http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/7/11072.html
1st Fernando Alonso (Ferrari); 2nd Felipe Massa (Ferrari); 3rd
Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull).
Q: Fernando, as the team told you at the end you have indeed been very
quick this weekend. Frustration though for much of the race and you
said on the team radio at one stage 'this is ridiculous' but in the
end it ended very well for you.
Fernando Alonso: Yeah, I think it was a good weekend overall. We did
improve the car a lot and immediately from Friday we felt very
competitive. The car behaved very well and all the set-up adjustments
worked really well here in Hockenheim. We know that some circuits will
be better, some circuits will be worse. In the race as well we were
competitive. We performed really well. Some parts of the race we were
fighting very close for first position and it was a little bit
dangerous but in the end I think it was a little bit more space
between all the cars and we finished the laps with no more risky
manoeuvres.
Q: It certainly wasn't a risky manoeuvre when you managed to get past
Felipe. It looked rather easy from where we were watching.
FA: Well, I think I don't know what happened, but at the exit of turn
six I saw Felipe a little bit slow and tried to overtake. You have to
take every opportunity you have as it is a very difficult circuit to
overtake and you only have one chance into turn six. I was never close
enough to do an attempt, so at that point I overtook the other car and
then it was 15 or 20 laps to the end. Some more cars to lap. That was
some risk at some times as it is a very narrow circuit, especially the
last sector, so it was not an easy race but very interesting.
Q: We heard in Australia this year you saying to the team 'look I am
faster than Felipe, let me pass him'. At any stage were you saying
that this afternoon?
FA: Well, I think sometimes you are quick, sometime you are slow
depending on what stage the tyres are. Sometimes you have a little bit
of graining and sometimes you have some other problems. In some parts
of the race maybe I was quicker than him. Some other parts of the race
Felipe was very quick and pulling away from Sebastian and me, so it is
very difficult to judge but it is a very strong result for the team.
Top three in qualifying and top two in the race and the best thing as
well is that the car keeps improving. It is not a result down to the
weather conditions or to anything like that. It is a good performance
from the team and hopefully next week in Hungary we can do a good
weekend as well and score some strong points for the team.
Q: Felipe, a year to the day since your accident in Hungary. A win
would have been the perfect way to mark that anniversary. Did you feel
you deserved a win this afternoon?
Felipe Massa: Well, I think so. The start was just fantastic and also
the pace on the soft tyres was really great. Then I was struggling a
little bit on the hard, but anyway it was a very good race for us.
Q: You were told by Rob Smedley, your race engineer, that Fernando was
the faster car than yourself. A couple of laps later, turn six at the
hairpin, talk us through what happened?
FM: Well, I don't think I need to say anything about that.
Q: Fernando managed to get past you. Did you make a mistake? Was it
under braking?
FM: He passed me.
Q: Then Rob Smedley said 'Good lad, sorry'.
FM: Yeah.
Q: Did you feel that you weren't allowed to win that race?
FM: No, the only thing I feel is that we are working for the team and
we are doing a very good job for the team and that is the most
important thing.
Q: How pleasing is it for you that Ferrari are back up there competing
with Red Bull?
FM: Well, I think it was a great job for the team during the last
month I would say. We were pushing hard. This was a very good track
for us but anyway I think we did a good job, good working inside the
car, so the car became faster and faster race by race and I think that
is very important for sure when you get to the track that you see your
car is very, very competitive, so the best you can do is to do first
and second on the track. This is what's happened today, so I think as
a team we achieved the maximum that is possible for this race.
Q: Sebastian, another pole that sadly for you, you could not covert
into victory. It was the start once again?
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, usually we have very good starts. Yesterday I
was told Ferrari have good starts but I think up to today we had
better ones. Not really sure what happened. I had quite a lot of grip,
dumped the first clutch, so I had a big of a bog, so the first five to
10 metres of the acceleration were very poor. I was lucky I didn't
stall the engine. I could get going again but lost the momentum, so I
knew that it would be very tight with Fernando who was already
side-by-side, so there was no way I could stay ahead of him. Then I
was a little bit surprised when I saw Felipe come from the left. But
still after that I think we had a good race. We knew it would be very
tight. The closer you get you start to feel the tyres losing a bit of
grip, starting to have a bit of graining but I think the majority of
the race the Ferraris were probably just that tenth or two quicker
than us, so it was difficult for us to keep up the pace. Towards the
end we were able to push again a little bit but it is very tricky. You
cannot really do your own rhythm as then you get so many lapped cars
and depending on where you find them on the circuit, especially the
last sector where it is very narrow, you can drop a lot of time and
lose a lot of time but the race is done, so we finished third. I think
we can be proud of that. We achieved our maximum today, so
congratulations to Ferrari and I am pleased to be on the podium. Very
special for me for my home grand prix to see the people here, be on
that podium and see everyone cheering. It is very nice and emotional.
Q: Fernando, you needed a win before the summer break to re-ignite
your championship challenge. Do you feel you have done that this
weekend? You are back in business?
FA: I think apart from the win the most important thing is to feel
confident with the car again, to feel that we are going in the right
direction in terms of developing the car. The new parts on the car we
introduced in the last couple of races seemed to work really well, so
despite the win the better news for us in the last two or three races
is that we are competitive. There were some grands prix that we were
not quick enough to fight for pole positions, for wins, for podiums
and we had to be conservative and now I think we can push a bit more,
be more aggressive and try to score points. There is one race in one
week. We did nothing today. I think we cannot go too low when the
things were not very good for us and we need to be very calm after
this strong result. We are happy, but we did nothing. This is the
first step.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Fernando, your feelings of a Ferrari one-two. I think it is a
certain amount of frustration over the last few races but now you have
finally done it.
FA: Yeah, I think we deserved this result for the team. No points for
Felipe and me in Valencia and Silverstone with a competitive car for
different reasons and very bad luck. We came back here with some
upgrades in the car and with some new parts and they seemed to work
really well. From Friday morning we felt competitive. We felt happy
with the car, so we just were concentrating on finishing and doing a
good Sunday with no mistakes and no problems and everything went fine.
To win a race is always special, but to win a race for Ferrari is even
more special. Two races we did well this year we were first and
second, so this is a very strong result for the team. We just need to
continue like this. I think we are going to go down when we have some
disappointing races and we cannot be too excited after a strong
result. This is a very long championship and we need to remain very
focused for 10 months. Today is very important for the team, for the
motivation of all the guys and especially for the technical people
that keep working day and night to improve the car and this result is
thanks to them. This is a good motivation for everybody in Maranello
as well but as I said in four days we are in Hungary, so there is no
time to really be too excited.
Q: How important is this win here but do you feel the car will be
similarly suited to the Hungaroring?
FA: I think so. I don't see any reason to be pessimistic for Hungary.
The car was competitive in Valencia and Silverstone, more competitive
here, so in eight days hopefully the picture doesn't change so much,
very strong competition with Red Bull and McLaren, but at least we are
in the fight. There were some races this year when we were very close
to Renault, to Mercedes and very far away from Red Bull and McLaren.
Now I think we feel strong enough to fight with them for important
points, so hopefully we can do a good weekend again in Hungary.
Q: Tell us about the start as you were a bit worried about being on
the dirty side. There was a certain amount of pressure from Sebastian.
FA: The start was very good. We felt good grip already in the
formation lap and then in the start itself it was okay. I felt I had a
better start than Sebastian who lost a little bit of ground in the
first metres. Then I was very close to the wall. Unfortunately I think
this battle we lost a couple of metres close to the wall and we lost
one position both to Felipe who started very good in third, so we
arrived at the first corner quite close but enough to overtake
Sebastian, so it was a super start, I think.
Q: Your view of the start. You must have been interested watching what
was going off to your right.
FM: Well, I think the car first of all did a fantastic start. I think
I prepared the tyres very well and then I just had a good grip,
Sebastian not pulling away like I expected. He was a bit slower than I
expected in terms of wheel spin or whatever. Then I just saw him
coming to the right, so the only possibility was to go to the left, so
I went to the left and then were fighting each other, so I took the
chance to pass both, so it was a great start.
Q: After that how was the pace of the car? Did you feel it was pretty perfect?
FM: Yeah, I think it was very good on the soft tyres. It was really
good, so I could manage to put a good pace lap by lap. The tyres
behaved even better than I expected, the soft in terms of degradation,
especially rear degradation. Then I arrived at the time to change to
the hard and I was struggling a little bit more on the hard tyres, so
it was no news about that. Anyway the car was behaving after but I
think I lost a little bit of pace on the hard tyres.
Q: Then Fernando got past you. Was that your decision to let him past?
FM: Yeah, definitely.
Q: Yes, definitely?
FM: (No verbal answer)
Q: Sebastian, what was your feeling about the pace of the Ferraris today?
SV: Not a nice one. I lost two positions at the start. I think the
formation lap start was fine, then coming to the race start the lights
came off I released the first clutch lever and the revs dropped a lot.
The first five to 10 metres the acceleration was very poor, so I lost
a lot of momentum. Then it was difficult to recover. You lose that
most crucial phase. I knew it would be tight with Fernando. I think he
didn't have a great start either. Obviously he had to start from the
dirty side, so I was trying to defend my position. But then he was
side-by-side and as soon as I saw that there was no reason to go any
further. The guy I am focused on is the guy closest to me at that
stage and it was Fernando. Then Felipe came around the outside. It was
tight then going with more or less three cars into the first corner
but not a big deal. I lost two positions after turn one and that was
it. After that I think our pace was fine. I felt comfortable in the
car. But we were just this tenth or two slower today than the
Ferraris. Both of them were pulling away at the first sting a little
bit and then the gaps were consistent around I would say three to five
seconds. Very difficult then to say as you never really get into a
rhythm with the lapped cars. You lose out more than the others,
sometimes less. It is tricky. In the end we were never close enough.
In the end I think we were a bit quicker again but they had no reason
to keep pushing that hard. I was getting closer to Felipe, but he
didn't do any mistakes. None the less I am happy to be on the podium.
It is special for myself, my home grand prix. Nice to be on the podium
even if not the top step and see all the people. Very nice. Lots of
energy and big boost for next week. I think we have a very competitive
car and today our maximum was finishing third which we did. I would
have loved to take a bit more points, but 15 points is still a lot
looking at the championship. A lot of race left, so I am happy today.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Ian Parkes - The Press Association) Fernando and Felipe, via a
coded message it appears that we've just witnessed a clear case of
team orders being handed out. To Fernando, do you feel embarrassed
about taking such a win, and to Felipe do you feel angry about having
to give up such a win?
FM: For sure, you always want to win. That's always what we're working
for. For sure we don't have team orders, so we just need to do the
race that we can and if you see that you cannot do the race that you
can, you need to think about the team. I think that's the most
important thing.
FA: Yeah, same. What's important is the team result, so I'm happy.
Q: (Fredrik Af Petersens) Felipe, you said earlier that you lost out
to Fernando on the hard tyres. How come that after you were passed,
that you were doing more or less exactly the same lap times, a couple
of times even faster?
FM: I was pushing hard as well but maybe I think he slowed down, I
don't know. He was controlling the pace.
Q: (Alan Baldwin - Reuters) Felipe, after this afternoon, do you now
think you're the number two driver at Ferrari?
FM: Well, I cannot say that I'm there fighting for first position in
the championship. I've lost many points, important points, and the
only thing I can say is that I know what I can do, I can win races,
that's what counts and everybody saw today that I can win races and I
can be competitive. For sure, what happened today is something that
has happened in many races this year: when I put on the hard tyres I
struggle. This is exactly what happened in the race. On the soft
tyres, I was very strong and then when we went onto the hard, I was
struggling again, so there's no news about that. So I know why
sometimes I'm a little bit penalised, it's just because of the very
hard tyres that we have this year. I don't think it's a good thing, to
be honest, because you don't have strategies any more. Then also the
grip level on hard tyres for me was always a little bit of an issue
this year, and most of the races that we used these tyres I was
struggling. And this is another one where I was very good on the soft
tyres in the first part of the race, and then we put on the hard tyres
and I was struggling again. It's a similar issue that we have had in
some races.
Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Alonso, in a normal race,
do you think you could have overtaken Massa, and Massa, in a normal
race do you think Alonso could overtake you?
FM: Well, I think I was holding in a good way anyway, but the race is
long and you always have many laps, so you never know what can happen
in 20 laps. So maybe yes.
FA: Yeah, I think there was one moment also on (I don't know) which
lap it was but we were side-by-side into turn six, especially with the
people we were lapping - always there is a better chance to overtake
and even though we didn't see too many overtakings here today we've
seen a lot in the past on this circuit but this year maybe with the
new cars etc we didn't see too many.
Q: (Ian Gordon - News of the World) Fernando, you said after Valencia
that the race had been manipulated in favour of Lewis. Those words
seem a bit hollow now. Where will this victory rank in your career, is
it up there with Singapore 2008?
FA: I think you have a very strong result from Ferrari today, one and
two, a very strong performance all weekend and if the final thought of
the weekend is your question it's because maybe you didn't see the
whole practice, qualifying and the race, so maybe it's too early for
you that Ferrari came back so strong.
Q: (Ian Gordon - News of the World) Team orders are banned in Formula
One. They were banned in 2002, that was blatant team orders.
FA: Sure.
Q: (Ian Gordon - News of the World) Eddie Jordan just said that you
two should be kicked out of the race.
FA: Again, if this is the final thought of the weekend for you, I
think it is because you didn't see the performance of the team and the
performance from our car this weekend.
Q: (Juha Päätalo - Financial Times Germany) Fernando, I think we all
know what happened on lap 48 and we don't need any fairy tales about
tyres or anything to be clear of that. I just want to ask you, because
in 2006 in Monza you said that Formula One is not a sport any more for
you but was that which we saw today a sport?
FA: I think we tried to do our race, we tried to do as good as we can.
We are professional drivers, we try to work in a team and we try to do
the best we can every day, not only here on the track but also between
the races, at the factory etc, preparing the races. Again, I think
we've been doing a good job over the last couple of races and finally
we got a strong Sunday with a strong result. I think we are happy with
this, although there are things which are more for you if you want to
write all these things.
Q: (Carlos Miquel - Diario AS) Fernando, do you feel that some people
are worrying because you are back in the championship?
FA: Maybe it seems like this, yes.
Q: (Byron Young - The Daily Mirror) Fernando, what have you got to say
to the people who would call this a dirty win and if you win the
championship, a dirty champion?
FA: I have 19 races to... look at the overall races, there are a lot
of points that we win sometimes and a lot of points that we lose
sometimes. As I said, today was a good day, some other races were bad
days for us, disappointing but as I said before, we need to remain
focused, keep working, keep developing the car, not to be too excited
when we win, not to be too down when we lose. In November, (we need
to) try to be in the fight for the championship, not forgetting that
Red Bull has so far been very dominant, not scoring many points on
Sunday, or the points that they should have scored on Sunday, but
remain very strong and McLaren as well, leading both championships, so
there is still a long way to go for us.
Q: (Byron Young - The Daily Mirror) The reality is, though, that you
couldn't beat him on the track, so you had to get the team to do it
for you.
FA: If that's your opinion.
Q: (Byron Young - The Daily Mirror) I'm asking you, is that not your opinion?
FA: No.
Q: (Byron Young - The Daily Mirror) He had to give you this win,
didn't he, Fernando?
FA: No.
Q: (Ian Parkes - The Press Association) Fernando, you've said that
you're happy with this win but to be honest, I've never seen a driver
look less happy in the middle of a podium there today, and in the
middle of this press conference here. Why can't you just be honest
with us for once, and just admit that this win was handed to you on a
plate today?
SV: Can I go?
Q: (Ian Parkes - The Press Association) Go Sebastian! Sebastian, give
us your thoughts?
FA: Hopefully the next question is for Sebastian. No, stay, stay. As I
said, I think we were competitive on Friday, I was very competitive on
Friday, first position. Finishing second in qualifying by 12
centimeters, I heard yesterday and today I think we scored the fastest
lap of the race, so overall I don't think I was very slow this
weekend.
Q: (Miran Alisic - Korpmedia) I have a question for Sebastian. I think
you had some not similar but close situations with Mark as well. Do
you feel proud that what has happened at Ferrari today hasn't happened
in your team?
SV: Don't you have another question maybe? Yeah, maybe they should
have crashed. I don't know, I haven't seen the incident. I was too far
back. I always saw them going into the hairpin when I was coming out
of turn five, so I don't know what you're all talking about. I can
guess but I don't know. For sure my advice would not be it's better to
crash because also then you get a lot of questions that you have to
answer so... Yeah, for me I was focusing on my own race and trying to
do my thing, trying to stay close enough, trying to get closer, trying
to put them under pressure. It didn't work, so I'm not pleased with
that. No matter who you race, it's always difficult in Formula One to
pass people and sometimes you have to take a lot of risk. When you
don't have to race your team-mate, you're racing for the team, both of
you, both drivers and on the other hand everyone looks for his own
advantage. We had a couple of situations this year in our team, so
it's quite a comedy that we are not in focus at this stage but life
changes quickly, so… It's never wise to say anything that you might
regret. Maybe in a week's time. I'm happy where we are now, as a team.
Again, I can only repeat that from the outside there was more of a
fuss made than there was inside. I can assure you that Mark and myself
are always looking to do our best but on top of that, I think we
understood many times this year that the team is the main priority and
we are racing for the team, in the end. We don't get our cheque from
you guys, we get it from the team. I think that's something we always
have to respect.
Q: (Ralf Bach - R & B) Felipe, you said it was your decision to let
Fernando past, so my first question is why did you take this decision,
as a racing driver in Formula One, and my second question is do you
have any idea why Rob Smedley said sorry to you? FM: No. (Regarding
your first question) As I said, because I was not so strong on the
hard, so we need to think about the team.
Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Felipe, Rubens damaged his
image a lot in Brazil when he did what you did today. Until now you
had the support of the country; aren't you worried that now after you
did what Rubens did you have deeply damaged your image in Brazil?
FM: For sure not, for sure not. I'm very professional and I've showed
in my career how professional I am. You are professional as well, you
work for a company. I believe you are doing what you have to do, so
I'm professional and today I showed how professional I am. That's it.
Q: (Tony Dodgins - Tony Dodgins Associates) Fernando you're getting
quite a bit of flak but as you say, you've been the quicker Ferrari
driver for most of the weekend. We see it so often that the guy who is
second on the grid gets beaten away by the guy who is third. Is there
ever a case for actually asking to reverse the positions on the grid?
FA: I think there are some circuits where the clean side is an
advantage. There are some circuits where it is not an advantage, for
example in Hungary next weekend, it will be crucial to be on the clean
side. There are other circuits like that. There's nothing we can do.
We have a fifty percent chance of being on the clean or dirty side of
the grid, unless you are the quickest which secures the clean side.
The only thing we can do is to fight for pole position which allows
you to be on the clean side. If not, I don't see any other
possibility. Maybe there should be more distance. Instead of eight
meters, maybe 12 or whatever.
Q: (Tony Dodgins - Tony Dodgins Associates) Take today, if you'd been
able to opt to start third instead of second and actually swap places,
would you have done it?
FA: Maybe I would have done a bad start, you never know. I think it
was a good start today, overtaking Sebastian and that was our target
today. You never know.
Q: (Anne Giuntini - L'Equipe) To both Fernando and Felipe, we always
talk about the show, the necessity of the show in Formula One. Can you
conceive that race lovers and show lovers might be a bit frustrated
today?
FA: Well, I think we try to put on a good show always for people, for
spectators but as Felipe or Sebastian said, we work for companies, we
work for teams. Sometimes, as we saw this year, there are crashes
between team-mates and the loss of 42 points for the team. Today
Ferrari has 42 in their pocket, so I think it's what we are here for.
Q: (Ted Kravitz - BBC Sport) Fernando, after the pit stop, when you
were behind Felipe, we heard a radio message, it wasn't very clear,
but it sounded like you were telling the team guys 'think of the
victory.' Did you say that?
FA: No.
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