Scuderia Ferrari's winter
testing programme ended in torrential rain yesterday.
The weather at the Catalunya Circuit was atrocious from
the early hours of the morning and stayed that way into
the early afternoon, so that the team decided to bring
proceedings to an end around two hours ahead of the
chequered flag.
Up to that point, Fernando Alonso had only managed five
incomplete laps, their only purpose to do some practice
some starts in the wet and to check out the way the car
behaved in these extreme conditions. Therefore Fernando
Alonso’s kilometre total remained unchanged from the
lunch break, so just five “out-in” laps accumulated
laboriously between 10 and 11 yesterday morning.
"The conditions meant you could not lap in a way in
which you could learn anything useful," commented the
Spaniard at the end of Saturday. "If we had found
ourselves in this situation in a race weekend, there
would definitely have been a red flag. Even with a day
like this, I am pleased with how the winter testing has
gone. On average, we have done around a hundred laps
each day, which demonstrates we have the reliability
which is a priority when you are dealing with a new car:
we are the team that has completed the greatest distance
of all. However, we still need to see how the tyres will
perform in higher temperatures, which we might encounter
in Australia and even more likely in Malaysia.
"In November, at the Abu
Dhabi test, the situation was a bit different to these
tests in Spain, but we will have to wait for a race to
find out more. What is certain is that we will not see
races like those of 2010, in which strategy was obvious
right from the start of the weekend. This year, a lot of
attention will go into deciding if it is best to do two,
three or four stops, being flexible and ready to manage
any situation. Maybe sometimes it will be better to do a
few less laps in each stint and make the most of the
tyres at the point when they are at their best, or
looking at doing one less stop: it will depend on the
track and how the race evolves. [On Friday] we did a
good simulation, alternating between two types of tyres
at each of the four stops: we will see what happens in
Melbourne."
Alonso praised the
work of the team at these tests: "Overall, I think we
will arrive in Melbourne in a hundred percent state of
readiness, but whether or not that will be enough to
win, we will not know until we are there in Australia. I
feel confident, just as I did last year going into the
start of the season. We are in good shape, even if we
know we are not racing alone out there. We want to win,
but that does not mean that if it did not happen, it
would be a disaster: sport cannot be just a question of
victory or defeat. If we win it will be fantastic, but
if we don’t then we will try again the following year,
as Ferrari has always done. One thing’s for sure, we
will have to push on the development, like we did last
year. For example, at Albert Park, I hope we will manage
to bring a few updates, especially to the front wing,
which can still give us a fraction more in performance
terms."
At Wrooom, Alonso had said he reckoned Michael
Schumacher would be one of his strongest rivals and that
statement had met with a degree of surprise from the
media. Friday's performance from the former Ferrari
driver, now with Mercedes had made that prophecy look
more credible in the eyes of many and obviously Alonso
was asked if he had been surprised. “To be honest, I did
not think of what I had said at Madonna di Campiglio! I
think Mercedes has shown it has made a good step forward
compared to the start of the tests and can be one of the
favourites for Melbourne. It’s normal that, with a quick
car, Michael should immediately be competitive. It’s not
a surprise because I still think there’s a significant
group made of Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, Renault and
maybe Williams, who along with us, can aspire to victory
in the first few races. Then, we will have a more
realistic picture of the situation and a smaller group
of teams who will fight it out for the championship and
we hope to be part of it. I don’t think it makes much
difference to us to be ahead of or behind the Red Bull,
who are maybe the favourites, in terms of the work we
have to do: to catch up you have to multiply your
efforts to do it in a hurry and if you have the upper
hand, then you work just as hard to maintain it. That is
the way it is in Formula 1. The aim is always to have
the quickest car in the pack. Other elements can play a
key part at certain moments, but in the long term, the
one with the quickest package wins.”
Test details
(11/03/2011); Circuit: Circuit de Catalunya – 4.655 km
Driver: Fernando Alonso Car: Ferrari
150° Italia Weather: air temperature 12/13°C, track
temperature 12/13 °C. Heavy rain all day.
F1 Test Times,
Barcelona - Saturday:
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:43.814, 35 laps
2. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:44.333, 23 laps
3. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:44.560, 33 laps
4. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, no time, 5 laps
5. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, no time, 5 laps
