Sunday: Alonso and Ferrari Regret Nothing
It was a matter of a few laps for Fernando Alonso and Ferrari to secure a third victory this season, but the Spaniard, whose F2012 was less comfortable on the Soft tires, couldn't hold off Mark Webber. The championship leader has no regrets, however, as Felipe Massa is pleased to have fought for the podium and contributed to Scuderia now being able to take second place in the constructors' standings.
Fernando Alonso – 2nd:
« When you lead almost the entire race and then get overtaken just a few laps from the finish, it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. But after some reflection and looking at the standings, the outcomes of this Grand Prix seem very positive. We have continued to work in the right direction: four podiums in the last five races and the fifth [in Canada] slipping away a few laps from the end. It’s a good series of results that allow me to lead the championship.
This is an important moment in the season: it’s not where you can win the championship, but everyone can start losing it here and we’re delighted to have increased our lead over most of our rivals [editor’s note, except for Mark Webber]. We must continue this way for the next two races, trying to always be on the podium. Then, we need to work a lot on our top speed, especially approaching circuits like Spa or Monza.
We started the race with [Hard] tires that suited us best, aiming to create the largest gap possible from those following us, and then try to control the situation in the final stint. We succeeded against everyone except one of our opponents, which was actually quite predictable. In Valencia, we won when Red Bull seemed unbeatable, and here we fought with them until the end. If you had told me on Thursday that I would leave with 18 points, I would have signed immediately.
However, the championship is still very open: Red Bull is very strong, but we certainly cannot rule out McLaren because they really had a bad weekend here, and in addition to that, the Lotus cars are still very fast. There is a lot to do, but as we have said several times, we are on the right track.
Felipe Massa – 4th:
« It was a good race, and I am delighted to have finally brought home a good result for myself and the team. Race after race, the situation has improved, and now we are able to fight for the podium: it could have happened here, but it could also have been possible in Montreal and Valencia, which means today’s performance is not just a stroke of luck.
It wasn’t easy to make the right tire choice at the start because we didn’t have much data available: Fernando and I took different paths but I don’t think we have much to complain about. I had a good start and then there was a long tight duel with Michael [Schumacher], and I lost time behind him: Vettel took advantage of this and managed to overtake me in the pits.
Then, my pace was quite similar to that of the Red Bulls, so I couldn’t get close enough to think about attacking. In the last stint, I mainly focused on defending my position against Kimi [Räikkönen] who was catching up very quickly: maybe if there had been a few more laps, he would have managed to overtake me.
We must continue to push as we have done in recent months and then I am sure the results will follow. Is it enough to keep my place at Ferrari? I don’t see what would prevent it if, as I said, the results follow.
