Grand Prix of Brazil 2011
Grand Prix of Brazil 2011 – Qualifying
Brazilian GP - From Melbourne to Sao Paolo the circle is completed.
Alonso fifth and Massa seventh in qualifying at Interlagos
Source: Ferrari
For Scuderia Ferrari, the result of the final qualifying session of the 2011 season ended in almost identical fashion to the very first one: in Melbourne’s Albert Park, Fernando Alonso qualified fifth and Felipe Massa was eighth, while this afternoon in Interlagos, the Spaniard again recorded the qualifying position he has started from most often this year, nine times in total, while the Brazilian went one better than back then, which will see him start from the clean side of the grid. Tyre useage through the session was as follows: Fernando used two sets of Medium tyres in Q1, one of Soft in Q2 and two Soft in Q3, all of them new. After a first run on Medium in Q1, Felipe went out as a precautionary measure on a set of Softs, which he then used again for his first run in Q2. Here he had to make use of a second set, thus finding himself with just one set of new tyres for Q3, which led to him opting for just a single timed lap.
Stefano Domenicali: “If the numbers and the equation are always the same, there is no reason for them to deliver a different sum! We ended development on this car several months ago and everything we are doing now is aimed at next year. In the meantime, we are trying to squeeze out the maximum from what we have got, in order to finish this season in the best way we can. The outcome of that therefore is that today it was difficult to expect anything more than a fifth place, don’t you think? Fernando gave it his all on his final lap, getting very close to the McLarens. Felipe probably paid the price for having only one set of new tyres left to run in Q3: if he’d had one more, he would have also managed to make it onto the third row. We go into this final race of a very long championship in the same way in which we have tackled the others: with concentration and determination aimed at getting the best possible result. The weather forecast for tomorrow is for a high chance of rain: in that case, anything can happen and it will be crucial to react properly to any eventualities that might arise.”
Fernando Alonso: “My subscription to fifth place has been extended for one more Saturday! This time however, getting to my classic starting place on the grid was a bit more of a struggle than usual. We are not very pleased with the balance of the car and we were expecting a very competitive Mercedes. However, in Q3, we got much closer to the McLarens than we could have expected, while the first of the Mercedes was left a few tenths back. What this means is that we managed to get a little bit more out of it than our potential would indicate. I certainly can’t say the way qualifying went was much of a surprise. If it really rains tomorrow, it will be a very exciting and open race: no one really knows how competitive they can be in the wet and then it requires next to nothing – one lap more or less out on track at a time when the conditions change – to turn around a situation that looks set in stone. It’s true that for us, the problem of getting the tyres up to temperature are more acute in the wet, but then it’s equally true that when the track does dry, we are quicker than our rivals: the various stages of the race at Silverstone demonstrated this to be the case. If however, we were to race in the dry, then maybe there will be a lot of stops because today the tyres seemed to degrade more than yesterday. The perfect recipe for the last race of the year? The four in front of us stop and me and Felipe are ahead of the rest!”
Felipe Massa: “I was expecting more from this final qualifying of the year and I definitely cannot be happy with this seventh place. Unfortunately, we were unable to find the right balance throughout the weekend. In some corners I was locking up the front and in the slower ones I suffered with understeer, in others I lacked traction: all in all, the car was rather difficult to drive. On top of that, it was a rather complicated day. I had to use two sets of Softs in Q2 and I paid for that in Q3, as I could only do one run. Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain so the situation could change. It’s difficult to make predictions on the relative strengths: this year in the wet, sometimes we have seen a very strong Red Bull, other times McLaren have been very quick, but it’s also true that anything can happen in these conditions. The important thing is to be prepared for all situations. For me, it’s always a fantastic feeling racing at this track, in front of my amazing home crowd: I will try my all to do well and to finally make it onto the podium at the end of such a difficult year. It would be a nice way to end my tenth season in Formula 1 and to celebrate in a worthy manner my hundredth race with Scuderia Ferrari.”
Pat Fry: “Honestly, there’s nothing much new to say at the end of the final qualifying session of 2011. We are aware we have the third best car in the pack: the consequence of this is that, if nothing strange happens, then fifth place is the most logical result. Then, taking into account that we did not manage to find a perfect balance on the two cars and that here we have seen a Mercedes very much on the ball, we must look at this result as a glass that’s half full, considering the gaps to Fernando of those directly ahead and behind him in the classification. Felipe had to use an additional set of softs in Q2, which definitely penalised him in Q3. Given the weather forecast, we can expect an eventful race. However, if it is run in the dry, then it will be interesting to see how the tyres behave, considering that the track conditions seem to change significantly even when there is not much of a big change in temperature. Our aim will be the same as ever: to fight for a place on the podium, while trying to help Fernando to reach second place in the Drivers’ Championship.”
Qualifying session |
Q1 |
FA |
9th |
1.13.969 |
11 |
FM |
13th |
1.14.269 |
7 |
Q2 |
FA |
6th |
1.12.870 |
5 |
FM |
8th |
1.13.291 |
8 |
Q3 |
FA |
5th |
1.12.591 |
6 |
FM |
7th |
1.13.068 |
3 |
Weather: air 27/26 °C, track 37/35 °C; sunny then cloudy. Chassis: Alonso 291, Massa 290 |
A tale of a hundred Grands Prix
Source: Ferrari
Interlagos, 26 November – When it is the moment to celebrate a special event, it is nice to be given presents and to share the moment with one’s nearest and dearest. That’s exactly what happened today for Felipe Massa, who has been part of the Ferrari family in Formula 1 for ten years and for whom tomorrow’s Brazilian Grand Prix will be his one hundredth F1 race at the wheel of a Prancing Horse car. For this double celebration there was quite a gathering for the obligatory cake cutting ceremony, including his family, his closest friends and the entire team, who presented him with a piece of bodywork off the 150° Italia covered in everyone’s autographs. Alongside Felipe for this unforgettable moment captured by the photographers was team-mate Fernando Alonso and Team Principal Stefano Domenicali, as well as old friends and colleagues including Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, and Peter Sauber the team boss who gave Felipe his first Formula 1 drive. |
Brazilian GP - Predictable qualifying. Unpredictable race?
Source: Ferrari
Interlagos, 26 November – For fans of Grand Prix who have no particular loyalty to a team or driver, it has to be said that the 2011 Formula 1 season has delivered plenty of excitement on Sunday afternoons, even if one team has dominated the standings and won both titles. However, a look at the results sheet or the times from qualifying throughout the year would lead anyone not watching the action to assume it had been a dull affair.
The Brazilian GP Qualifying sheet is no exception to that rule, with the Red Bull’s monopolising the front row, Vettel taking yet another pole ahead of team-mate Webber. Row 2 features the silver cars of this year’s silver medal team, the McLarens lining up with Button third and Hamilton fourth. And so, tomorrow, it will be pretty much a reflex action for Fernando Alonso to steer his 150º Italia onto the fifth spot of the grid. Mercedes seem to have found some extra speed and so Rosberg lines up next to the Spanish Ferrari driver, leaving Felipe Massa to get the benefit of the clean side of the track, seventh on the grid for his home race, which he has won twice before. Tomorrow, the partisan but knowledgeable Paulista crowd will know that making it a hat trick is unlikely and will simply expect Felipe to do his best: no doubt about that as he brings the curtain down on his first decade in Formula 1 at his one hundredth race for the Prancing Horse.
If this year’s racing has been exciting, it is also true that whenever it has rained in 2011, it has added to the spectacle and Interlagos is no stranger to chaotic wet races. The forecast leads us to expect a downpour for tomorrow, but the Scuderia crew will have prepared for every eventuality, as they get ready for the final curtain call of the season. |
Brazilian GP - Fry: “next year we need to give our drivers a better car”
Source: Ferrari
Interlagos, 26 November – As darkness and a few spots of rain settled on the Interlagos circuit, the Scuderia’s technical director, Pat Fry took a break from his work to talk to the media in the Ferrari hospitality area. As a difficult season comes to a close, the most pressing question was what Fry and his team were doing to ensure next year is much better. “I think we have learned a lot from this year and I have had to learn how the team works once I joined it,” began the Englishman. “Within our team, there are certain things that work very well and others that have not. At the moment we are trying to concentrate on those areas that need improving. We have made some changes in the aerodynamic department and I feel that has been successful as the work we are doing is more creative than before. Now we must see if we can deliver the goods, but as always we will not know exactly how successful we have been until the cars roll out in Melbourne next year.”
Fry feels that creating the right working environment is one of the key elements to a successful future: “It has been important to create a working environment where people feel prepared to take more risks without worrying about what the fallout would be if something they try goes wrong,” he explained . “For an F1 car to be quick, everything in design terms has to be on the edge and if you are too conservative, you end up with a package that is slow. So you must push to the limit and there will be times when we go over it. But people should not be afraid of that. We have to be sensible and take risks where there is a big benefit in lap time performance but not take silly risks.
“I think we are always going to be looking for new elements in terms of restructuring, even if I am quite happy with the way most of the organisation is working and responding. There are still some small areas that need sorting out and we will be doing that in the future. What I admire everyone for at Ferrari is their work ethic and just how hard they work. Now we need to get everyone working together as one: if we can do that, we should be in good shape. As far as the new car is concerned, hopefully everything is in place to deliver a car for the first winter test and then be in a position to upgrade it for the third test. We need to provide both drivers with a better car for 2012.” .
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Brazilian GP - Another fifth place for Fernando. Felipe is seventh in final qualifying of the year
Source: Ferrari
Interlagos, 26 November – If the material stays the same so too does the result and once again, today’s final qualifying of the season reflects the hierarchy among the teams: two Red Bulls out in front, then two McLarens and right behind them Ferrari and Fernando Alonso once again using his season ticket for fifth place on the grid. The only novelty was the arrival of Rosberg, ahead of Felipe by a whisker. At least it means the Brazilian will start his one hundredth Grand Prix for Ferrari from the clean side of the track. Pole went to Vettel in 1.11.918. Fernando’s best time was a 1.12.591 and Felipe stopped the clocks in 1.13.068.
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Brazilian GP - Sun and traffic in final free practice
Source: Ferrari
Interlagos, 26 November – Sebastian Vettel was fastest at the end of the third and final free practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix, the final round of the Formula 1 World Championship held at the Interlagos circuit. The Red Bull driver lapped in 1.12.460 to beat the McLaren of Jenson Button (1.12.547) and the other Red Bull of Mark Webber (1.12.597.) Fernando Alonso was quickest of the two Ferraris, fifth in a time of 1.12.765, while the other 150º Italia of Felipe Massa is only tenth in 1.13.583, having been delayed by traffic on his first run on Soft tyres. Both Ferrari men did two runs and some practice starts at the end of a session they started on Medium tyres. Most of the hour was given over to preparing for the final qualifying of the season, which starts at 14h00.
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Grand Prix of Brazil 2011 - Official FIA Communication
Source: FIA
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