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On April 24, 2007, the Modena court recognised in its first-degree judgement that the two Toyota engineers, Angelo Santini and Mauro Iacconi, both from Ferrari, passed important industrial secrets to Toyota F1. The story began in 2003, when Ferrari presented a complaint pointing out how the Toyota Formula 1 car had many details similar to the Maranello cars. Suspicions fell on Santini and Iacconi. A third engineer, initially under investigation, was later acquitted. Santini and Iacconi's defence argued that there was no disclosure of industrial secrets, also because in Formula One technical solutions age quickly. The sentence condemns Mauro Iacconi to serve a sentence of one year and four months for having stolen CDs with industrial secrets, and nine months to Angelo Santini for having revealed industrial secrets (with a suspended sentence as the lawyers announced an appeal). Ferrari took civil action only against Angelo Santini, given that Mauro Iacconi had participated in the investigations by confessing the crime. At the same time, information arrives from the courthouse in Cologne, Germany which not only confirms the role of Angelo Santini as a key element in the intricate case of industrial espionage in F1 but opens up disturbing questions about the involvement of Toyota itself. Siegmar Raupach, chief prosecutor of the city of Cologne, who collaborated in the investigation with the Modena public prosecutor's office, confirms that Angelo Santini admitted to having transferred Ferrari secrets to his new Japanese employers:
"We ordered an inspection following a request for collaboration from the Modena Prosecutor's Office and two Italian police officers participated. But, and this is really a very interesting aspect of the case, the two policemen had previously been trained for a long time at Ferrari in Maranello, in order to be absolutely sure to find the allegedly stolen software in Toyota's computers. What they were looking for was found. Significant amounts of software were found and dumped into Toyota's wind tunnel program. The main defendant, the man who had worked at Ferrari, admitted to having taken the material from Ferrari and given it to Toyota".
But, even more seriously, the magistrate states that Toyota has also admitted, in turn, to having reworked the programs obtained from the Italian engineers and is now objecting to them being returned to Ferrari, because:
"They said: we have included all Ferrari's software programs in our program and, if we now return the material to them, there will be an advantage for Ferrari. Because now our programs are included in it and we can no longer work on them. In other words, the former Ferrari software is now mixed with the software we own and if we return it, Ferrari will find itself with more than what was stolen from it".
Angelo Santini's confession has, obviously, led the German prosecutor's office to speculate on the existence of a possible crime that can also be prosecuted in Germany:
"Naturally, German law requires us to act even if we only become aware of a possible crime, albeit through press reports. For this reason we too have opened an investigative procedure, at the moment just an investigation, against the main suspect (Angelo Santini) and other people (Mauro Iacconi - aerodynamic engineer of Toyota F1, Gustav Brunner - designer of Toyota F.1, Ove Andersson - head of Toyota Motorsport, and Renè Hilhorst - head of the aerodynamic department Toyota F1) of Toyota Motorsport who together with the person in question, allowed, so to speak, the downloading of this software onto Toyota's computers. Not against Toyota itself, because in Germany, it is not possible to proceed against a company".
The Modena court confirms Gustav Brunner's position in the matter, but adds that:
"Brunner's is a name that we also knew, but these are not related to the proceedings".
Enclosed on that CD were the aerodynamic secrets of the world's most admired single-seater, the Ferrari Formula 1 car. And having transferred and revealed them outside the doors of the technological temple of Maranello cost the technician Angelo Santini, yesterday in Court in Modena, a nine-month sentence. His friend and former colleague Mauro Iacconi, who collected the precious disc, was instead given a sentence of one year and four months for receiving stolen goods. The first-degree sentence in the trial against two former Ferrari engineers, accused of having transferred the prohibited files in their move from Ferrari to Toyota, recognised, if not the direct use of data obtained in endless wind tunnel sessions, at least inappropriate handling of the same. In the eyes of the Scuderia Ferrari engineers, as the 2003 Formula 1 World Championship approached, the similarity between the Ferrari F2003-GA and the Toyota TF103 brought to the track by the Japanese giant appeared disconcerting. The hiring of Santini and Iacconi in the sporting structure of the Japanese team then seemed anything but coincidental. It was a complaint from Ferrari that started the investigation and the spy story. During the trial, illustrious Prancing Horse engineers paraded in the courtrooms of the Court of Modena, revealing the delicate procedures for processing and storing the aerodynamic data of Formula 1 cars. Among these, Nicholas Tombazis and the facility manager Leonardo Limongelli. For prosecutor Fausto Casari, head of the investigation into the data leak, the transfer of knowledge built up by the two defendants in long hours of work at Ferrari was evident; the defence has always maintained, however, that there was no disclosure of industrial secrets, also due to the rapid obsolescence of that experimental data. It is no secret, in fact, that each F1 car barely maintains a few screws in common with the one made the previous year. Judge Susanna Cividali considered that the conduct of Santini and Iacconi did, however, contain elements of wrongdoing. It was the former, in particular, who uploaded a CD with 800 files before moving from the Maranello team to Toyota in March 2002. Iacconi had already left the Cavallino in January 2000. Iacconi's defender, lawyer Andrea Mattioli, comments:
"Nothing was revealed to Toyota, engineers are clean and became the protagonists of a simple lightheartedness between colleagues. If there was a data leak, others created it".
Both his client and Santini, whose sentences are suspended, will however appeal. Santini's defender, Paola Bertolani, states:
"An odd decision by the judge. An enormous and expensive investigation led to a verdict on a limited episode. Not to mention that the transfer of knowledge between engineers is commonplace".
Both Santini and Iacconi, as far as we know, have encountered considerable difficulties in finding work in recent years, after leaving Toyota. Both had already been acquitted by the preliminary hearing judge on charges of unauthorised entry into Ferrari's computer system and misappropriation of files. Ferrari had filed a civil suit against Santini alone, who will now have to be compensated.
It is impossible for Toyota to return the data stolen from Ferrari as it is now mixed with the Japanese team's software. Furthermore, when the searches and seizures began in Cologne, at Angelo Santini's home and Toyota office it was discovered that the latter was in possession of three hard disks, 170 floppy disks and 74 CD ROMs, with dated contents, as 74 items of seized material were seized in Mauro Iacconi's apartment, the most recent data of which dated back to 1999, while the most disconcerting one was a document consisting of 21 sheets of Ferrari headed paper in English addressed to Ferrari concerning general instructions for the Benetton F1 single-seater, sent by James Allison to Nicolas Tombazis and Rory Byrne. However, as this story was quickly forgotten, almost a month after the last Grand Prix, F1 will return to the track in Barcelona on Sunday, May 13, 2007. It is the fourth round of the World Championship. For the whole week from April 29 to May 6, the teams' tests took place on the Montmelò circuit. Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari was the fastest, followed by Takuma Satō's Super Aguri and Pedro de la Rosa's McLaren. Meanwhile, the first outcomes and predictions are arriving. Fernando Alonso says:
"Without Schumacher, the World Championship is more interesting, and McLaren can win both the Drivers' and Constructors' titles".
Flavio Briatore on the other hand is gloomy:
"I'm dissatisfied, but Renault is not in crisis".
On this track, he has had a lot of firsts. It was here in Barcelona, in 1996, that Michael Schumacher achieved his first triumph with Ferrari, a crazy race, in the rain, intoxicating. It is here, in the land of Fernando Alonso, the local idol who will be cheered on by 130,000 people, that on Friday, May 11, 2007, the German will make his debut in the pits of a Grand Prix as a manager, a super consultant (as Ferrari defines him), an illustrious fan, as Felipe Massa prefers to call him. Certainly, beyond the names, a cumbersome presence, a former champion ready to put on his headphones, to position himself on the pit wall, to dispense ideas and advice. No longer a driver, but still a character, so much so that it is not difficult to foresee the usual siege of photographers, journalists and the public, a suffocating embrace that he will try to evade with a press conference at midday. Michael Schumacher returns, Formula 1 had not yet forgotten him, he felt the need to find it again. Not all of Ferrari, however, is excited about his reappearance. Felipe Massa, the faithful friend, certainly is.
"It's fantastic that he's here, he'll give us a big boost, valuable suggestions".
Less so Kimi Räikkönen. Who on the one hand would relegate him to the role of spy.
"He has a lot of time on his hands; he will be able to observe what others are doing and come and tell us about it".
And on the other hand, he does not seem inclined to listen to his technical advice.
"If he shows a way, I can follow it or not. Ultimately, I am the driver, the one who drives the car, my point of reference is my engineers. He has great experience, but I prefer to do it my way".
A style which, guarantees Kimi Räikkönen from Barcelona, will begin to be successful:
"Because now the car has improved a lot and adapts more to my characteristics".
So far Felipe Massa has often beaten him, in qualifying and in the race:
"I knew he was fast; his performances don't surprise me".
But he vows that will rarely happen from now on. He shows his strength and also seems to impress Fernando Alonso, who dismisses Felipe Massa in his rivals' list and states:
"The World Championship will be a two-way fight, me and Räikkönen, the ones most used to brawling".
Felipe Massa shrugs his shoulders:
"We were very fast in the tests, the strength of McLaren is a great stimulus, but I trust Ferrari and I'm sure we're back at the front".
Part consultant, part fan. Even in clothing. Headphones on the head, as befits engineers, shirt required, like a perfect manager, but also jeans like any supporter, albeit an illustrious one. Certainly no longer a driver, but no nostalgia. Michael Schumacher is back. After seven months he found his F1 again, a world that loved him madly, but which he still does not miss. If he is excited, he hides it well.
"Being here is nice, it's nice to see old friends again, but when I entered the pits my heart wasn't beating faster. I don't feel any strange sensations, everything seems normal to me, some time ago I made an important choice and I have absolutely no regrets. I don't miss racing, I discovered that there is a life beyond Formula 1, which you can also do without it. I don't regret anything, my career has been a fantastic experience, but now I think of something else and I like having many days to myself, lots of time available to spend with my two children".
Far from going back to racing, as Mika Häkkinen claims, certain of his step backwards.
"He did it, but not all of us are the same, I'm happy like this, at least for the moment. I miss something about the long weekends around the world, but if I tell you you'll laugh: I miss the football matches with the mechanics, the direct contact with the team, the relationships with friends that I now very often only hear from on the phone".
A different Schumacher, less fierce in his gaze, decidedly more relaxed. Not gentrified, nor weighed down, he may have gained barely a kilo since he stopped, but he is now an ex in his mind. Physical form is always there.
"I often play football, in Switzerland, with my team, and to give your best you have to train consistently. I spend fewer hours in the gym, I can't deny that, but I haven't given up. There isn't a day when I don't wear a tracksuit for at least a little while".
Where he pulled the plug is on the mental level.
"It's nice to no longer have a life planned in every detail, to get up in the morning and decide what to do, without someone listing a whole series of commitments you've already made for days. I like taking my son to play sports, watching him play football. For years I tried to cultivate my hobbies, but it was hard to fit them into the few free spaces. Now it's funny to see that they dominate everything".
He discovered normality. And it appears to him like an irresistible drug. He will help Ferrari, he promised, but his new role continues to be unclear.
"I have accumulated a lot of experience, I am ready to give it to the team".
It is difficult to understand how.
"I am here to listen and speak, as appropriate and necessary".
Not to give suggestions to the drivers, which did not excite Räikkönen.
"It's not my job".
Nor to look for new ones.
"Talent scout? Nobody asked me".
Much less to study as a future team owner.
"I have other interests in life".
The impression is that in his presence there is above all image, even if he will participate in all the technical meetings here.
"But don't say that’s why I came, that I was needed. Ferrari started very well in the World Championship, they organised themselves very well, and they managed to replace without trauma people like me or Ross Brawn, who for ten years filled the garage with his charisma".
The consultant will provide advice, he is paid for it, how much and what is likely to remain a Ferrari secret. Certainly, the one in Barcelona will not be an occasional appearance. He is already scheduled to come to Monte-Carlo (he will play football with the national drivers team), at Magny Cours (he has to collect an award) and at the Nurburgring, where they will name a corner after him. Yes, in that Germany where the politicians did not want to give him the Bundesverdienstkreuz, a Golden Cross for (sporting) merit, because he is a resident of Switzerland. The retired Schumi did not mind.
"I have had so many awards in my career that I have lost count".
One more, one less, it makes no difference. As long as he tells the truth. Because a former driver can finally say what he really thinks, right?
"I've always done it, but in private. And I will continue to behave like this".
Friday, May 11, 2007, Lewis Hamilton headed the first practice session in his McLaren, just 0.4 seconds ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso, who was in front of his home crowd. Kimi Räikkönen was third in his Ferrari, but his teammate Felipe Massa was demoted to fifth in the closing moments, as Robert Kubica took fourth in his BMW. Anthony Davidson finished sixth in his Super Aguri, with the Toyotas of Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher in 7th and 8th. Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button rounded out the top ten. Alonso turned the tables on Hamilton in the second practice session, with Alonso three-tenths ahead of the rest of the field, but Hamilton was back in fifth. The Renaults of Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen produced a late surge to finish second and third, ahead of both Ferraris, who were down in fourth and sixth. Behind the top three teams, Nico Rosberg was again in the top ten in his Williams, with engineering director Patrick Head saying they have been playing catch up, after a high-speed crash by Rosberg during the Barcelona test. It was the second McLaren one-two of the weekend as Hamilton took first ahead of Alonso in Saturday practice. Behind them, both BMWs were in front of both Ferraris. They were split by David Coulthard in the Red Bull. Anthony Davidson put in another good practice performance with eighth in his Super Aguri, with Nico Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen rounding out the top ten.
The evil ones in the paddock say that Fernando Alonso and McLaren wanted to ruin Ferrari's sixtieth anniversary party (just on May 11, 1947, the Ferrari 125S debuted in public for the first time: it would then win the Grand Prix on May 25, 1947, in Rome), but the reality of the facts is that at Ferrari they only think about setting up the car. The answer comes from Felipe Massa, indirectly:
"I thought about being competitive on Sunday. Friday is a working day, not a holiday".
So the fact that the Spaniard set the best time on the day that everyone considers the most untrue (in the sense that it is not indicative) of any Formula 1 Grand Prix is his business. The truth is that even Fernando Alonso knows very well that the first time set during free practice on Friday, May 11, 2007, will be put to the test on Saturday, and in fact, he raises the possibility that Ferrari has been sandbagging. A tactic that the World Champion appreciates, but which he was unable to apply in his home Grand Prix, especially after the Bahrain Grand Prix from which he emerged a little battered (fifth). The fans' enthusiasm needed to be spurred, in light of the future second Spanish Grand Prix and the newly announced Singapore Grand Prix.
"Two races that leave me perplexed: Valencia, for the street circuit. Singapore, because they want to do it at night".
Another driver looking for feedback is Kimi Räikkönen. The Finn flunks this Friday:
"The track is definitely more slippery than in previous weeks, we struggle to find the right balance of the car. The data will need to be studied carefully".
More confident, however, Felipe Massa:
"We are aware of the work we’ve done, then everyone can say what they want. I'm only interested in winning: that's my goal and that's what I'll do. It's not important what Alonso, Ecclestone or Prost can say, the important thing is what I do".
And while the sporting director, Stefano Domenicali, thinks about the best way to get pole position, Brazilian Felipe Massa's last thought is for Pope Benedict XVI, the first time in his country.
"A beautiful thing, which we were all waiting for. Among other things, the Pope will hold mass right during the Grand Prix, perhaps he will say a prayer for me too…".
On May 12, 2007, Felipe Massa took pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix, the fourth round of the Formula 1 World Championship which takes place on the Montmelò circuit in Barcelona. The Brazilian - at his third pole of the season, the sixth of his career - was the fastest in qualifying with a time of 1'21"421. Next to him on the front row will be the World Champion Fernando Alonso, who with his McLaren-Mercedes set a time of 1'21"451. Following in the second row are the Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen and the McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Fifth time for the BMW of Rubert Kubica, followed by Jarno Trulli's Toyota. In the fourth row, the BMW of Nick Heidfeld and the Renault of Heikki Kovalainen. Followed by David Coulthard's Red Bull Racing and Giancarlo Fisichella's Renault. The scream of the 100.000 Fernando Alonso fans remained strangled in their throats. The Catalan missile does not have the colours of Spain. He does not have an Asturian accent, but a Brazilian one, drives a Ferrari, and enjoys being a buzzkill.
Alonso, with a nation behind him, a sea of people cheering in the stands, was not the fastest. The fastest was Felipe Massa, increasingly immersed in his world championship dream, someone who has specialised in Saturday glory, three consecutive pole positions, five in the last six races.
"If I hadn't broken the gearbox in Australia, I would have hit a crazy streak".
The Brazilian gloats thinking about this exploit, a fantastic lap, a last sector (the one that made Kimi Räikkönen despair) like a rocket, but also about those wounds that still burn, the disappointment of Melbourne, the announced winner who, because of the car, had to give way to his teammate, and above all the own goal in Malaysia, the wasted pole, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton overtaking him, the mistake on the sixth lap that dropped him to fifth place, the fierce criticism that risked burying him. After two races, seven measly points collected, he was on the brink of the abyss, but he did not plummet. He found the strength to get back up, to react, he redeemed himself in Bahrain and now leads in Barcelona, at Fernando Alonso's home, with 130,000 spectators already holding tickets for Sunday.
"On a hostile track, because here, at every corner, people are pushing my rival, encouraging him to give his best, while he would be happy if I made a mistake. It was hard to get pole, I'm happy to have achieved this feat, and now it will be difficult to win the race, but I will give it my all. We will have to be perfect, not make any mistakes, especially in the last stretch before the finish line. I don't like the new chicane, it's difficult, but my opinion doesn't matter much, it's there now and we need to know how to deal with it. They say they created it for security, it risks complicating everything, but it doesn't matter. I grabbed pole with my teeth, thirty-thousandths of an advantage over Alonso, a trifle, and now I can't stop. I expect a fierce battle at the first corner, I will have to start well, the lesson from Malaysia was enough for me and I hope it never happens again. In such a balanced world championship, with four drivers so close together, the one who makes the least mistakes wins. If you have the right chance, you can't waste it. Do you start at the front? You have to stay there until the finish line."
What Michael Schumacher, happy in the Ferrari pits with headphones on, once his mentor, and now his first supporter and in some ways even older brother, was able to do very well. Felipe Massa speaks of him ecstatically each time.
"Being his teammate made me grow a lot, after having withstood the comparison with a legend like that, you can no longer be afraid of anyone. I learned a lot from him, and thanks to his teachings I now feel able to fight for the World Championship. It's not just a matter of advice. You have to have his head, his mental strength".
The one that, perhaps, he still lacks, as the race in Malaysia demonstrated, but which Massa would like to acquire quickly. Fernando Alonso seems calm, he tells people that his car is heavier, and that the race will be something else, Lewis Hamilton, the other McLaren driver, explicitly admits that he has a full tank of fuel:
"This explains my gap to Massa and my teammate".
But in the meantime, Felipe Massa will once again start from the front, having also asked the Pope for help (on a visit to his hometown of São Paulo), the driver who is putting Kimi Räikkönen in serious difficulty, given that he almost always ends up in front of him. He has not lost his gentle ways, but his gaze is now more ferocious. Massa is becoming ruthless.
"I hurt Alonso, but it's not enough. The race remains, I have to insist".
This is how you create your own happiness. Who told him that? Maestro Schumacher, of course. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso surprises everyone with a smile and a calm and relaxed face. He does not look like a driver who just missed pole position at his home Grand Prix by 0.03 seconds. Sorry Alonso, where is the mistake?
"There was none. I'm happy because the car is more than competitive".
But you had fooled half of Spain.
"And I'm confident for the race".
Felipe Massa took pole from you by a whisker.
"But I'm happy to be in the front row. Things wouldn't have changed anyway".
In what sense?
"In the sense that the race will be tough. We are all close".
Well, of course you also gave a message to his teammate, Lewis Hamilton.
"I repeat: we are all close. It will be a good fight".
How do you imagine it?
"First of all, we'll have to pay attention to the first corner, at the start: it's a bit too fast and I don't want any problems affecting my race. Oh, I forgot: by now I've gotten into the habit of always starting from the dirty part of the track".
So?
"I would like the support of the crowd, which has certainly not been lacking today. At every turn, at every moment, I felt the support of the cheering. And I hope that for the Grand Prix it will be even more massive, that it will only have my colours".
This has little to do with strategy, however.
"What strategy? What do you need? We have shown that we are strong. Only in qualifying Ferrari was faster than us. So I'm confident".
Because maybe you have more fuel?
"And I don't know how much Ferrari has. I'm just saying that starting in the first two rows allows you to fight for victory. If you get fifth place in qualifying you have no other objective than to score points, certainly not to get on the podium".
In short, Bahrain is behind you.
"Yes, things seem to be going really well. The tyres held up well in qualifying and in the end I was fast, also because the car was very light. I got the best, that's fine".
Spain asks you to triumph, however.
"I can say that it will be a very good weekend".
Now, since you are in the mood for predictions, what do you say about this very balanced world championship?
"So, I'll explain my situation a little: if you consider that I'm coming from a team change, and then you add the new tyres and the change to some rules, you'll understand for yourself that being in the lead is an excellent result".
Of course, you were already on the run for the last two years.
"For goodness sake, that would have been ideal for any driver. But you can't expect the best in every championship... and this year I'm still surprised by what we're doing, and I hope to surprise again in the future, and not just me".
On May 13, 2007, at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix Felipe Massa got off to a good start but Fernando Alonso took his slipstream and managed to come alongside him on the outside of the first corner; the Spaniard was also slightly ahead but the Brazilian was as hard as ever and forced him to go on the grass and ended up being passed by Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen too. Alexander Wurz, caught by a sudden slowdown, hit the rear of Ralf Schumacher's Toyota, breaking a suspension. While Jarno Trulli, who had stopped at the start, had forced the group into an additional warm-up lap. The Italian driver, who then started from the pits, retired after a few laps due to a fuel pump problem, imitated by Mark Webber and Scott Speed. Behind the top four, Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld, David Coulthard and Heikki Kovalainen follow. Fernando Alonso immediately tried to move up, attacking Kimi Räikkönen during the second lap; he would gain the position seven laps later, when the Finn was forced to retire due to an electrical problem. In the meantime, Felipe Massa had already imposed his law and, after ten laps, he had 6.7 seconds on Lewis Hamilton and 10.7 seconds on Fernando Alonso. The Brazilian was the only one capable of consistently lapping under the 1'23”0 limit and extended his lead enough to stop on lap 19 and remain comfortably ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who returned to the pits on lap 22. On lap 24 Nick Heidfeld returned to the pits to make the first stop after leading the race for a couple of laps but started again without the front right tyre fixed and had to take a lap at low speed, slipping to the back. In practice, nothing happened anymore, and the positions remain crystallised until the end. Felipe Massa won the Spanish Grand Prix under the eyes of his mentor Michael Schumacher, legitimising his ambitions to take up his legacy. Lewis Hamilton continued to break records and not fall off the podium, becoming the leader of the World Championship standings, with good peace to the reigning World Champion, Fernando Alonso, who today showed less pace than his teammate, regardless of the incident at the first corner.
Robert Kubica recovered with a solo race, also thanks to the technical problem encountered by Nick Heidfeld, who was forced to stop on lap 46. David Coulthard confirmed Red Bull Racing's progress by resisting the return of Nico Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen at the end. Super Aguri also conquers the first point in its history, thanks to an eighth place for Takuma Satō. Fist clenched, as a sign of exultation, with a clenched jaw. It is odd because the face always inspires tenderness, Felipe Massa is one with kind eyes, a sympathetic expression, perhaps concentrated, but certainly not mean. Be careful though, perhaps it is better to change your mind, not pay attention to it anymore, because this Brazilian suddenly seems to have changed, now he puts on a show, spoils the party at Fernando Alonso's house, making 140,000 Spanish go back home disappointed, on the track he shows incredible ferocity, on the track he shows an incredible ferocity, with the strenuous defence at the first corner, the door barred, the home idol slammed onto the gravel. Is this Felipe Massa? Yes, he is. The new one, who buried Malaysia and the rain of criticism he received, who was able to get back up, who got smart and settled the score with his rival at the end of the first straight. Fernando Alonso was convinced he was scaring him and instead, he was the one who had to bow down, to step aside. Massa does not give in, he resists. And he achieved his second consecutive victory, accompanied by the fastest lap of the race and the pole position won the day before. At the first corner, everything is decided.
Felipe Massa was first and remains there, giving a blow to Fernando Alonso's car, the Spaniard dreamed of taking the lead and instead fell to fourth place, also overtaken by Lewis Hamilton (who finished second and now in his fantastic dream he even found himself in lead in the World Championship) and by Kimi Räikkönen, forced almost by inertia to overtake the World Champion, only to find himself complaining about a retirement (electrical problem, alternator wiring problem) which once again reduces him in the Ferrari hierarchies. The first corner is fatal to the Spanish hopes and decisive. The rest is a monotonous escape by Felipe Massa, light at the beginning, due to the lack of fuel, and able to make a gap, lucid in the second part of the race, when he must maintain the advantage, and perfect in the final, when he only had to manage his lead. A solo that no one can enter because the Brazilian has put the lock on the triumph and has no intention of sharing it with anyone. The interest came later, after the race was over, when Fernando Alonso, third, did not take it well, accusing the Brazilian, looking for alibis for the defeat. He shows his damaged McLaren, but in the front part, a sign that when entering the corner he was not that far ahead of Felipe Massa, as he claims. He reproaches him for being careless:
"When you behave like this, you normally finish the race after one hundred meters and instead you should know that we are both fighting for the World Championship".
But he overlooks the fact that he was the most aggressive, looking for an overtake that his strategy (he had little fuel, had he been left behind, the comeback, as it proved, would have been impossible) could have avoided. Fernando Alonso rants, Felipe Massa, the new one who is no longer afraid of anyone, shrugs.
"He took risks and paid dearly".
But even Massa's greed must surrender to another surprise, the Hamilton effect, less and less revelation (four podiums in a row become a rule), more and more certainty. They call him a rookie, he is on top of the world, first in the rankings. He talks about a dream and fears waking up, but in the meantime, Bernie Ecclestone crowns him as the new Michael Schumacher, someone who came to Barcelona to be regretted and finds himself a line of heirs. Old Bernie says, better not to tell Felipe, that he wants to have exclusivity on that role. In fact, maybe it is better to let him know, so maybe in the next duel, they will fight each other. That is all people are waiting for. The show never faltered from boredom. Perhaps, Felipe Massa was in a trance in his masterpiece. During the first pit stop the car caught fire in the rear.
"Really? I didn't notice anything".
Thinking that there were high flames, due to the fuel left on the chassis, fortunately, they did not cause any damage, neither to him nor to his Ferrari.
"The team didn't tell me anything, I didn't know, I continued to push like crazy, as I did for the whole race".
Massa the unaware. Who also grinds fires. But he was certainly very lucid at the first corner. There could have been a deja vu, a film already seen, a great revenge came out. No more shyness, like in Malaysia, Alonso and Hamilton setting the tone, the Brazilian standing by and watching. This time it was Massa who pulled out all the stops.
"If others are aggressive, I have shown that I can be aggressive too".
Thus, with that ferocious look that he has worn from a few races, that determined face that looks so much like Schumacher and that is probably part of the lessons learned from the German. Alonso caught up in a fight and slammed into the gravel. Does the Spaniard feel the hit? Massa replies with the same toughness shown on the track.
"Guys, let's not joke, this is Formula 1, at the start you defend your position, I was in the lead, I would never have let myself be overtaken, for any reason in the world. How can you say I'm guilty. And then of what? I was on the inside, I have the right of way, the right to maintain the trajectory. In Malaysia I was an idiot, that's enough. Every time I find myself on the inside at the first corner, I will behave like here in Barcelona. Alonso can say what he wants, contacts are a part of races. It went well for me, the car didn't suffer any damage, I was able to get away. I knew the important thing was to stay in the lead on the first lap. I succeeded and from that moment everything became easier. I had the race in hand, I didn't drop it".
He speaks like Michael Schumacher, with the same determination, and that is what his team wants to hear. Ferrari felt like an orphan of its great champion, perhaps it found the right clone in this little Brazilian, with a gentle manner, in love with his Raffaela, always polite away from racing, but for some time now bad enough in the battle on the track. Having joined Ferrari on tiptoe, he quickly devoured his apprenticeship, earned the respect of Michael Schumacher (a significant detail) and is now in the good graces of the entire team, ready to row for him even if in a garage who this year does not want consolidated hierarchies and leaves ample room for triumphs also for Kimi Räikkönen. The problem is that the exuberant Felipe Massa, who is constantly growing, is making the icy Kimi Räikkönen seriously uncomfortable, so far almost always behind in qualifying and in the race, and also in Barcelona, after the disappointment of his retirement, he ran away from the racetrack without saying a word, apart from a few occasional sentences, for the use and consumption of official press releases.
"I am experiencing the best moment of my career and I have to persist, work hard, continue to grow".
After all, no one was moved when a hurricane of criticism hit him after the mistake in Malaysia.
"It was tough, a real storm, but I was good at reacting".
He did not fall, on the contrary, from that black hole he found the strength to finally explode. He won (twice) and now he can enjoy that big hug with the beaming Michael Schumacher.
"Happiness".
The German shouts. Gratitude, replies Felipe Massa.
"He made me grow, without him I wouldn't be here now".
To fight for the World Championship. A dream. But certainly no longer a utopia. He had promised it to others, but above all, he swore it to himself.
"I want to start strong in the World Championship. I already know the car, unlike Räikkönen. I have to be ahead in the standings when Ferrari is forced to choose".
It did not go quite as he had planned. The broken gearbox in Australia, the own goal in Malaysia, with that wasted pole, but fate is bizarre and in a different way offered him the film he had dreamed of. For now, Ferrari is not choosing. Mario Almondo, one of the new managers in Spain, reiterated this, they are moving forward with the new philosophy, drivers on equal terms, the stopwatch as the only judge to establish the hierarchies on the track, but in the meantime the season continues fast, Felipe Massa enthuses and Kimi Räikkönen shows more and more discomfort. A performance problem, the Brazilian is collecting pole positions and has already won twice, the Finn stopped at the triumph in Australia, then managed to get by until retiring in Spain. But not only. Felipe Massa seems tailor-made for this Ferrari and Kimi Räikkönen, on the other hand, is struggling to find the right setup and is unable to make the tyres work well. Problems of character: Felipe Massa exudes sympathy, he has entered the good graces of all the mechanics, of Michael Schumacher and Jean Todt; the cold Kimi Räikkönen is unable to open up, he continues to say a few words, he probably shows his worst attire with journalists, but it is easy to believe that even with the team he does not excel in communication. Ferrari does not play favourites. They have decided to aim for the big target with both their horses, they enjoy Felipe Massa's explosion, but they are convinced that soon Kimi Räikkönen will also be able to put his talent into the car and will start to make a difference. However, the fans could be another thing, certainly closer to the sanguine Brazilian than to the icy Finn. Felipe Massa, resisting Fernando Alonso in that first corner of Barcelona, thrilled everyone and could now leverage the favour of the people to gain definitive leadership within the team. The coaches in red, as is normal, for now are standing together and defending Räikkönen with all their might:
"In Malaysia and Bahrain he had some problems, but in Barcelona he improved a lot. With the fuel he had on board his lap on Saturday in qualifying was excellent, with the strategy we had adopted he could have had his say in the race, we are the ones to blame because we didn't give him a car capable of reaching the finish line".
A sacrosanct attitude, also considering how much Ferrari has invested in the Finn, wrested to the tune of millions of euros from McLaren, paid much more than Felipe Massa, designated heir to Michael Schumacher. Soon, however, the justifications could give way to accusations, if Kimi Räikkönen does not wake up, starting from Monte-Carlo, where Ferrari has not won since 2001. Because it may not be his fault that the alternator stopped working, but he cannot blame anyone for letting Lewis Hamilton overtake him at the start. Felipe Massa, when he threw away the race in Malaysia, did not look for an alibi. He rolled up his sleeves and immediately rose again.
"I will take revenge on the criticism".
What if he was predestined? Even Ayrton Senna, by denying him an autograph, snubbed him years ago. Now even Fernando Alonso does not snub him anymore. In Barcelona, before going on the podium, he looked at him with hatred. Good sign. Felipe Massa has become a rival. At the same time, at the fourth Grand Prix of his life Lewis Hamilton becomes the youngest leader in F1: 22 years, 2 months, and 6 days. Curiously, the record dates back to 1960 and belonged to Bruce McLaren, the New Zealander who founded the team for which he competes. A flood of compliments therefore arrives from half the world, including Bernie Ecclestone:
"If Lewis drove with the same helmet as Schumacher, no one would notice the difference".
Lewis Hamilton, are you sure you are an F1 rookie?
"I continue to live my dream. The incredible thing is that it's true".
Four Grands Prix, four podiums.
"Well, that's what we worked for".
Is winning the World Championship also in your dream?
"First of all, it is a positive thought that I hope will accompany me for a long time. In reality, we will only know at the last Grand Prix who will win. But I'm realistic: it's my first year and ups and downs are possible for me".
Back to the Grand Prix: another good start.
"The objective was to keep the best position in the first corner".
It looked like a start from GP2, rather than F1.
"It's true, in GP2 you see a lot of contacts at the start, a lot of accidents. Yes, while Fernando and Felipe were touching, I overtook Räikkönen and avoided contact with Alonso".
And then?
"Nothing else, because I didn't have Massa's race pace, this must be said honestly".
But you had more fuel.
"Yes, but by then Felipe had gained many seconds and, even if with that fuel I could gain four seconds at the first pit stop, they weren't enough to overtake him".
So Ferrari is faster.
"Yes, but we have taken a new step forward. A great job, if I may add. The team has worked hard these last four weeks. And I am convinced that we are now close to Ferrari".
What do you have left of this weekend?
"An awareness: driving together with the best drivers in the world. And be the first of them".
Michael Schumacher also spoke out, confirming the excellent work.
"Thank you. My family and I worked so hard for this".
It is also going record-breaking now.
"Good, but you need the points".
In retrospect: could there have been a different strategy to win?
"I don’t think so. No. You can't overtake on the Barcelona circuit: the key to a victory was an excellent start and position at the first corner".
No pit stop games, in short.
"No. In the second part of the race I also experienced oversteer problems".
You have almost everything now. You are only missing one thing: victory.
"Yeah. I talked about it with Felipe".
Have you talked about it with Felipe?
"Yes, immediately after the chequered flag".
And what have you said to each other?
"It was me who told him that one day, very soon, I will beat him".
The next Grand Prix is the best to win.
"Monte-Carlo: tradition and charm. A race that I like a lot, and where I have already done well driving in GP2 in the past. Yes, I feel that we will be very strong in Monte-Carlo, and I will go there to win. Watch out Ferrari, we're about to get you".
The fortieth podium of his career is perhaps the most bitter. Fernando Alonso was thinking of a different post-race toast in front of his 130.000 fans, certainly not from the lowest step of the podium. Instead, in third, he handed over the championship lead to his teammate, Lewis Hamilton. And he also lost the challenge with Felipe Massa at the start, at the first corner. He, the aggressive one, had to taste the grass this time. A new fact, which the Spaniard did not like at all and reiterates it by telling the episode from his point of view.
"I was on the outside, I braked later and I seemed to be in front of him. Except, unfortunately, he didn't think like me. So we touched each other and thank goodness we managed to finish the race because in race actions like that ninety-nine per cent you end up out. An unnecessary risk".
The controversy ends here, and the Spaniard confirms it - at least formally.
"No, our relations will not change. This is F1".
Alonso even takes it philosophically:
"Again, we were lucky".
He has little to say about the analysis of the race:
"When you have less fuel than the others, and you find yourself in fourth position on a track where it's difficult to overtake, things become a little complicated. Kimi Räikkönen's exit made me recover a position, but it was accidental. Normally I would have been off the podium. I'm disappointed, there's no point in hiding it".
Nothing but revenge, after the less-than-exciting Bahrain Grand Prix. Now Alonso finds himself second in the standings, between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, two unsuspected fronts on the eve of this season: the most predicted opponent was in fact Kimi Räikkönen. However, the Spaniard keeps the game:
"I'm not surprised by Lewis. For him it's just another confirmation. I'm more worried about Ferrari, they remain faster, and we have to catch up to them".
Alonso guarantees that the stakes are higher than any team jealousy:
"We will help each other improve. It is a necessary act".