Friday: Ferrari confirms its rise in power
After having a good weekend at Silverstone, the Ferrari drivers needed to confirm the Scuderia's strong form. And that's exactly what happened today with both drivers in the top 4 during the two sessions.
Fernando Alonso – 1st and 2nd
« Just Another Friday. The first impressions of the car are good, confirming that we are working in the right direction. I’ve said it before, what happened at Silverstone is not a miracle caused by the exhaust regulations. This result is due to the improvements introduced race after race, which can be proven, even since Monaco, we have regained a decent level in terms of performance and here too, while we are back to the Valencia rules, we are at the forefront. In theory, the cold should not be an ally: in these conditions, Red Bull is more advantaged but it is up to us to adapt. In addition, the low temperatures can also impact our strategy for qualifying, given that it is not easy to set a good time on the first timed lap. The incident with Michael [Schumacher]? Nothing happened, maybe he didn’t see me coming, and I had to brake suddenly. And then, in a Friday like any other, a bit of excitement is always welcome. »
Felipe Massa – 4th and 4th
« It was a good day: we had a lot of work to do, and we managed to complete it in the 2 sessions without any issues. I would say that we can be reasonably satisfied with our competitiveness, even if it’s too early to say we can fight for big points. The pace on long runs is not bad on both types of tires; there are some differences between the prime and option tires that we need to keep in mind for our race strategy. It’s a bit difficult to set a time immediately from the first lap, even with the softs, but I think everyone has the same issue. I like this circuit; there are ups and downs and lots of direction changes, which makes driving fun. Surely, if on top of that you have a fast car, you enjoy it even more. »
