The heavy storm that hit
the Marina Bay circuit in the early hours of Monday
morning made Ferrari’s job of packing up all the
equipment and cars used in the Singapore Grand Prix even
tougher. All the freight now heads for Suzuka where the
fifteenth round of this long season takes place on 9
October. However, the Scuderia's drivers, engineers and
mechanics are now returning to Europe for just a few
days, before flying off once again, this time to the
Land of the Rising Sun.
Stefano Domenicali is already back in Maranello, having
left the Singapore circuit shortly after the race had
finished. It would not have been an easy trip for the
Scuderia Team Principal, like all the team disappointed
with a performance in which the 150º Italia definitely
did not live up to expectations, with the added
complication that it showed up theoretically unexpected
problems, such as a high level of degradation on the
Supersoft tyres. Analysing the performance will
therefore be a priority for the engineers in the few
days prior to the departure for Japan, because there is
no way the team wants to tackle the Suzuka race and then
the remaining four rounds with the sense it has given
up.There is
still one achievable target in its sights; that of
finishing second in the Drivers’ championship, given
that Fernando and Button are split by just a single
point. Certainly if the relative strengths of the teams
are the same as in Singapore, it will be hard to
succeed, but no one at Maranello is planning to leave
anything to chance. At the same time, the remaining
kilometres of the season will provide a test track for
some solutions and ideas that could be useful for 2012.
There will be some
aerodynamic updates on the cars in Suzuka and other new
elements should be seen in Korea. In the meantime, the
team will be looking to get on top of the reasons why
the step forward expected at Spa, linked to a
particularly aggressive interpretation of the exhaust
system, did not materialise: a new version of the floor
should have been tried out in Friday’s second session in
Singapore, but the shortening of the earlier session and
some technical glitches meant the team has had to
postpone that test until Suzuka.
Despite failing to finish in the podium position he had
fought so hard for during two thirds of the race,
Fernando Alonso left Singapore with a smile on his face.
“When you see that the entire team is doing its utmost
and maybe even more, you can only be satisfied,” he
said. “Obviously, we hoped for better here, but I have
great faith in the work we are doing. We were convinced
we could make a step forward after the summer break, but
it did not turn out that way, while our rivals
progressed even more. That does not mean we cannot be in
the fight in the next few races: it will be tough, but I
can feel the team has a great wish to redeem itself and
to prove its worth. It is this type of attitude which,
last spring, convinced me to extend my contract to the
end of 2016. If I did not believe in the quality and
determination of the people and the potential in terms
of the structure and resources, then I would not have
made that decision. Now we must knuckle down after a
difficult weekend and prepare as well as possible for
the race in Suzuka, one of the greatest tracks on the
whole championship calendar.”
Felipe Massa would also prefer to turn the page and
concentrate on Suzuka, a track where he took an amazing
pole position in 2006, beating at the wheel of the same
car, Michael Schumacher, who still holds the record for
the number of poles at this track. Yesterday, the
Brazilian’s race was ruined by the puncture to the right
rear, which came as a result of being hit by Hamilton’s
front wing, when a place in the top six was within
Felipe’s grasp. “I am very disappointed with the way
things went yesterday: Singapore is definitely not a
lucky place for me, given something always happens to me
here,” said Massa. “As for Hamilton and his behaviour
both off and on the track, I have already told him all I
had to say: I have not changed my opinion by one iota
since yesterday, but I consider the matter to be closed.
Better to think about the next race and about trying to
finish this difficult season in a good way, as well as
preparing as well as possible for the next one.”
