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This is definitely not an easy time for
Scuderia Ferrari. In the last three races
(above: Fernando Alonso during Sunday's
British Grand Prix), 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. |
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This is
definitely not an easy time for Scuderia Ferrari. 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.”
Meanwhile, following nearly a fortnight of Ferrari anger
at the result in Valencia which were expressed in a
series of press releases quoting posters on its own
internet forum, the Italian team has again boiled over
again following a second race in succession where the
Safety Car has been perceived by Maranello to have
unfairly influenced its race, and in a statement posted
on its website yesterday it rooted out the opinions of
journalists that wrote sympathetically to how
events unfolded. "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," read the
Ferrari statement. "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," Ferrari's statement continued, "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."
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