We look particularly strong on the soft tyre - Rivola
In light of the increased pressure on Ferrari due to Alonso's lead in the championship being cut down to a mere 4 points since Suzuka, Ferrari's Sporting Director Massimo Rivola had a meeting with the media to shed his light on what comes next for the scuderia.
“The approach has not changed just because the championship situation has become much closer after the result in Suzuka last Sunday,” maintained Massimo Rivola. “We are still pushing to the maximum on development of the car back in the factory. We don’t have to overreact or panic, because the car is still competitive. If Fernando had not been involved in two crashes that were out of our control, then the championship situation would be very different now.”
Predictions for this weekend are difficult to make, especially on a track that is constantly changing as the grip levels increase. However, Rivola felt that the F2012 could be competitive over the next two days, certainly when it comes to getting the most out of the tyres. “Today went well and our race pace seems pretty strong on both the Soft and the Supersoft tyre,” he revealed. “But we have to remember that tyre degradation and even blistering can be a problem here. However, it’s the same situation for everybody and we look particularly competitive on the Soft.” Rivola was clearly also encouraged by Massa’s strong run to second in Japan. “We are very happy to see Felipe doing well again, as this will be a help for both championships and we know he can now be in a position to help Fernando if that is needed in the closing part of the season.”
As Sporting Director, Rivola’s role is not just restricted to on-track activity and he has to have an overview of all the team’s operation including moving freight from one race to the next. One interesting, not to saying challenging issue which could face all teams is the rigorous regulations for bringing equipment into India, venue for the next round of the world championship in just over a fortnight’s time. Rivola revealed that the team was giving careful thought on how to ensure it had all the new updates it wanted to have in India, in time for the next round of the World Championship, taking some of them straight from here. "It is a bit of a problem, that is a fact,” he admitted. “So we try to maximise what we can do at the factory in order not to go to India with an extra shipment, because the risk is that we won't get the extra shipment to the track. And also, even if you get it there, you won't know if you can bring it to the following race. So, it is a bit of a gamble. As always when you gamble you take a bit of a risk. We will see."
