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Alonso: Fifth in qualifying is best Ferrari can do
Source: Agencies |
April 17, 2011, Sunday
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THE good news for Ferrari from yesterday's qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix is that things aren't getting any worse.
The bad news is that the team isn't getting much better, either.
Fernando Alonso qualified in fifth position for today's, as he did in the first two grands prix of the season, while his teammate Felipe Massa was just behind him in sixth. Alonso, the two-time world champion from Spain, was 1.4 seconds off the pace set by pole sitter Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull.
"Fifth and sixth at the moment is the maximum we can do with what we have in hand," Alonso said. "We already knew all about Red Bull and McLaren, but here we saw an improvement from Mercedes, so the situation is even more difficult.
"The main thing for us is to improve the car and the expectation for tomorrow is to have a clean race with no problems at the start, no problems in the pit stop, choosing a good strategy and scoring as many points as possible. We need the points."
Ferrari has struggled to live up to expectations at the start of the new Formula One season, failing to get a podium finish in Australia and Malaysia when many had expected the team to be up with Red Bull and McLaren again.
Following last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, team principal Stefano Domenicali and technical director Alda Costa flew back to Italy to discuss the team's ills. Given the distance of the travel, and the short seven-day break between races, the return had prompted suggestions of crisis talks at Ferrari headquarters.
"It was not an emergency going back to Maranello," Costa said. "Being with a good awareness where we are at this moment in terms of performance, people are really, really pushing to catch up."
He said the team had not expected much improvement in China but was aiming for a leap forward in the European section of the season.
"It's happened from time to time that developments are not bringing the expected performance," Costa said. "We think that by Turkey we should be able to answer all our questions."
Massa downplayed expectations of a sudden turnaround heading into Sunday's race.
"We're working very hard," he said. "For sure, we're not (going) in the direction we want. The podium is exactly what I want to try (for) but it is not very easy to achieve looking at the gap with the cars in front."
The bad news is that the team isn't getting much better, either.
Fernando Alonso qualified in fifth position for today's, as he did in the first two grands prix of the season, while his teammate Felipe Massa was just behind him in sixth. Alonso, the two-time world champion from Spain, was 1.4 seconds off the pace set by pole sitter Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull.
"Fifth and sixth at the moment is the maximum we can do with what we have in hand," Alonso said. "We already knew all about Red Bull and McLaren, but here we saw an improvement from Mercedes, so the situation is even more difficult.
"The main thing for us is to improve the car and the expectation for tomorrow is to have a clean race with no problems at the start, no problems in the pit stop, choosing a good strategy and scoring as many points as possible. We need the points."
Ferrari has struggled to live up to expectations at the start of the new Formula One season, failing to get a podium finish in Australia and Malaysia when many had expected the team to be up with Red Bull and McLaren again.
Following last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, team principal Stefano Domenicali and technical director Alda Costa flew back to Italy to discuss the team's ills. Given the distance of the travel, and the short seven-day break between races, the return had prompted suggestions of crisis talks at Ferrari headquarters.
"It was not an emergency going back to Maranello," Costa said. "Being with a good awareness where we are at this moment in terms of performance, people are really, really pushing to catch up."
He said the team had not expected much improvement in China but was aiming for a leap forward in the European section of the season.
"It's happened from time to time that developments are not bringing the expected performance," Costa said. "We think that by Turkey we should be able to answer all our questions."
Massa downplayed expectations of a sudden turnaround heading into Sunday's race.
"We're working very hard," he said. "For sure, we're not (going) in the direction we want. The podium is exactly what I want to try (for) but it is not very easy to achieve looking at the gap with the cars in front."
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