year and would love to leave with at least one more win. As for Fernando and Kimi, they are both great drivers and I know both of them very well. With the two of them, Ferrari has a top quality driver pairing. They are very different in terms of personality, as am I, because we all have our own character and I hope it all works out well for both of them and the team.”

As for the long term, or at least 2014, the Brazilian reiterated that he would not be prepared to simply make up the numbers in Formula 1. “We are talking to some teams and we hope we can find the best direction for me and to find the best possible car,” he revealed. “I’ve said before I don’t want to be in Formula 1 just to be on the grid and part of the picture. I want to be fighting for the best possible results. I want to find the best opportunity to fight for wins, for the championship and for the best for me. I know I have a lot to give to a team.”

The final comments in today’s press conference came from the man tasked with ensuring that news on the driver front does not disrupt the Scuderia’s efforts over the rest of this year. Asked if having two former world champions in the team would represent a change of philosophy for the Scuderia, Domenicali explained why that was not the case. “I don’t think it’s a change of philosophy because I agree with Fernando’s comments about Felipe, in that all drivers who work for Ferrari know that the interests of the team are the priority,” he began. “It’s normal that each driver wants to do the best for himself, because it is in the nature of all drivers to want to beat everyone. That has been the way we have always operated and it will continue like this in the future.” Changing a driver is not like changing the front wing of a race car, it involves very human emotions and Domenicali admitted that the decision to replace Felipe had been tough. “It was very difficult, from the emotional point of view because I’ve known him since he was a little boy in shorts!” joked Domenicali. “I was 19,” interjected the Brazilian. “We grew up together, spending some intense moments both professionally and personally,” continued the Team Principal. And in this instance, I learned something from him, from the serenity with which he accepted the decision, something which is not so common in this world. Once again, he showed his true qualities as a human being.”