Monday, May 27, 2013

Monaco GP : Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes



Fernando Alonso: "Unfortunately we did not have a good pace today while normally we have it on Sunday. Yesterday I was not pessimistic because far situations are still improved in the race, but it wasn't the case today without doubt due to a lack of traction, a problem we had in Bahrain.
This race is the conclusion of an overall difficult weekend which began with delicate qualifications in which I found myself in the middle of a group of friends who had nothing to lose.
In the case with Perez, if I did had not cut the chicane then we'd collided, the same thing happened with Sutil.
Turning to Perez, I have nothing to say than he reminds me how I was in 2008 and 2009 because when you are not fighting for the world title you can take more risks so that today it is important for me to finish the races and score maximum points.
In the end I earn a few points on Raikkonen but I lose some on Vettel, but I know that sooner or later I will have the opportunity to come back on him.
Today's result doesn't bother me and in regard to the Canada we know that this will also be a difficult race but it is possible to overtake, we know that we still have much work to do on the car to improve it, we look at the future with confidence."




Felipe Massa: "today my race ended much too soon after an accident at Ste Dévote just as was the case yesterday morning during free practice 3 !
I was in the hospital for precautions controls and hopefully everything is okay, I'm fine. I have just a slight neck pain but nothing serious.
Now I'm going to work to be in shape and return to 100% for the Canada, I want to forget this bad weekend and do well for the rest of the season.

Monaco GP : the race

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Monaco GP : Alonso & Massa Saturday quotes



Fernando Alonso: "Unfortunately, the day did not go as we wanted, even though we did our best, we were not as competitive as during both free sessions last Thursday and I do not think that we can dismiss this on cold temperatures, they are the same for everyone.

There was less grip today and we just struggled with the soft tyres this morning. I think it's simple: we had a little more harm than others to adapt our car to this circuit. We used to go better in the race but is another story here, because it is almost impossible to overtake.

This is a race where anything can happen, we will need to be careful at the start to avoid ending up stuck. Fortunately, the Mercedes are leading, making that my closest rivals are not far from me with Kimi next to me and Vettel one line before. Hope that I overtake them so that they won't escape a little more in the Championship.

I'm sorry for Felipe, the team has done its best but could not allow him to go out in qualifying. I am well aware that starting from the back of the grid can be a difficult race in Monaco but however, I hope that it may well do, and that together, we will bring back as many points as possible at home."



Felipe Massa: "I am really disappointed not being able to take part in the qualifications, this is very frustrating because I had a good feeling with the car during the free practice sessions.

This morning, in the last practice session, I braked on a bump at the upstream of the first corner, and it has unexpectedly blocked the wheels. From there, we know that in Monaco the rails are very close, and at over 200 km/h it is very difficult to save the car. So I typed the rail and finished in the opposite wall. Fortunately I'm fine, I just feel muscle fatigue. However the car was badly damaged and I have to thank my mechanics who have worked very hard for me, so I take part in the qualifications. Unfortunately, there was too much damage and I did not have time to do laps.

Starting at the bottom of the grid is not a good thing, especially in Monaco where it is difficult to pass. But now we must be optimistic and opt for a good strategy, make the right decisions at the right time because we are not in the shelter of a safety car. We will try to get the best out of the car, the race will be long and anything can happen."

Monaco GP : the grid

Friday, May 24, 2013

Monaco GP : Alonso & Massa Thursday quotes



Fernando Alonso: "it's always very nice to come here in Monaco although this is a very difficult track in which we must be getting used to being in such permanently and the races are usually difficult.
I am happy coz we managed to complete the planned programme today and is not always easy with all that can happen and feelings are positive knowing that we have not had a problem, but we have not a clear idea of the forces in presence, but we know our potential.
nobody pushes at 100%, the rails represent a really important danger and it would damage breaking a car during free practices .
With regard to tyres there is never enough time to do a real comparison between the tires and the time results are not surprising, super soft are faster but degrade faster than the soft, so must analyse the data , find the best strategy for the qualifications and for the race."



Felipe Massa: "the weekend starts well and the car has behaved well and I was able to find the right rhythm during the two practice sessions, I end in the top five each time, it is an important result in an appointment if unpredictable is the Monaco Grand Prix.
We remain aware that we must work on the car and we are going to analyse all the data to try to understand choices to make, because it is essential to have a regular car in qualifications and a competitive car in the race.
Mercedes have proved to be very fast and I am sure it will be difficult to beat them in qualifying, but I know that we have the potential for us to beat them ."

Monaco GP : FP2 results

Monaco GP : FP1 results

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

teams technical propositions for 2014

On the sidelines of the Barcelona GP two weeks ago, the teams met in a technical working group to discuss several points that may be found in the 2014 regulation

-it was question of the establishment of a points licence for each driver. Each driver would have 12 points and would have points removed from his licence for each infraction(according to the table below). Once his 12 points are lost, the driver will be excluded during 1 race. Note that the existing penalties would continue to be applied.



-The idea to assign 1 point to the author of the pole position was rejected.

-The Ferrari proposal to reinstate in-season private testing has not been accepted.

- on the other hand, winter testing will start on January 2014 in order to better prepare for the arrival of the new engines. 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Barcelona GP : Fernando Alonso victory pics

Here is a little collage with the best pics of Fernando victory in Spain ! Enjoy

Barcelona GP : Alonso & Massa Sunday quotes


Fernando Alonso: "even if it is the third time that I won a race at home the emotion remains very strong, as if this had never happened. It's nice to be able to give my fans all this pleasure in this country in crisis and whose people have done their possible to come support me here.I thank everyone for his support but also the team who did a fantastic job after difficult skills. Everything went perfectly in the race between the start , the strategy and the pit stops without forgetting the tire management.Initially I had to win seats but halfway on the straight I had no place to do so, so I cut my KERS for use it in the number 3 corner in which I realized after watching the race of GP2 that it was possible to attack from the outside.We had to anticipate my first stop because of a slow puncture, my left rear tire lost pressure in each laps but luckily it had no particular effect on the final result.I think that this car allows us to fight for the Championship because in five races we finished second and scored two victories so we must have consistent results and score as many points as possible because we are aware that we are not the fastest but to change that many people working day and night at Maranello."



Felipe Massa: "I am very pleased with this podium because I had a great race and this result is fantastic for the team especially when you go far enough, but I managed well me out immediately.We had a great pace, and in the first lap I was able to overtake many times through a very fast car with which I could be aggressive while managing my tires.I thought I could fight with Raikkonen but when I put my hard tyres, thought to be the best, I started to lose grip behind the well earlier than expected, but I am very satisfied with our performance on this track.Now we leave for Monaco, a totally different track where overtaking is very difficult. We know that we do not have the fastest car, but we continue to work with a lot of effort to correct this."

Barcelona GP : the race results

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Barcelona GP : Alonso & Massa Saturday quotes



Fernando Alonso: "it is a well-known fact that the afternoon is our weak point and fifth place is more or less what we expected, we were well aware that Red Bull and Mercedes would be very strong, but even if it is true that we must resume points on Vettel, we do not are too afraid of Mercedes which generally has tires degradation more high.
Myself and the team are optimistic for tomorrow because our race pace is good and generally, we are better on Sunday. We start from the clean side of the track and allows us to expect to win places at the start, we need it here. We will also have to defend us from Raikkonen, so far the Lotus seems not too suffer tires.
As usual this season, it will be important to choose the right strategy."



Felipe Massa: "I can not say that I am satisfied with the result, because I was expecting more after the time that I did this morning. Unfortunately, in Q3 I had a slight understeer which cost me time, but all the same, I feel very confident because our car seems competitive. Now, we need to focus on the race , because it will be long and anything can happen.
With regard to the decision of the stewards following what happened with Webber in Q2, it was not my intention to block putting me on his trajectory and in all honesty, I do not remember have disrupted his qualification. When I saw him in the mirror, I thought I had time to take my turn normally before passing. In addition to this, he was in used tires and I do not think that it was a quick lap.
  I am not surprised by the Mercedes pace , they were already strong here in winter testing and their car is always very competitive in qualifying. This result demonstrates once again that Saturday our opponents prefer to adopt a more cautious approach in the morning before revealing their true potential in the afternoon."

Barcelona GP : the grid


Note : Felipe Massa has a 3 grid penalty to have blocked Mark Webber in Q2 , Esteban Gutiérrez has the same penalty to have blocked Kimi Raikkonen in Q2 .



Barcelona GP : Alonso & Massa Friday quotes

Fernando Alonso: "The data are positive because we were fast this morning and this afternoon the car felt well balanced with lots and little fuel . However, it is still too early to draw any conclusions as some Friday seems fine and in the past we have seen how our opponents can spend qualifications. Now we have a lot of data to analyze tonight especially as the rain this morning has forced us to focus almost all of the program expected in the afternoon. Feelings are good but we are aware that this will not be easy, we are sure to fight with the leaders, I think here we have a situation similar to that of Bahrain with Red Bull, Mercedes, Lotus and we even front post as well to see what McLaren and Force India have improved "

Felipe Massa." Today everything went well although In the morning we lost time because of the rain, the tests really began when the track dried and then we finished the program with the session in the afternoon paying attention to the behavior of the car with the two types of tyres . We especially are watching the new hard tires, and the simulation was competitve race car, it makes me very confident and I hope to be a good weekend till the end ."

Barcelona GP : FP2 results

Barcelona GP : FP1 results

The future Thailand GP track

Here is the future track of the Thailand GP :
The race will take place in Bangkok, near the docks of the port royal. The proposed circuit is 5995 metres, just under 6 kilometers, and will go before several tourist landmarks such as the Grand Palais, the Buddhist temple Wat Arun and the victory Monument. Ecclestone and Thailand are considering a race by night, supported by Red Bull, one of whose founders is Thai.