Second one-two of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, repeating here in Hockenheim the result obtained in Sakhir, with Fernando Alonso first and Felipe Massa second. This is the Scuderia’s twentieth German Grand Prix victory, as well as being win number 212 from 804 Grands Prix contested. It was Fernando’s twenty third career win, the second at this track, which brings his championship points total to 700 points.

Stefano Domenicali: “First and foremost, I want to congratulate the team on this fantastic result, which is down to all the work undertaken with so much effort, ability and passion by everyone, both at the track and in Maranello, day after day. Already, over the past few races, we have seen that the performance level of our car has improved and finally today, we reaped the rewards. As for the Stewards’ decision, given after the race, in the interests of the sport, we have decided not to go through a procedure of appealing against it, confident that the World Council will know how to evaluate the overall facts correctly. The congratulations mentioned earlier should also extend to our drivers who drove a great race. Both Felipe and Fernando got very good starts, with the Spaniard squeezed in a very decisive fashion by Vettel and the Brazilian making the most of the space that created ahead of him. Then came a long three way fight to the chequered flag, with Felipe very quick on the softer tyres while he struggled a bit on the hards, which meant that Fernando was at first able to close right up on him and then take the lead when his team-mate decided it was best not to create a risky situation, given that right behind them, Vettel was fighting back. The situation in both championships is still complicated, but this result is further motivation for the coming races: we firmly believe in our chances of reaching the targets we had at the start of the season.”

Fernando Alonso: “This is a very important win, which comes on the back of weeks of hard work from the team, who pushed to make up the ground that separates us from our main rivals. Race after race, the improvements applied to the F10 have proved to be effective, thus making the car more competitive. I am very happy, because winning with Ferrari is a very special feeling. At the start I was pushed right up against the wall by Vettel, whose only thought was to close me down, while Felipe made the most of it to go past both of us. Then, I tried to stay close all the time to my team-mate and when he had some difficulties, I got past: I am sure that Felipe was thinking above all of the good of the team and that it was pointless to take risks when we had Vettel catching us up. There is no point in doing the sums for the championship now. We have shown what our package can do in a normal race and we must simply continue to work, trying to always pick up the maximum number of points. As I have always said, the final tally will come in Abu Dhabi.

Felipe Massa: “A driver always wants to win, so I cannot be completely happy with second place. I know that this year, the team has lost too many points in previous races and today it was important to do the maximum. We drivers have to first of all think of the interests of the team and that is what I showed again today. In my opinion this was not a case of team orders: my engineer kept me constantly informed on what was going on behind me, especially when I was struggling a bit on the hard tyres: so I decided to do the best thing for the team, and a one-two finish is the best possible result, isn’t it? I got a great start, the best of the season. At the start, on the soft tyres I was going very quickly but then, with the hards, I was unable to run at an ideal pace. I think today I proved that when everything is in order, I am a winning driver. It would have been nice to stand on a higher step on the podium but all the same, I want to dedicate this result to Fernando Marins, a relation of mine, who passed away at the start of this week.”

Chris Dyer: “A great result for the team. Going home with the maximum number of points after all that has happened in the races immediately leading up to this one is enormously pleasing. This one-two is down to all the people who have done an extraordinary job over the last two months, to improve the performance of our car. I think we now have a very competitive package and we will continue to push as hard as possible on the development of the car to be even stronger in the forthcoming races.”

Hockenheim, 25 July – Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro rebooted its challenge for the title with a commanding one-two finish in today’s 67 lap German Grand Prix. Although it is still third in the Constructors’ Championship, it has closed the gap to second placed Red Bull Racing from 84 to 64 points. Fernando Alonso stood on the top step of the podium for the first time since the opening round in Bahrain, and Felipe Massa finished second, also reprising his position at the Sakhir circuit. Joining them on the podium was the Red Bull of pole man Sebastian Vettel.

When the red lights went out, Fernando edged alongside Vettel and as the German tried to defend his position, Felipe, having started behind him in third place, managed to get the best line into the first corner to go into the lead, followed by his team-mate and Vettel. They were followed by Hamilton, Webber, Button, Kubica, Schumacher, Rosberg, with Kobayashi tenth. The majority of the field had started on the softer tyre, so the one planned pit stop came early on, with Button staying out longest to lead for a while. Fernando changed to the hard tyre on lap 13 and Felipe pitted one lap later. However, the run of pit stops did little to change the order, and the two Ferrari men had a great fight, nearly touching when the Spaniard tried to pass the Brazilian on lap 21, one lap before Button finally pitted to hand the lead back to Felipe. The two Ferrari men traded fastest laps, with the gap fluctuating around the one second mark, with Vettel always in close attendance.

As has often been the case this season, Felipe had been very quick on the soft tyres but was struggling a bit on the hard ones and, clearly faster, Fernando passed his team-mate on lap 45. From then on, the two Ferrari men controlled the pace, even if Vettel was closing on Felipe rapidly, setting the fastest race lap on the very last lap. Helping maintain their lead in both championships, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button came home in fourth and fifth places. The rest of the points places down to tenth went to Webber, Kubica, Rosberg, Schumacher and Petrov. Now the circus moves to Hungary for the next race in just seven days time, where the much improved level of performance of the F10 means that Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro will once again be hoping to challenge for the top places.