Finali Mondiali 2013

Mugello, 10 November – An unforgettable day. Felipe Massa’s farewell parade in front of the Ferrari crowd will always stay in the Brazilian’s heart. Over fifteen thousand turned up to give him a send-off, braving the less than welcoming weather, given that it rained heavily for much of the day. They turned out to see Felipe at the very same track where he had his first Formula 1 test, for Sauber way back in 2001. After twelve years, the end of an important page in the history books for Felipe the man and for the team he grew up with, is gradually coming to an end, as he still has the USA and Brazilian Grands Prix to race for the Scuderia.

“I’ve been lucky, I have had a great career with Ferrari, longer than I had ever dreamed of at the start,” said Felipe when he met the press. “When I began racing in go-karts as a kid, I had a red Ferrari suit and it’s always been the team I supported. Even when Senna was at McLaren and Piquet at Williams, I was cheering for Ferrari! We began our relationship in 2001 and I have raced for them for eight seasons, which is a very important part of my life. I have so many friends at Ferrari and I will miss them, as I will also miss the nice days I spent at the factory in Maranello. I am happy with the way my time with the Prancing Horse turned out.”

Yesterday’s tribute took place at the owners’ gala dinner at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence, which was opened by Felipe arriving in a Formula 1 car and ended with a ten minute standing ovation, while today it continued in front of all the fans at Mugello. “These are memories that will stay with me always, just like so many other beautiful moments spent together, starting with the wins,” continued Felipe. “For example, I think back to the wins at Interlagos, because for a Brazilian, to win your home race is something amazing. Sure, the dream just slipped out of my grasp, namely winning the world title in front of my home crowd, but that wasn’t the race where I lost the 2008 title: when you finish second by a point the key moment could have come at so many different places and I’m thinking of Singapore for example, or Budapest, or others still…”

It’s not just memories that Felipe will take home with him. At the end of his demonstration run at the wheel of an F10, which he drove alongside another veteran, Marc Gene, President Luca di Montezemolo, Vice President Piero Ferrari and Managing Director Amedeo Felisa presented the Brazilian driver with a special cup, engraved with the names of the eleven Grands Prix he won during his time in red. It’s a rather bulky piece of silverware, as the cup stands 120 centimetres tall, but we are sure Felipe will find it a prominent position at home and metaphorically in his heart.

Mugello, 10 November – The Managing Director of the Fiat-Chrysler Group, Sergio Marchionne was also on hand to pay tribute to Felipe Massa, but naturally, it fell to Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo to thank the Brazilian for a wonderful career with the Maranello Scuderia.

“Felipe has been a true Ferrari man and he will always be part of our history, for all the Grands Prix he drove for us, for the wins, the pole positions and for those few seconds when he was world champion that day in Brazil, before that overtaking move that always seemed a bit strange to me,” said Montezemolo. “We spent some great times together, while some others were more difficult, such as the accident in Budapest. These have been very busy years and today, I wanted to thank him publicly, having already done so privately, just the two of us. I think the decision to go our separate ways is the right one, both for us and for him. It’s time for a change and also to find new motivation. I wish Felipe every success, starting with the last two races of this championship. As for the rest of his Formula 1 career, I wish him the very best, but naturally, behind a Ferrari and anyway, I am sure we will get many chances to meet up again, because life is long and he will always be part of our family. When one has a mutually agreed separation, in the best interests of both parties, it can be done calmly in a friendly and constructive manner, and that has been the case this time.”

Mugello, 10 November –Italy’s Giosue Rizzuto (Coppa Shell) and Austria’s Philipp Baron (Trofeo Pirelli) are the Ferrari Challenge world champions. On a day that served as a tribute to Felipe Massa and featured a fantastic crowd of around fifteen thousand at the Mugello circuit, who braved the rain that fell for much of the day, the Prancing Horse one-make series certainly lived up to expectation in terms of the excitement provided by the last races of the meeting.

In the Coppa Shell, most of that excitement came right at the very end. Rizzuto, who had already done very well in the previous day’s races, closed down David Gostner, who seemed to be on course to repeat his feat of yesterday when he won the European title. Gostner was apparently mastering the situation on a very wet track and had built up a lead of over 10 seconds on Rizzuto, who had started from pole. A few backmarkers had allowed Rizzuto to close, but then Gostner pulled out a bit of a gap again. Then, at the end, Rizzuto swooped into Gostner’s slipstream and got past on the very last lap, with an aggressive move, which the Stewards felt was within the rules. On the third step of the championship podium was the German Adamski, who thus made up for some of the disappointment at losing out on the title in the last race yesterday.

Experience got the better of youth in the Trofeo Pirelli. The fight for victory featured Baron and Mancinelli, with Baron coming out on top in the end after an exciting cut and thrust between the two men in the early stages. After the obligatory pit stops, Baron retook the lead and kept it to the end, pulling away from Mancinelli. The second placed man also had to keep an eye in the mirrors on Gai and Chukanov, who were closing in, while fighting between themselves for the entire race. Mancinelli took second by half a second from Gai and one ahead of Chukanov, proving how closely matched these drivers were. Worthy of note, Pasin Lathouras’ performance, as the best of the APAC series drivers, who finished seventh overall today: not bad for a 19 year old on his debut at a very demanding track like Mugello!

The 2013 season thus ended in the best way possible, with the guaranteed excitement of racing in front of a large crowd. As from tomorrow, here at the Mugello circuit, it will be time to think seriously about next year. Ferrari’s sporting owners will in fact get the chance to test the 458 Challenge Evoluzione, the car to be used in next year’s edition of the most enthralling one-make series in the world.

Mugello, 9 November –Excitement and suspense right to the last on the penultimate day of the Finali Mondiali. The Ukrainian Sergei Chukanov and the Italian David Gostner took the European crowns in the Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell respectively. The wins came at the end of two very closely contested races, with drama even after the chequered flag. The other European laurels still up for grabs went to Onofrio Triarsi (North American Trofeo Pirelli) and Eric Cheung (Asia Pacific Coppa Shell.) As for Max Blancardi (Coppa Intercontinentale Asia Pacific,) Pasin Lathouras (Trofeo Pirelli Asia Pacific) and Marc Muzzo (Coppa Shell North America,) they had already taken their championship titles and were therefore fully able to enjoy a race on such a beautiful track as the Mugello circuit, which drew a crowd of over five thousand.

In the first race of the day, the European Trofeo Pirelli, a duel between the leader Chukanov and Daniel Mancinelli provided the excitement for all 30 minutes of the race. In the first part, it looked as though Chukanov was heading for an easy win, as he was managing his lead over Mancinelli, who didn’t seem to pose a threat. The race was neutralised when Smeeth went off the track, which meant the two rivals closed up when there were just four minutes remaining. Chukanov was very cautious when the race restarted on the final lap, as he had everything to lose, while Mancinelli tried everything he could: the two collided and Chukanov ended the race in the gravel. Mancinelli crossed the line sixth, which was good enough to give him the title, but the Stewards gave him a retrospective drive-through penalty which dropped him to thirteenth place, thus handing back to Chukanov the title he richly deserved. The race win went to a very strong Philipp Baron, who masterfully dispensed with all his rivals in the early stages when the track was still damp, after morning rain.

Max Blancardi also played a strong part in the race, with a great climb up the order, which took him all the way to the second step on the podium, while third place went to Giacomo Stratta. Thailand’s Lathouras, fifth overall, took the win in the APAC Trofeo Pirelli, while Indonesia’s Tjiptobiantoro won the Coppa Shell in the same series.

Giosue Rizzuto was the star of the Coppa Shell Europe race, which also included the drivers from the North American series. Having started fifteenth, the driver from Palermo set off on an incredible come back which took him all the way to the front when there were just two laps to go. At the line, Rizzuto came home ahead of David Gostner, who right from the early stages seemed to be the most likely of the three pretenders to the crown. His closest rivals, the Ukrainian Lebed and Germany’s Admaski, almost put themselves out of the running themselves: the former made a mistake on lap 3, going off the track; the latter repeated his lacklustre race of yesterday and was unable to do better than a modest twenty fifth overall, two laps down on his rival. Gostner thus took the European championship thanks to a well thought out race. Third overall, but first of the North American runners, was Onofrio Triarsi, twelfth past the chequered flag today.

Once again today, the on track show was not just a racing one. On this, the first of two days open to the public with free admission, the spectators were able to admire the Formula 1 cars run by the F1 Clienti Department and the laboratory cars from the XX programme. Also on show in the paddock, some amazing historic cars, first and foremost, a 250 GTO, as well as the entire current Prancing Horse range, with the LaFerrari obviously the star of the show.

Tomorrow, a crowd of around 15,000 fans are expected, having registered on the Ferrari website. They will be able to enjoy the excitement of the Challenge series Finali Mondiali and the Formula 1 car exhibition. They will also get the opportunity to salute a driver who has played a key role in the history of the Scuderia, namely Felipe Massa. The Brazilian will be taking part in his final appearance in Red in Italy, before bidding farewell at the end of this season to the team with which he has grown up. It’s one more reason, apart from being able to see the most beautiful cars in the world, for everyone to come to Mugello!

Mugello, 8 November – Andrii Lebed and Daniel Mancinelli are the first two names to appear on the winner’s roster at the 2013 Finali Mondiali.

The Ukrainian driver took Race 1 in the Coppa Shell, while his Italian colleague triumphed in the Trofeo Pirelli category. Lebed and Mancinelli took almost identical paths to victory: both started from pole, maintained the lead after the start and then kept it all the way to the chequered flag.

While who would win in both races never seemed in doubt, there was still plenty of excitement as can be seen from these brief race reviews.

Race 1 Coppa Shell – The first Coppa Shell Europe race, in which competitors from the North American series also took part, was very spectacular. Starting from pole, Lebed kept the lead throughout, but he could never relax, given that Italy’s Erich Prinoth was always right there with him all the way to the chequered flag. On the third step of the podium was another Italian, Thomas Gostner, who drove a solid race, free of errors. Giosue Rizzuto showed plenty of grit in a spectacular duel, which however did not have a happy ending, given his race ended in the gravel. It was also very close among the North American competitors: Onofrio Triarsi appeared to by flying to victory after a climb up the order saw him reach fifth place overall, but an off-track moment put him out of the reckoning, so the win went to Harry Cheung, with John Farano and Alfonso Celis completing the podium. With Triarsi knocked out of the running today, Farano now has a solid chance of taking the Trofeo Pirelli title tomorrow, as there are only four points separating the two men. It’s already game over in the North American Coppa Shell, where Marc Muzzo has won the title and he also took the victory today, ahead of James Weiland and Henrik Hedman.

However, it’s a three way fight in the European Coppa Shell, where leader Dirk Adamski will have to keep an eye on not only David Gostner, but also Lebed, who is again looking like a strong title contender after today’s win.

Race 1 Trofeo Pirelli –The first European Trofeo Pirelli race of the weekend, run alongside the Asia Pacific one, saw Mancinelli win and thus reduce the gap to the series leader, the Ukrainian, Sergei Chukanov, who could only finish sixth today. While the Motor Piacenza driver had quite a comfortable time of it, the battle behind raged fiercely between a quartet made up of Austria’s Philipp Baron and the Italians, Dario Caso, Stefano Gai and Lorenza Case. All four were glued together but it didn’t stay like that to the end. The key moment came with around four minutes to go, when Gai crashed heavily into the backmarker Eric Cheung and had to pit. The driver was uninjured, but his 458 Challenge car will need a lot of work overnight to get it ready for tomorrow. The race thus ended behind the Safety Car, with Mancinelli first ahead of Baron, Caso and Case. Of the APAC driver, the win went to Thailand’s Pasin Lathouras, who got the upper hand over the favourite Max Blancardi, thanks to a great passing move in the final moments. On the third step of the podium was Australia’s Steve Wyatt, the recent winner of the Asian Le Mans Series with the AF Corse team. In the Coppa Shell, Lebanon’s Toni Hanna triumphed ahead of Indonesia’s David Tjiptobiantoro and Australia’s Peter van Loenhout.

It wasn’t just the 458 Challenge cars providing the spectacle on track today. There were also two 40 minute sessions for the drivers of the historic F1 cars and the laboratory cars from the XX programme. Some of the drivers, definitely the greediest for getting excitement behind the wheel, took part in both sessions, owning both an F1 car and an XX: the amazing Mugello circuit would certainly have satisfied their cravings!

Tomorrow’s programme follows a similar pattern, with qualifying in the morning and the two races either side of lunchtime, interspersed with sessions for the Formula 1 and XX cars. With the circuit gates at last open to the public, free access to the paddock means that everyone will be able to get a close look at the most beautiful Ferrari from all eras. There will be a fantastic display of cars from the past, from the 250 GTO to the F40, to name but a few, as well as all the Prancing Horse’s current range, topped off with an appearance from the LaFerrari.

The show gets underway at Mugello

Posted: 07.11.2013
Source: Ferrari