Saturday: Ferrari never so close to Red Bull

Fernando Alonso – 3rd:

« I believe this is our best qualifying session of the year in terms of performance. It’s true, in Canada I achieved a better result – second – but I was further from pole than I am today. Moreover, we are on a circuit not really favorable to the characteristics of our car, and being just over a tenth away from the leader is a very positive sign. The new developments we’ve introduced here have worked well, and I think tomorrow we can put a bit more pressure on the drivers starting ahead of us. The team has worked hard, and this step forward is deserved. We’ve also made progress in tire management: from what we were able to see in the few dry laps we managed today, we’re also managing to bring the hard tires up to temperature, whereas in Barcelona, they cost us a lap’s delay mid-race. Tire usage will be very important tomorrow, whether we’re racing in dry or wet conditions, which is always uncertain here. We must be prepared for any eventuality: making a good start will be important, the only truly new element of the track compared to past editions. Am I hoping for rain? No, mainly for the fans who have already been enduring for two days: we hope to provide the many passionate spectators in the stands with a great show. »

Felipe Massa – 4th:

« I would say it was a good session for us: being in third and fourth positions represents a great result, especially if we compare it to some Saturdays at the beginning of the season. In Q3, I didn’t have a good lap, making a few mistakes: I thought I could make up for that with a second attempt but the rain came, and it wasn’t possible. The fourth place is therefore positive, especially since I managed to keep both McLarens behind me. From what we’ve seen, the car seems competitive. Obviously, we don’t have a lot of references, especially concerning the full fuel load and tire performance over distance. It will be a bit like racing blind: we will discover a lot of things only during the race. To what extent has the new interpretation of exhaust gas usage influenced our performance? All cars, including ours, have lost aero grip to varying degrees, but I also believe that our progress compared to others is mainly due to the innovations we have introduced. Otherwise, how is it, that for the first time this year, we managed to make the hard tires work well? »

Stefano Domenicali:

« An encouraging session, especially regarding the performance. Being so close to the pole on a track that seemed tricky for us on paper is a positive sign, and it’s a good starting point to work from for the future, both in the short and long term. I say this because we have worked tremendously over the past few months to make up a significant deficit, and step by step, we have succeeded. We must continue on this path, trying to do even more. As for this weekend, which is very important for us since it’s the sixtieth anniversary of Scuderia Ferrari in Formula One, we must aim for a great race: we are starting from a good position, and from what little we’ve observed over these two days, the new developments we’ve brought here are working well. Usually, our race performance is better compared to qualifying: we hope it will be the same tomorrow… Finally, I want to congratulate Jules for his victory this afternoon in GP2, at the end of a race masterfully led. »