Friday: Ferrari starts well but doesn’t get carried away

Fernando Alonso – 4th and 2nd:

« This year, we’ve seen all the teams experience ups and downs depending on the circuit, except for Red Bull, so we shouldn’t be too surprised if we seem to have done better than in Singapore, for example. Moreover, it’s only Friday. There have been times when the first day was like this and then we couldn’t do better than fifth in qualifying. In reality, I don’t think things are much different from what they were two weeks ago, especially since our cars are essentially the same. »

We hope to be able to fight with the McLaren and Red Bull, but we know it won’t be easy. What we can say is that the feeling is more encouraging than a few races ago. We must also keep in mind that the races have been more open than in the past when the final result did not differ much from the positions on the starting grid. Strategy, tire degradation, and DRS have created more uncertainty and spectacle. For example, I think we’ll see a lot more overtaking here than in previous years.

Felipe Massa – 7th and 5th:

Overall, it was a good day. Compared to other Fridays this year, the first impression is better. The car is behaving well but it is also true that we will not know where we stand compared to others until tomorrow afternoon. We worked hard to determine the best setup, learning important things for the rest of the weekend. Tire degradation seems quite significant, which will make the race more open in terms of strategy: finding the right setup on the car will not be simple. Maybe we can fight to finish on the podium. Obviously, I always want to be able to fight for the victory. It’s true that Red Bull has a significant advantage but we have to keep believing in ourselves because anything can happen in the race.