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Scuderia Ferrari’s assault on pole position
was wiped out in a most awkward fashion at
Monza this afternoon. Having been fastest in
both Q1 and Q2, Fernando Alonso was unable
to defend his chances in Q3 because of a
problem with the rear anti-roll bar on his
car, ending the session tenth. |
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At today’s
signing ceremony for the extension of the
agreement between Ferrari and Santander,
which now runs at least until the end of the
2017 season, the respective presidents, Luca
di Montezemolo and Emilio Botin revealed a
new rear wing livery which Scuderia Ferrari
will use at the forthcoming Singapore Grand
Prix. Over the weekend of 21 to 23
September, the back of the wings will carry
the motto “World’s Best Bank” in recognition
of Santander being honoured with this title
by the financial magazine, Euromoney. |
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Scuderia
Ferrari’s assault on pole position was wiped out in a
most awkward fashion at Monza this afternoon. Having
been fastest in both Q1 and Q2, Fernando Alonso was
unable to defend his chances in Q3 because of a problem
with the rear anti-roll bar on his car, ending the
session tenth. Proof that the F2012 is in fine form came
from a great third place for Felipe Massa, for whom this
is the best qualifying result since Canada 2011.
Stefano Domenicali: “What happened to
Fernando this afternoon is a real shame, because today
we could have gifted pole position to the fantastic
Monza crowd. Felipe drove a great qualifying and we are
very happy that he is finally back fighting for the top
places on Saturday too. All the signs were there for a
nice afternoon, but if you don’t have 100% reliability,
then you pay a high price and today that was confirmed
yet again. First of all, we need to understand what
happened to the back end of Fernando’s car, but above
all, we must immediately put behind us the
disappointment we are feeling right now and prepare as
well as possible for a race that looks like being very
tough, from every perspective. 53 laps of Monza is a lot
and everything can still happen. I remain convinced that
we can still bring home a strong result in terms of the
two championships, but clearly, if everything had gone
smoothly today, we would have a much stronger chance.”
Fernando Alonso: “I think I could have
got pole today, but instead I find myself tenth. A real
shame, because the car was very strong, but these things
happen. It’s maybe fifteen years that something like
this has happened, but it has and there’s no point in
crying over it. The problem will be fixed for tomorrow,
but of course this result changes everything as far as
the race is concerned: we had the chance to increase our
lead over our closest rivals, but now, it’s likely that
at least some of them will make up ground on me. I don’t
think the failures we’ve had over the past couple of
days can be linked to a speeding up of the development
on the car, because they have not involved components on
which we are pushing to extremes. Tomorrow, we will try
and pick up as many points as possible, maybe getting
ahead of some of my direct competitors. We have to
accept that problems like these can occur even if, when
it does happen, the first reaction is disappointment.
Having said that, it’s a case of better Saturday than
Sunday, because then, you have no chance of remedying
the situation! Risks starting in the middle of the pack?
Given how the points table looks, it’s more a case of
the others having to worry about coming away with
another no score…”
Felipe Massa: “I am very happy with
this qualifying, the best in a long time for me. This is
a very important race for Ferrari and I will do my best
to get a good result. I feel sorry for Fernando, as he
had been very strong all weekend: we both have a good
car and I’m sure that tomorrow we will be able to bring
home a good points haul for the championship. We have a
chance of beating McLaren, even if they are very strong.
For me, getting back on the podium, here in front of our
fans, would be wonderful! It’s my second home race and
racing here is always a fantastic feeling. We tried to
make as much use as possible of the slipstream, which
requires a lot of concentration, but it’s true that in
the end, I got my best time when I had no one in front
of me.”
Pat Fry: “We are very disappointed with
what happened to Fernando’s car this afternoon. A
problem with the rear anti-roll bar was spotted at the
start of Q3 and cost the Spaniard dear, as he never
really managed to put together a proper timed lap. A
shame, because Felipe’s third place, a few tenths off
pole, showed that we had all the potential to aspire to
a great result in front of our home crowd: the Brazilian
drove an excellent qualifying and deserves this result.
We need to look into exactly what happened, but clearly,
problems like these cannot occur if one wants to fight
for the targets we have set ourselves. Fernando will
face an uphill battle tomorrow, while Felipe will be
able to exploit his grid position to go on the attack.
Tyre performance will, as usual, be very important,
especially as at this track the best strategy seems
pretty clear. Obviously the priority is reliability and
this weekend, we have already paid a high price on that
front and we cannot afford to have further problems.”
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