Saturday: Ferrari and Alonso Don’t Give Up

Fernando Alonso – 4th and 9th [8th on the grid]:

We never managed to gather the best lap, which on these tires and in these track conditions is always the last one. We knew it would be a complicated weekend, but today, we were clearly too slow and will start from too far back. That said, the accounts are always settled at the end of the race: in Abu Dhabi, we were slower than our main rivals and still managed to recover three points in the standings. Our goal remains unchanged and is still possible: on Sunday, anything can happen. Reliability, strategy – it will be important to determine the best times to change tires because here, cold tires can be several seconds slower – and teamwork will be important as usual. Updates? We tried to find the best possible combination of available parts because the newest part is not always the best choice, especially when you’re on a new circuit. We will push to the limit, as we have done every weekend since the beginning of the year.

Felipe Massa – 6th and 7th [6th on the grid]:

These qualifications were largely a lottery: the lucky number is always the last one! With these types of tires on this asphalt, it’s difficult to heat the tires and you have to keep turning to set a good time. In Q2, we succeeded, but in Q3, things didn’t go as well: it’s never easy to nail the perfect lap with so little grip. It will undoubtedly not be an easy race for us, given the grid positions of our main rivals, but we must stay focused because tomorrow will be difficult for everyone. We will have to give it our all and then see how it turns out. Starting on the dirty side of the track doesn’t help us at all: it’s the first time we’re not happy to gain a position on the grid!