Thursday: Ferrari doesn’t get carried away

Alonso – 2nd and 1st

In Monaco, it’s mainly a matter of sensations with the car. The more a driver has, the more they can attack, lap after lap. It seems that we are a bit better here than elsewhere, but we must take into account the unknown regarding fuel levels. However, aerodynamics matter less here, which is why we suffer less. On a track with the lowest average lap time, some weaknesses are concealed by other factors, whether mechanical or engine-related.

I immediately felt at ease here, right from this morning, so I was able to push harder and harder because the car responded well and I had confidence in it. I’m happy but we know it’s only the first day and that the Red Bulls might be holding back a bit, before showing their true pace on Saturday during qualifying.

Sunday will be a much more stressful day because here, the slightest mistake can be very costly. We must try to take risks because we need to close the gap with the best.

As for the tires, I think their performance is quite similar to the winter tests, even though the temperatures are higher: compared to other races, there isn’t such a big difference between the hard and soft tires, at least that’s my first impression.

Felipe Massa – 4th and 6th

I’m relatively happy with the car even though it still oversteers a bit, especially with the super soft tires. Compared to Barcelona, I must admit that we are better equipped for the battle: it’s not like those other times when we couldn’t get the tires to work.

There were moments when I was a bit on the edge and found myself skimming the barriers at least three times.

I carried out a long stint on the soft tires to understand their limits. Overtaking will be difficult, as usual on this circuit: maybe with the help of KERS it will be possible to overtake a car struggling with its tires, even though it will never be easy.

Regarding the traffic, it’s impossible to avoid here: I myself ended up in a position to hinder Fernando today, but I had a McLaren in front of me, which forced me to slow down.

Pat Fry

« It’s a good start to this very special weekend in an always incredible atmosphere. Today, we mainly focused on finding the best settings for the car and concentrated on the behavior of the two types of tires that Pirelli brought for this track, one of which, the softer one, is making its race debut here.

We know that the track will evolve by Saturday, so we are taking nothing for granted. This morning we evaluated a handful of minor aerodynamic developments, the car is pretty much the same as in Barcelona, and then we tried to provide Felipe and Fernando with a well-balanced car so they feel confident to flirt with the limit. Now, we have a bit more time than usual to prepare as well as possible for qualifying and the race. There are areas where we need and can improve, but from what we saw today, it seems we are heading in the right direction to be in the race.