Sunday: Ferrari and Alonso unlock their victory counters
After twelve Grand Prix without a victory, Ferrari and Fernando Alonso returned to the top step of the podium at the end of a race that the Spaniard believes could hardly have been better. The only downside, Felipe Massa's sixth place, despite an excellent start, he encountered graining problems with the medium tires.
Fernando Alonso – Winner:
« It couldn’t have gone better today! I hadn’t won since the German Grand Prix in 2012, and it’s a special feeling because it was a challenging and action-packed race. With my second place in Australia, this result proves that our car is competitive and that we are working in the right direction to always be in the fight for the podium. For this, I have to thank the team for the enormous effort they’ve made both here and at the factory. They have worked so hard to put me in this position, allowing me to fight on equal terms with the others.
We had good feelings all weekend, and qualifying in third position gave us the opportunity to fight at the front. Above all, we had our share of luck. All the important factors worked perfectly, whether it was the settings, strategy, timing of the stops, and the stops themselves. All this allowed for a victory that wasn’t easy at the end of a race where we got the most out of our performance and did a good job preserving the tires, which was by far the most perilous point.
While no one dominates the championship, this result is extremely interesting even though we are aware that it is only the third race. We are not under any illusions and we must continue to stay focused and do everything we can to keep improving.
Felipe Massa – 6th
« It’s difficult to understand what exactly happened today because the start went very well. I was immediately fast and the car was turning perfectly fine. During the first stop, I put on medium tires and after a few laps, I started to suffer from graining on the front tires. This means that I lost ground on the other cars and it’s probably due to an issue related to track conditions and my driving style. All weekend, I didn’t feel comfortable with these tires and, in the race, all attempts I made to preserve them failed. Without this problem, I could probably have fought for the podium but I remain confident because I still managed to bring good points home, which is important as the season is just beginning. »
