Ferrari go home with zero points
After the troubled race at Valencia, Ferrari again had an extremely unlucky race, even though the car appeared to work well. Fernando Alonso looked set for a third place finish, but a penalty at a very inconvenient time blew all chances of points.
For the first time this season, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro finished a race without scoring a single point. It was clear the two Ferrari men would have a difficult Sunday immediately after the first few corners. Fernando made a bad start and came into contact with Felipe, who sustained slight damage to the front wing, but more importantly, a puncture on the right rear tyre. The Brazilian had to pit, thus dropping to the back of the field. Fernando found himself fifth and for a long time, fought with Rosberg and then after his pit stop, with Kubica. Indeed, his duel with the Polish driver led to the second crucial episode of his race: the Stewards deemed that the Spaniard should give back the position, but by the time the information was given, Kubica was slowing with a problem that would lead to his retirement. Subsequently, Fernando was given a drive-through which, coming at the same time as a Safety Car period, meant he dropped to the back of the group of un-lapped drivers. Two punctures late on, first for Felipe and then Fernando were a further indication that this was a bleak day. It is little consolation that both drivers repeatedly set the fastest race laps in the final stages.
Stefano Domenicali: “We seem to be really cursed at the moment, when everything that could go wrong, does. We are not happy, but we must not feel sorry for ourselves. Instead, we have to react calmly, remaining focussed and continuing to work in the way we did over the past few weeks. We go home with no points, but with the knowledge that we have a potential, in terms of the car, the team and the drivers, that is up to the right level to deal with the situation. We must not allow ourselves to give in to frustration: I am sure that the results and the points that have been lacking for so many reasons recently, will come. Clearly, the championship situation is looking complicated but we remain convinced we can still fight for the title. We will continue to push on the development of the F10, confident in our chances to make up the ground we have lost up until today.”
Felipe Massa: “I don’t know what to do, but I have to find some way of getting rid of the bad luck that is following me around! In the last few races, everything has happened to me. Today my race was soon over, when I touched with Fernando and got a puncture which dropped me to the back of the pack. The car was going well, but that’s not much use if you cannot get a result. The championship is not over after this race, but clearly my situation is compromised: I would need to win a lot of races while others run into the same difficulties that have come my way in recent races. However, we must not give up: we will keep our heads high and continue to push on the development of the car and then see what results come our way.”
Fernando Alonso:
“I made a horrible start – we had some problems with the clutch – and then came the incident with Kubica which further affected my race. I do not wish to comment on the Stewards’ decision. The team acted correctly but the instruction to hand back the position arrived when I had already passed another driver and in the meantime, Kubica was visibly slowing down before retiring. On top of that, the penalty coincided with the Safety Car and so, rather than just losing a couple of positions, I lost around a dozen. Even with my difficult start, I am convinced I could have finished third, but instead I go home with nothing. The championship situation is definitely looking more difficult, but we have only just gone past the halfway point of the season and anything can still happen. The car is better and I was flying when I had a clear track ahead of me: we must continue to work and believe in ourselves.”
Chris Dyer:
“We are very, very disappointed at how this race turned out. Our drivers’ chances were practically over on the opening lap, especially in Felipe’s case, as he had to pit with a puncture. Fernando found himself in traffic and we tried to gain him a few places by bringing him in early for his stop, but the plan did not work. Then there was the incident when Alonso overtook Kubica which was a key moment in our driver’s race, because of the Stewards’ decision: his penalty took away any chance he had of finishing in the points, especially as its arrival coincided with the Safety Car period. We are going through a difficult time, but we must not give up. We have shown that the performance of our car has improved at a track that does not suit it that well. We must continue to work in this direction.”
