Wrooom 2013 – Alonso: “No obligation to win”
Source: Ferrari
Madonna di Campiglio, 17 January –Serious, focused, immediately on the case, Fernando Alonso made his debut media appearance of the season this morning at the twenty third edition of Wrooom. He gave the impression of already being totally preoccupied with the 2013 championship but, at the same time, showing that he did not feel under any additional pressure after the long fight for the 2012 title did not go his way. “I don’t think there is necessarily an obligation to win,” said the Spaniard. “Sport means sacrifice, work, enjoyment of what one does and for the past three years, I’ve been fortunate to be in the fight for important targets. There are 24 drivers in Formula 1 and few of them can say they have won races and usually finished on the podium. Since I’ve been at Ferrari, two out of three times I have come very close to being world champion, which is the target for me and for a team like ours and I hope I can now make that three times out of four.
“I’m confident I can start the season with a better car than the one we had in the first few months of last year,” continued the champion from Oviedo. “It was actually in the early races that we lost decisive points, when we had a car that was only good enough for seventh, as was the case in China or ninth in Bahrain. The fact we are working with just one wind tunnel, the Toyota one in Cologne, could be a small advantage.”
Fernando has always praised his current team-mate, whom he has been paired with for his first three years in red and today that was definitely still the case. “I have always said that Felipe was one of the best drivers around and I still remember that some people smiled when I said this last year,” said Fernando on the topic of his team-mate. “He and I have always helped one another, day by day and I expect him to always be very close to me in terms of performance: what was not not normal was the difference between us over the past two years, but now I don’t think that will be the case. That will be a very positive factor for me and especially for the team.”
Fernando sees the arrival of De la Rosa as being a very positive thing. “When there are new arrivals in high level teams, it is always important,” he said. “Pedro will work mainly on the simulator, an area where we were not at the same level as the best and his experience will be useful. Having said that, it’s not the case that a new driver can change things or can do it in the simulator: there are and there will be further and more significant new arrivals that can make the team grow.”
Wrooom 2013 – Massa: “With Fernando we work as a team”
Source: Ferrari
Madonna di Campiglio, 17 January –Every year, the level of competition in Formula 1 increases and the stability in the regulations makes it more of a challenge for the teams. The hierarchy is determined by the unity and harmony of those involved, in every area, including the drivers. It’s something Felipe Massa has been well aware of throughout his career. In 2012, like never before he got plenty of opportunities to demonstrate his spirit as a team player, there for the good of the team. This aspect is certainly a cornerstone for all teams, but it’s the form and the performance he showed in 2008 that Felipe really wants to recapture in order to guaranteee, to himself as much as anyone, a consistency in terms of performance, if he is to have designs on the world title.
“I can’t imagine a team not wanting two competitive drivers,” said Felipe. “We are fighting for two titles and I am sure the team will help me if it turns out that my situation was the same as the one that meant Fernando was a contender these past years. I remember when Kimi was my team-mate and how much we helped one another from one season to the next. It’s the same with Fernando, it’s team work, while the harmony between us is a help, as it would be in any job. In Australia we start over from zero and it will all depend on my ability and on the way the championship pans out. I hope to get off to the best possible start and my aim is always to carry the Brazilian flag onto the highest step of the podium. This year, I am the only Brazilian in Formula 1 and it was an emotional time on the podium in Interlagos last year, hearing the fans cheering my name: it’s a sign of the affection and closeness I feel from my country and that is fundamental for me.
”Felipe ended the press conference with a few observations on the new Ferrari which will be unveiled on 1 February and on who might be his rivals in 2013. “We must wait and see the new car on track and right from the second test, we will have some indication, but it won’t be until Australia that we will know if we have done a good job. Vettel is definitely one of our main rivals, but McLaren also finished last year with a very quick car and the stability of the regulations means they too will be contenders. In any case, I am confident in my team and I am sure Ferrari will be in the hunt.”
Wrooom 2013 – Massa: “The fire still burns inside me!”
Source: Ferrari
Madonna di Campiglio, 17 January –Felipe Massa has never lacked for determination and resolve. Clearly that is still the case this year, as could be seen at the second of today’s Scuderia Ferrari press conferences at the Wrooom event, which the Brazilian has attended countless times now. The last few years may have been difficult for Felipe, but that all appears to be behind him. His approach and mental attitude are undoubtedly proof of that, but as Felipe himself affirms, the real results will be seen on the race track.
“It’s always nice to start the year in Campiglio,” commented the Brazilian. “Skiing and seeing everyone smiling is a great prelude to the season and I hope it is also a good sign for a championship in which I want to be a contender. I consider what I did in the second half of last year as training for this season and I want to be 100% competitive! It was vital for me to change my approach, not so much in terms of understanding the car better or the tyres, but getting a better understanding of myself, believing in my ability, even when so many people said I’d lost it. I took to the track trying to find a sense of calm and especially trying to enjoy myself and that helped a lot in regaining my self-confidence. Today, I feel the fire still burns inside me and I know I can win and be competitive at the highest level, as I have done in the past in my career.”
Wrooom 2013 – Alonso not getting involved in politics
Source: Ferrari
Madonna di Campiglio, 17 January –Alonso, politics and rivals: a lot has been said about this triumvirate during 2012 and someone – over the other side of the Alps – has felt the need to kick off 2013 on the same note. Clearly, the media who do their job and usually enjoy these verbal skirmishes, made the most of the situation, repackaging some of these now classic questions for Fernando. The Spaniard did not want to get caught up in a war of words and replied with wit. “I don’t think I am good at politics, I just drive the car. Some recent remarks have surprised me, but I can’t see the sense in them. Some say they don’t read them, don’t hear them and don’t see them, before adding that they are not influenced by them: so clearly they do read them, maybe at night…Why do I say Hamilton is the strongest? Because it’s what I think, it’s my personal opinion and there is nothing political in that. Lewis has always won races ever since he has been in Formula 1, even in years like 2009, when he had started the season with a car that was two seconds off the quickest. When you look at what happens on track, you are well aware of what he is doing, that’s a fact. Last year, Rosberg won in China, therefore I expect that this year, Lewis in a Mercedes can win more than one race.”
“I did not say that Vettel was not the strongest or that he did not deserve his three titles,” continued Fernando. “There have been periods, like in 2011, when his performance level was fantastic and he was definitely the best. As of today, it’s impossible to say who will be our strongest rivals in 2013. Who will have the best car, who will have done the best job of preparation and had the best development, who will be the luckiest: there are so many factors which go to make the strongest combination of driver and team.
” On the technical front, I think that this year, the key will again be the management of the exhausts,” said Fernando, on the topic of 2013. “It’s true it’s not as important as two years ago, but we saw last year that it still played a significant role and that everyone worked on it a great deal. The tyres are not as critical, unless there is a specific problem, as for example we had with the hardest compound in 2011: they are the same for all the teams and, if they are within the mean point, they won’t make the difference, neither for the better nor for the worse.”
Wrooom 2013 – Fernando’s Twitter savvy
Source: Ferrari
Fernando Alonso has always jealously guarded his privacy, but social networks, especially Twitter, have given him a means of defending himself and counter-attacking those who want to invade his privacy. “Since I started using Twitter, I am the one who says what I am doing,” explained the man from Oviedo. “Before, it could be said that I was spending my holiday with elephants or that I was having dinner with Obama, but now for example, I can be the one to say that I was in Italy, skiing on New Year’s day before going to Russia and from there to Brazil to take part in the kart race organised by Felipe. Tweeting means I can be in direct contact with my fans, to help them discover aspects of my job that they would never get to know otherwise. Of course, I can’t say everything because in Formula 1, a lot of information has to remain confidential, but I think it is still a fun and useful tool.”
Wrooom 2013 – Alonso: “Fewer races more testing”
Source: Ferrari
Madonna di Campiglio, 17 January –A twenty race season is very long for everyone, as Fernando Alonso pointed out today. “Last year we had the last Grand Prix at the end of November and almost right up to Christmas, there were events I had to take part in. There’s almost only the end of year holiday when one can have a break and I’ll try to fit in a few more days between now and Melbourne to recharge my batteries. Twenty races is a lot and it’s not easy to maintain a maximum performance level, both physical and mental, for the whole year. Maybe it would be better to have one or two fewer races and a few more test sessions.”
Wrooom 2013 – Massa and Alonso launch a piste for the Azzurri di Madonna di Campiglio
Source: Ferrari
Madonna di Campiglio, 17 January –For two drivers, a super steep piste featuring climbs and drops: finding oneself on a downhill run with a maximum gradient of 69% at the wheel of a Formula 1 car might not be too much of a problem. But with skis fitted it’s a whole other story and, despite the fact that Massa and Alonso are both old hands at Wrooom, tackling the new “Pancugolo” piste would be really demanding. The two Ferrari drivers therefore decided to launch the new piste, for the Madonna di Campiglio Atleti Azzurri, with their usual work equipment, namely a Prancing Horse Formula 1 car. An F2012 was brought to the top of the new run, which is 400 metres in length, with an average gradient of 35% and a maximum as mentioned above, followed by a second run of medium difficulty which joins up with the Canalone Miramonti. Together, this creates, in the area known as the Cinque Laghi, a 1700 metre piste, which is to the homologated standard for the Super Giant World Cup. Along with the car they used for the 2012 World Championship, Felipe and Fernando thus cut an imaginary ribbon to officially launch to the world a track that is technically very demanding and located in a truly beautiful setting.
Wrooom 2013 – Meeting the fans in the piazza
Source: Ferrari
Madonna di Campiglio, 17 January – Thursday in Madonna di Campiglio ended for Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa with a meeting with the fans in the Piazza Sissi, after the usual press conference and turn on the ski slopes. The venue is named after the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, who holidayed in the Trentino region in 1889 and 1894 and here, the Scuderia Drivers saluted the crowd and answered questions from the fans. In the words of the commentator, it seems that tomorrow, as the curtain comes down on the twenty third edition of Wrooom, will be another busy day: a ski race is on the agenda for the reds in the morning then a karting match against colleagues from the Ducati Team, which will be held on the frozen lake. Joining our race drivers will be Marc Gene, Giancarlo Fisichella and Luca Badoer, the latter famous as a Scuderia test driver and now involved in the development of the GT cars.