Friday: Alonso on the attack, Massa at fault at Ferrari

Fernando Alonso – 4th and 4th

« It’s always a pleasure to return to Grand Prix after the winter break, everyone is on the track together and there’s a crowd, so it’s always a nice feeling. It was a bit complicated to stick to the program we had planned for this Friday due to the weather. Therefore, there’s still a bit of work to do tomorrow before qualifying, but I think others are in a similar situation. I am reasonably satisfied with the car. I have a rather positive feeling about it. However, we didn’t do the usual comparison between the two types of tires because we mainly ran with intermediates and mediums, and these seem to perform quite well where degradation is generally significant here. It was important to see if everything was functioning perfectly – the KERS, the engine, the power steering, the gearbox, and everything else, as is always the case on the first day of testing at the start of the season – and everything went well. Tomorrow, I expect to see a very mixed starting grid because quite a few teams have done a good job over the winter. We will try to do our best by assembling all the best elements we have tried over the last weeks, including the few details we have brought here. However, my opinion hasn’t changed. We have to wait until tomorrow to see where we stand compared to others, but if I had to give a forecast for the day, I would say it was positive. We have done important things, the balance is good, and the car responds well to changes. »

Felipe Massa – 18th and 7th

« After more than three months, we are finally back to what we drivers prefer, which is racing. However, today was a rather difficult day. Especially because we couldn’t do as many laps as we had planned due to the rain. In the first session, I went off track, which cost me some time. When braking, my left rear wheel ended up on the grass, and the car took off, only stopping in the gravel. In the second session, the rain kept the track wet for a long time, and it was only towards the end that I was able to put on dry tires. All things considered, it’s not yet possible to gauge our standing compared to the competition. I didn’t do many laps, and the car has changed since the last test day in Barcelona. Tomorrow afternoon, during qualifying, we will all be racing under the same conditions, and we can finally draw some lessons. »