Saturday: Ferrari sees the glass half full

Fernando Alonso – 13th and 9th:

« It was a good qualifying because I think we got everything possible out of the car. I had a KERS problem on my only run in Q3, but I don’t think it cost me any positions; however, it would have made the gap between us and pole position look more realistic.

If it should rain, it will take a lot of luck to pinpoint the right moment to change the tires: it doesn’t take much to lose ten seconds or more, and we will need to be completely focused to do everything correctly. A race held in dry conditions will require just as much concentration to maximize the performance of the car and the tires which, on this circuit, degrade significantly.

We must try to bring back points that will be important for the championship. The start and the first corner will be very complicated because there is so much at stake afterwards. We know we have a lot of work to do, especially on the car’s aerodynamics. Here, the performance is a bit better than in Australia, which shows we are working in the right direction, but obviously we need to make giant strides if we want to fight at the front.

There is nothing true about a new car planned for Barcelona. Clearly, we are preparing a lot of developments for the car, as we should, but there won’t be any revolutionary change. For the moment, this car has many problems, but consequently, it also has a large margin for improvement.

Felipe Massa – 18th and 12th:

« Clearly, I can’t be satisfied with twelfth place, but we know that, at the moment, we don’t have a competitive car: reaching Q3 was very difficult and today I could only get closer to that goal.

Yesterday and today, in free practice, I wasn’t satisfied with the car’s balance, but we managed to improve that for the qualifying, which leaves me confident for the race and the future. I think we are starting to have a better understanding of how this F2012 works, and that’s a positive.

Tomorrow, the race will be tough, tire degradation will be felt, and there’s also the threat of rain. I hope I can achieve a better result than this twelfth place.

The pressure comes from my own desire to do my best, and when I can’t, I’m the first to be dissatisfied.

Stefano Domenicali – Team Principal:

We should see the glass as half full. We know we are in trouble at the start of the season, therefore we must aim to limit the damage on the track while trying to make the F2012 more competitive as quickly as possible. We all, along with our fans, would like to see our drivers continuously fight at the front for pole position, but if we don’t have the potential, then we must do the best we can.

Once again today, Fernando did a great job, and it’s a shame that he had a KERS issue, the first in a long time, which prevented him from setting a better time on the track. Felipe took a step in the right direction: finally, the car he had in qualifying was reasonably well balanced, and that was reflected in his lap times.

Now, we need to focus on the race and try to bring home as many points as we can. We saw in Melbourne that over long distances, the difference with those ahead is less marked than in qualifying. Let’s wait for tomorrow to see how it goes, in a race that will be tough for the mechanics, the drivers, and the teams who have to operate in rather unique conditions.