Grand Prix of Great Britain 2010 – Post Race
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British GP - A great desire to react Maranello, 12 July – This is definitely not an easy time for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. In the last three races, the F10 has demonstrated an increased level of competitiveness, even on tracks which, in the past had not been particularly favourable for the cars from Maranello. However, the amount of points scored in that same period is way below expectation, given the available technical package. From Montreal to Silverstone, Fernando Alonso has only scraped together 19 points, while Felipe Massa score sheet is completely blank. Obviously, the situation in the championship has become much more complicated, nevertheless, there is not a single person in Maranello who wants to give up, far from it in fact, as was confirmed at this morning’s usual post race debrief.
The meeting began with a technical analysis of the Silverstone weekend – on the plus side, the steps forward in terms of performance thanks to the updates introduced in Valencia and Silverstone, and on the minus side the problems Fernando encountered at the start and the fact Felipe struggling a bit to get the most out of the tyres in qualifying. However, the main theme of the meeting was the desire to react after all the difficulties of the weekend and it fell to Stefano Domenicali to express it first, as he repeated the thrust of his argument already delivered to the team at the track yesterday afternoon: “We are angry that we did not get the results which we were capable of delivering, but this anger must be turned into a positive force. We must remain rational, we must not let ourselves be discouraged nor frustrated. Even in the cold light of day, I don’t want to comment on certain incidents, because I do not want my words to be seen as some sort of excuse. We just have to knuckle down and continue with the development of the car, working calmly, with great concentration and determination. Then, the results will come.” Luca di Montezemolo also spoke at the meeting: “I have nothing to add here about what happened yesterday at the track, to what Domenicali has already said. There is no point in crying about it and I want the team to tackle the second half of the season in a positive manner. We have gone through much worse moments than this and we have come through them, but clearly we can no longer afford to lose opportunities, which for various reasons, have escaped us in the last two races, even though we had a competitive car. As things stand today, qualifying and the start have become the decisive moments, so we must improve in these areas if we want to win. I expect everyone will give 100% to bring home points quickly to make up for those we have lost to date. All of us, myself, Domenicali, the engineers, mechanics and drivers, know what everyone, especially our fans expect.” |
British GP – An eye on the papers and what the fans have to say Maranello, 12 July – The day after the British Grand Prix, many of the most famous national and international papers have focussed on the fact that in the fastest sport in the world, decision are taken slowly. In Italy’s “La Gazzetta dello Sport” the pen of Umberto Zapelloni hones in on the argument, speaking of a “Formula Lullaby”: “One could be led to believe that the sporting authority travels at two speeds, but always penalises in one direction... Certainly the rules are respected, but there remains the suspicion that too often, when it concerns a grey area in the rules, those rules are dealt with according to who is to be penalised.” “Il Giornale” speaks of a race director and stewards who are legitimised to do what they want: “The drive-through connected to Kubica, who had already retired and after Ferrari had repeatedly asked what it should do, is either a joke or a matter of great suspicion.” Among the Spanish press, “Marca” talks of the bits of wing left on the track for two laps before the Safety Car was called out: “People wishing to think the worst could imagine that Fernando’s penalty was delayed until it would do as much damage as possible,” while “AS” underlines the delay in instructing the driver to give back the position to the other driver: “It is clear that the penalty handed out later was disproportionate and unjust.” In the English press, “The Independent” highlights the coincidence of the drive-through being handed out at the same time as the Safety Car period, while “The Guardian” talks of a penalty that was “probably too harsh.”
We have quoted various Italian and international papers, but the general opinion is more or less unanimous. Having said that, for the record, there are some who preferred to concentrate solely on criticism of the Maranello team and its drivers. The same is true for the tifosi and those who are just fans of Formula 1: the overwhelming majority share, in more or less the same tone, the opinions stated above, while a very small minority put forward the opposite view. Furthermore, the most committed Ferrari fans, those who subscribe to the on-line community on our site, will be able to put all their questions to none other than Fernando Alonso, who will be hosting his own video chat, this afternoon at 17h00. |
Fernando shows grit on a rather special Sunday Maranello, 12 July – Sunday just gone will hold rather special memories for Fernando Alonso. There is of course some bitterness about the outcome of the British Grand Prix, which is only partly appeased by the delight of seeing Spain win the football World Cup final, with the miracles performed by Casillas the keeper and Iniesta’s goal coming just minutes from the end of extra time. This was met with cheers in the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro motorhome, which exceptionally had been kept open last night so that a group of Spanish journalists, with one representative of the Dutch media and a few neutral spectators could join Fernando himself to watch the match. Draped with a Spanish flag, our driver rejoiced at this historic win for his country. There is a small coincidence, linking Fernado still more to Italy, as it was on the same date, July 11th, twenty eight years ago that Italy’s Azzurri lifted the World Cup for a third time, on that occasion beating West Germany in Spain’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid.
However, the excitement of the final has in no way distracted Fernando’s concentration on the target that he and his team are absolutely determined to reach, despite the difficulties of the last few weeks. It is a time to stay united, to react with grit and determination and our driver made that very clear to all the team on his slowing down lap after taking the chequered flag. “OK guys, keep your heads up, heads up. We will win the championship,” said Fernando over the radio. “We are only halfway through the season and there is plenty of time to recover. We have a great car and we proved that to everyone this weekend and confirmed it with this fastest race lap. It is only the first half and we know we have to do better in the second one and we will do exactly that. Well done all of you for this weekend: whatever the result, we have done a good job. Come on! There’s plenty of time to catch up.” Then came the reply from his race engineer, Andrea Stella, who certainly summed up the feelings of the whole team: “Don’t worry, no one is giving up. We are all behind you, we want the same thing and we will fight right to the end to get it.” Grit, determination and the will to win: three things that are definitely not in short supply in Maranello. |