The Malaysian withdrawal hurts. But woe betide those who cry over spilled milk. Thus, Fernando Alonso is ready to play a leading role with Ferrari in the Chinese Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday, April 18, 2010.
"I have confidence in the work we are doing. I've been at the circuit for several hours and have had extensive discussions with my engineers. Together we have assessed the situation and analyzed in detail both the data from Malaysia - on Sunday evening, we had only done a quick recap - and the development program of the F10. Here we have some aerodynamic innovations that should allow us to take a step forward in terms of performance. Moreover, I expect that our main rivals will also bring updates, so it's impossible to say today where we might be compared to others: we will truly find out only on Saturday afternoon in qualifying. We have proven to be competitive on all types of circuits where we have raced so far, both in the race and in the February tests, and there is no reason why it shouldn't be the same in China".
The Spaniard also explains the differences in the upcoming race compared to the races in Melbourne and Sepang.
"As always, qualifying will be important, and we will need to carefully evaluate the behavior of the tires, the same ones we had in Australia and Malaysia, with colder temperatures. It will be important to score as many points as possible to close out this first cycle of races outside of Europe in the best possible way. After the Shanghai event, there will be a longer break than usual, and both we drivers and the teams will be able to recharge our batteries for the European season. We will all take advantage of this, that's for sure".
While waiting to start the engine, the Spaniard has to deal with meteorological surprises.
"It's so cold in Shanghai! I arrived here on Monday, and everything can be said except that it's spring. Today, for example, there won't be more than ten degrees, and it has been raining incessantly since mid-morning. The weather should improve for the race weekend, but we must be ready for any eventuality. After all, it wouldn't be the first time that the Chinese Grand Prix is held in variable weather conditions, just think of 2009 or 2007".
The Chinese Grand Prix concludes the streak of four non-European races that open the 2010 World Championship.
"The Shanghai circuit is very interesting. There are curves of all kinds and a long straight that ends with a very narrow right turn: overtaking has always been numerous at that braking point".
And as Alonso had announced, the others are certainly not standing idly by. And indeed, McLaren responds immediately. The World Champion, Jenson Button, explains:
"Last year, they moved the race from the end of the season, and the weekend was a bit colder and more humid. The current weather forecasts don't say that this year will be different, but I'm optimistic that we will have a dry weekend and a simpler race than last year. It's a modern circuit with a real mix of fast corners and long straights. We have made significant progress regarding the balance of the car. We know how to optimize the balance of the car and how to develop it over a race weekend. It's certain that we are making progress".
But even Michael Schumacher believes. Despite those who criticize what he has achieved so far, the German driver, who returned to racing at 41 after three seasons on the sidelines, is certainly not giving up and even revives his title ambitions a few days before the Chinese Grand Prix.
"After three years of a break and with reduced winter testing, I need a bit more time. But I feel quite good, things are going better than I expected".
Although many rivals, including Fernando Alonso, still bet on him, in the first three races, Mercedes has shown itself to be behind the title contenders.
"Red Bull and Ferrari are a bit ahead of us, and I believe it's fair to say that McLaren is too, even though they couldn't demonstrate it in the last race. Probably, we are still in fourth place at the moment".
Despite results falling below expectations, Schumacher doesn't seem worried, convinced that significant progress will occur shortly. For this reason, he doesn't lose hope of returning to competitive levels.
"The young Schumi probably wouldn't have been happy with these results, but after winning seven titles and such a long break, I can say I am more than happy with how things are going, regardless of what people think. There's no reason to think that this championship is already over for me and my teammate Nico Rosberg. We have a very long season ahead of us, and we know how important it is to develop our potential. We believe we can do it well and quickly. My 2010? I know exactly what I have done so far, and how things are going: that's why I have no reason to feel disappointed. Also, because I am still in the running for the championship".
China and Formula 1 are two worlds that move at vastly different speeds and struggle to understand each other. Besides the total lack of interest from the population in the event and the numerous logistical and cultural problems, this year, the hateful (and ancient) issue of censorship has further confirmed the immense gap between the two planets. As is well known, the Chinese government dislikes the internet and its various forms, particularly social networks, having censored almost all of them from Facebook to Twitter. This year, many drivers, public relations, and engineers had chosen microblogging sites as their main channel for communication, whether promotional, sports-related, or purely compulsive. When most professionals arrive in Shanghai, the two worlds inevitably collide, reigniting the desire for many to urge Bernie Ecclestone to cancel the Chinese leg of the race as soon as possible. Some, without going to such extremes, try to find shortcuts. The most brilliant of all is Karun Chandok, the Indian driver for the Hispania Racing Team. As soon as he landed at the airport, Chandock, in homage to his unsettling addiction to tweets, tried to update his status and inform his fans (Indian) of his arrival. However, he ran into the government block.
"Then, just as I was trying to find a solution, a sweet Chinese girl approached me. She was a fan of mine. And she handed me a note with a couple of tips to bypass the block".
Apparently, the instructions were in Chinese, so Chandock had to work hard to access his site. In the end, he succeeded, much to the relief of his fans. His teammate, the Brazilian Bruno Senna, was more practical. After a couple of clashes with the block, he realized that he could access it, albeit slowly, from his BlackBerry. Some teams took the matter much more seriously than Chandock and Senna, using Twitter to convey a significant portion of their messages (and, as we know, the core business of F1 is not speed but communication). Worried about the possible reaction of the approximately 30.000 Chinese internet police, they avoided reckless behavior:
"For this year, it's like this, but from next year, we need to resolve this before coming here".
Moving on to Ferrari. Fernando Alonso doesn't say it explicitly, but it's clear that, for him, the real enemy at the moment is not just an opponent, but something more: that shadow of insecurity that has been perceived around Maranello lately. That thread of adrenaline, that sharp thrill that climbs along the spine every time one thinks of the track, the lively Red Bull of Vettel, the steel McLaren on the straights, the white curtain like cream that hovers over the Ferrari exhausts at Sepang, the engine lights illuminated by the Bahrain's scorching heat. In a word: fear. Giving in to that fear now would mean compromising everything. Alonso knows it, feels it, and as the natural leader he is, he rebels.
"What do we need to do? We need to start with ourselves. We are leading the championship, and that must mean something. Now, after Melbourne and Sepang, we have overcome our black hole, and the points we have in the standings indicate that we have done well. We must stop looking at others and continue on our path, which is the right one".
In the cold and wet conditions of Shanghai (never has an April been so cold since 1873, and even a bit of sleet), Ferrari seems to have reached a pivotal point in the season: either resume the momentum from the Bahrain double or embark on a potentially painful journey. Much will depend on the attitude, on the ability to stay focused. And that's why Alonso seems determined to face the event without doubts, all in one breath.
"I am sure we can do well. Personally, I have participated in three races so far, and the only normal one, I won. In the other two, I started twentieth. This means that if we do everything right, if nothing strange happens, we are competitive. After all, in Melbourne, we were the fastest for long stretches..."
A call to Ferrari pride from the Spaniard, which also applies to the long-term work, the development of the car. It was clearly stated in winter: the ability to improve the car race after race will be a decisive aspect of this season. But even from this perspective, it is important not to succumb to fear. Look at others and maybe borrow their best solutions, but without sacrificing your own project. And that's why Ferrari will experiment today with McLaren's ingenious F-duct (the device that allows, with a knee movement, to stall the rear wing in a straight line) on Alonso's car, but will do so without sacrificing its overall concept of the car and will propose it in the race only when it is perfectly efficient, perhaps in Spain.
"We won't chase others".
Alonso assures, displaying indifference regarding Red Bull's clear superiority and the rather encouraging performances of McLaren (thanks to the F-duct) on fast circuits like Shanghai.
"The points we have earned so far demonstrate that our car concept is good. Tomorrow and in the coming days, we will bring many important innovations to the track that we had prepared, and I am sure they will give us a significant advantage".
However, on Friday, April 16, 2010, problems arise immediately for Ferrari during the first free practice sessions of the Chinese Grand Prix. During the first session, Fernando Alonso's car has an engine problem, the same one used in the free practices and qualifying of the Bahrain Grand Prix, which the team had preferred to replace due to some anomalies. Alonso's car starts emitting smoke and then flames after the first half-hour of practice. The Spanish Ferrari quickly descends, and Alonso walks to the pit lane. The incident comes after two weeks earlier, in Malaysia, Alonso could not finish the race due to an engine failure.
After a handful of laps of free practice, Fernando Alonso breaks the engine, and what until now, in Ferrari, was considered a simple alarm, a concern at most, suddenly turns into an emergency. If the trend does not change, the entire season for the Spaniard is at risk of being compromised. According to regulations, each driver is allowed only eight engines for the entire season. Once these are used up, every time a new one is installed, it will result in a ten-position grid penalty. Hence the need for each team to save as much as possible. Fernando Alonso's balance, however, is a disaster: in just three and a half races (generously considering this morning's few laps as half a race), the Spaniard has used three engines, breaking two (one in Malaysia and one in China), and the third is the one he mounted for the second free practice session and will use on Saturday and Sunday in the race.
"After all, the two incidents have not changed our plans. We will use the engines exactly as we decided in January".
Massa's situation is decidedly better (though not fantastic). He has never broken down, and the only problem he had remains an excessive overheating reported the morning before the Bahrain race. Now Ferrari tries to downplay the incident, to say that the engine that blew today had covered many kilometers and that its failure, in the end, was expected. But the numbers speak for themselves and tell of a very, very bad situation. A situation that, not by chance, had been compressed by Scuderia Ferrari during the week: Luca Marmorini, head of Ferrari engines, had expressed optimism for the race and tranquility for the future. Alonso himself, in Friday's press conference, had tried to convey serenity to everyone. A concept he continues to reiterate:"
"No worries".
In the first session, marked also by an incident involving Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso, which loses a wheel and goes off track (no consequences for the Swiss driver), the fastest is the reigning World Champion, Jenson Button. He is followed by Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, and Sebastian Vettel. Tenth is Felipe Massa's Ferrari. In the second session, the fastest time is set by Lewis Hamilton's McLaren. Behind the British driver, who laps in 1'35"217, is Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes, with the other McLaren of Button in third, ahead of Michael Schumacher's Mercedes. Sebastian Vettel records the fifth-best time. The Ferraris are lagging, with the tenth time for Fernando Alonso and the eleventh for Felipe Massa. Only sixteenth position for Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Force India, while Jarno Trulli manages no more than the eighteenth-best time with his Lotus. On Saturday, April 17, 2010, the final practice session was held in dry weather conditions. Hamilton set the initial pace before Webber recorded the overall fastest lap on the soft compound tyres at 1'35"323. Hamilton was second and Vettel third. Button, Alonso, Rosberg, Schumacher, Kubica, Massa and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi completed the top ten ahead of qualifying. Though the session passed relatively peacefully, Petrov ran wide onto the artificial grass leaving the final corner and he lost control of his Renault. He skidded across a gravel trap and crashed heavily into a tyre barrier with the front of his car. Although Petrov was unhurt, Whiting stopped the session for seven minutes to allow track marshals to clear debris. Cars in the final session were not allowed to change tyres, using the tyres with which they set their quickest lap times. Conditions were warm and dry. Vettel altered the setup of his car to be more aligned with his teammate Webber but he struggled with its handling. Nonetheless, he went fastest in the third session to take his third pole position of the season and the eighth of his career with a time of 1'34"558 on his final lap of qualifying. He was joined on the grid's front row by Webber, who was 0.248 seconds slower and had the pole position until Vettel's lap. Alonso felt more comfortable driving on the hard compound tyres and took third while Rosberg in fourth worked with his race engineer Jock Clear to find a setup he liked. Button, on the soft compound tyre, used an unbalanced car that required a change of differential and front wing settings put him fifth. Hamilton was fastest in the first and second sessions although car troubles in the final session left him sixth. An untidy lap and a driver error in the final corner qualified Massa seventh and Kubica was the faster of the two Renaults in eighth.
Limited rear grip that slowed Schumacher in ninth and restricted his cornering ability at certain areas of the circuit. Sutil, tenth, reported oversteer in the middle sector. Williams' Rubens Barrichello had a new engine installed after practice though he was the fastest driver not to qualify in the top ten; his fastest lap was 0.820 seconds slower than Hamilton's best time in the second session. He was followed by the Toro Rossos of Alguersuari and Buemi in 12th and 13th. After Petrov's car was repaired for qualifying, he took 14th and spoke of his belief that he had improved his driving ability through car acclimatisation. An understeer and a lack of stability under braking put Kobayashi in 15th though he was not impeded by slower traffic. Nico Hülkenberg in the second Williams ran wide at the final corner and qualified 16th. Pedro de la Rosa of the Sauber team made a driving error by locking his rear wheels on the approach to turn 14 during his final timed lap and began from 17th. Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi failed to advance beyond the first session, having been baulked by slower traffic and unable to set a lap that represented the speed of his car. Glock was delayed by the slower Barrichello while on his first set of tyres and his sole timed lap qualified him 19th. Trulli in 20th and his teammate Kovalainen in 21st were affected by a strong tailwind that unbalanced their cars in the braking zones and Kovalainen pirouetted under braking for turn six. Lucas di Grassi of the Virgin outfit made a driver error in the final sector that lost time and put him 22nd. The Hispanias of Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok completed the final row of the grid in 23rd and 24th, respectively. Speed, according to Red Bull, is a sweet and psychedelic drink to be consumed in one gulp. A new concept that transforms Formula 1 into an ecosystem composed of a thousand elements precipitated here in the circus from another world, flashes and neon lights, taurine, talent, and smiles.
In qualifying, the Anglo-Austrian team secured the fourth pole position in four Grand Prix races. And on Sunday, they prepare to experience yet another Sunday as protagonists. But it's not so much this that impresses - also because the weather predicts rain for the race time and therefore it can really end in any way - but the sensation that its drivers, Webber but especially Vettel, with three out of four poles, are able to convey externally every time they get in the car. Something that goes beyond technical superiority, something almost philosophical that makes the rest of Formula 1 appear older and slower than it really is. Looking at them like this, reflected by the acid blue livery of Vettel's car, the other drivers and cars seem to have come out of the almanac of past seasons: Felipe Massa with his recurring inaccuracies that have relegated him to seventh place, Lewis Hamilton with his champion spoiled irreverence, Jenson Button with the too cautious wisdom of the former immature. Not to mention the inconsolable ghost of Michael Schumacher, with his grayness grayer than the Mercedes he drives. A disarming picture that would suggest a senseless championship if on the horizon did not stand out, almost epic, the figure of Fernando Alonso. At this moment of the season, he seems to be the last barrier to the blue storm that is overwhelming everything. In a masterpiece lap, he squeezed the maximum out of his Ferrari - a car, technicians assure, very valid in the race but recalcitrant in qualifying - and pulled out a third time that could prove decisive and that in any case sends a signal of health that the entire Ferrari world, after the fiasco in Malaysia, needed. A signal that the Spaniard, carefully avoiding returning to the painful topic of engine reliability, took care to support well after qualifying, congratulating the team for the work done on the car:
"I am very happy because here in China, we have brought some new parts. And I believe it is thanks to those that I came in third. With twenty hundredths less, I would have been seventh or eighth. Instead, thanks to the team's enormous effort, I can start from the second row".
Perhaps it will not be enough to defeat the Red Bulls here in China, but certainly, it is enough to look with a minimum of optimism at the rest of the championship. A result, therefore, that supports the interpretation of the situation that Fernando Alonso made on Friday:
"The F-duct gives advantages, and therefore we will try to do it too; but it makes no sense to chase opponents too much and sacrifice your concept of the car: ours is good, and by following ours, we will win".
After the excellent result, the Spaniard seemed optimistic:
"We have exploited our potential to the maximum in qualifying. We know that in the race, we are slightly better. With more fuel in the car, we feel more comfortable. Not so much in the dry lap. I think that what we did today in qualifying is the maximum".
And Sebastian Vettel is very happy, finally:
"We had an extraordinary qualifying, and the car is a pleasure to drive. For tomorrow? We'll see because the forecasts predict rain. And so it will all be more complicated. It will be crucial to understand if the entire race will be wet or only part of it. Reading the situation as best as possible will make the difference".
On Sunday April 17, 2010, the Chinese Grand Prix took place in the afternoon from 3:00 p.m.. Approximately 85.000 people attended the Grand Prix. Weather conditions at the start were cloudy, with rain falling on the circuit with increasing intensity 30 minutes before the formation lap. The air temperature was between 18 °C and 21 °C, and the track temperature ranged from 17 °C to 23 °C. Buemi modified his Toro Rosso's setup to optimise it for the wet conditions while Ferrari opted for a high-downforce setup for the anticipated rain shower. Glock's car was stationary on its front jacks due to a sudden loss of air pressure in the engine valve system, which was traced to a chassis fault. He was retired in the garage after it was determined that repairs were not feasible. Glock's teammate di Grassi had a malfunctioning clutch that necessitated its replacement and he began from the pit lane. Alonso made a fast getaway and passed the Red Bulls to lead the field on the approach to the first corner as Webber moved past his teammate Vettel for second. At turn six, a three-car accident prompted the deployment of the safety car. Liuzzi lost control of his car under braking and he slid backwards into the cars of Kobayashi and Buemi. Several drivers, including Alonso, made pit stops for the intermediate compound tyres at the end of the second lap due to the intensifying rain. Rosberg, Button and the Renaults of Kubica and Petrov chose to remain on the circuit and the former led the field back to racing speed when the safety car was withdrawn at the end of lap three. On the lap after, Kovalainen in seventh was passed by the eighth-placed Barrichello driving towards turn six.
As Rosberg continued to pull away from Button on lap five, the stewards informed the Ferrari team that Alonso had jumped the start, for which he incurred a drive-through penalty. He took the penalty on the next lap and rejoined the race in 14th. Although the intermediate tyres initially provided an increase in speed, the rain did not intensify and every driver running on them made a second pit stop, providing Rosberg, Button, Kubica and Petrov with a significant lead over the rest of the field. During this period, Hamilton got wheelspin and slewed sideways as he exited his pit stall alongside Vettel. The two made contact as the latter turned right and Hamilton veered close to the Williams mechanics before going behind Vettel. Webber damaged the front wing after he hit the front jack. The incident cost him nine seconds and dropped him to tenth. On lap nine, Hamilton passed Barrichello for 12th at turn one. De La Rosa in fourth pulled off the side of the track on the same lap to retire with an engine failure. Webber was overtaken by his teammate Vettel on the back straight into the turn 14 hairpin for eighth on lap 11 and lost a further position to Hamilton on the lap after. The two drivers passed Kovalainen soon after. On lap 13, Vettel attempted to pass Sutil for seventh at the same corner though Hamilton got past the two on the inside line. Sutil delayed Vettel until the latter clung onto his slipstream before making a pass on the inside line driving towards the turn 14 hairpin. On the 15th lap, Schumacher was caught by Hamilton at a rate of three seconds per lap, and Hamilton tried a pass on the inside at turn 14 but Schumacher defended the position. Hamilton tried again at the same turn on the next lap but Schumacher again kept fifth on the inside line. During lap 17, Hamilton made a third try by achieving a fast exit leaving turn 13 and slipstreamed up the back of Schumacher on the backstraight and withstood the Mercedes driver's attempt to keep fifth.
Further back, Alguersuari overtook Sutil on the outside at the turn 14 hairpin to take ninth as the two made contact leaving the turn. At the front, Rosberg's lead of 4.5 seconds became nothing when Button closed up to him. He ran wide at turn 11 and Button made the pass for the lead at the turn 14 hairpin on lap 19. Rain began to fall heavier on lap 20. The leading trio of Button, Rosberg and Kubica made pit stops and switched to the intermediate tyres on the following lap. Their advantage - Petrov gradually fell off the pace to be within striking distance of the more experienced competitors - was negated when Alguersuari had an encounter with an Hispania car that damaged his front wing. As he made a pit stop for a new nose cone, the wing fell off, scattering debris across the circuit and triggering the second deployment of the safety car on lap 22. During the safety car period, Massa was slow exiting the turn 14 hairpin. His teammate Alonso passed him on the outside and caused Massa to run into the grass to avoid his teammate and enter the pit lane. When the safety car withdrew at the end of lap 25, Button controlled the field between the safety car's exit and the start/finish line. Button slowed to a near halt at the bottom hairpin, bunching the field up and causing controversy when Webber ran off the circuit at the final bend. As the lead driver has the right to drive as fast or as slow as he chooses when he gains control of the race, no action was taken. Webber fell from sixth to 11th. Hamilton overtook Schumacher at turn eight on lap 26 and then Petrov at the same corner on the next lap. On the 29th lap, Hamilton closed up to Kubica and overtook him on the outside going into the turn 14 hairpin for third. Alonso passed Sutil for sixth soon after at the same corner. Two laps later, Barrichello lost 11th to Webber on the inside of turn six. Rosberg's tyres began to degrade on lap 32 as well as Hamilton's though his team told him to remain on the track because more rain was forecast later in the Grand Prix. On the following lap, Petrov had an oversteer that caused him to pirouette leaving turn eighth. He fell from fifth to seventh, behind Alonso and Vettel. The pace began to lower on the intermediate tyres by the 34th lap as they continued to degrade. Hamilton closed up to Rosberg and attempted a pass on the outside on the Mercedes driver at the turn 14 hairpin but Rosberg held the position.
On lap 36, Hamilton tried again, this time going into turn eight, and overtook at turn nine before Rosberg came back to retain second at the exit of turn 10. The final round of pit stops for intermediate tyres took place from the same lap to the 38th lap, and Hamilton moved ahead of Rosberg. Similarly, Alonso passed Kubica. The final phase of the race was run under increasingly heavy rain across the back part of the circuit, as a dry line began to appear along the main straight. Alguersuari attempted to keep Petrov and Massa behind him though Petrov overtook Alguersuari at the turn 14 hairpin and Massa passed the Spaniard at the final corner on lap 45. At the front, Button increased his advantage over his teammate Hamilton to 9.5 seconds but it was reduced to 5.3 seconds when he ran deep at the turn 14 hairpin six laps later. On lap 52, Petrov overtook Schumacher on the outside for eighth at the turn 14 hairpin. Massa drew close to Schumacher on the next lap. He slipstreamed the Mercedes and moved to the outside on the approach to the turn 14 hairpin but Schumacher defended his line and kept ninth. On the 55th lap, Webber slid going into turn 12 and it allowed Petrov to pass him for seventh place. Massa tried again to get past Schumacher and was successful that time round, withstanding Schumacher's attempt to retain his hold on ninth to get ahead leaving the turn 14 hairpin because of better traction from his car as Schumacher ran wide onto the artificial grass at the final corner. Rain began to fall heavily on the final lap. Button and Hamilton closed up though they elected to be conservative and Button crossed the finish line after the 56th lap to take his second victory of the season and the ninth of his career. Hamilton was 1.530 seconds behind in second to claim the first 1–2 finish for British drivers since Eddie Irvine and David Coulthard at the 1999 Austrian Grand Prix and the first for Englishmen since Graham Hill and Piers Courage in the 1969 Monaco Grand Prix. Rosberg completed the podium finishers in third to complete a sweep of the podium for Mercedes-powered cars for the first time since the 1955 British Grand Prix. Off the podium, Alonso followed in fourth, Kubica fifth and Vettel sixth. Petrov finished seventh to score his first Formula One points and the first for a Russian driver in the championship. Webber, Massa and Schumacher completed the top ten. Sutil, Barrichello followed close behind in 11th and 12th with Alguersuari, Kovalainen, Hülkenberg, Senna and Chandhok the final classified finishers.
Of the other retirements, di Grassi completed eight laps before retiring and Trulli stopped his Lotus in the garage with a hydraulics failure. When two great pilots meet an intelligent pilot, the great pilots put on a show, but the intelligent pilot wins the race. This is the lesson learned from the Chinese Grand Prix, illuminated by the voracious genius of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso but dominated by the insight and meteorological sensitivity of Jenson Button. The Englishman resembles a World Champion, while, fatigued but victorious, he recounts to his girlfriend how he managed to win an incredible race with at least five or six cars much faster than his, not just in 2009, while strolling on the ashes of his opponents aboard a Brawn GP boosted by double diffusers. The story of the race is all summed up in the intuition of a Button who seems to have become a kind of diviner of Formula One, able to predict, with minimal margin of error, where and when there will be water on the track. He had already done this trick in Australia, and he did it again in China. So, after a few laps, while everyone, including his teammate Lewis Hamilton, rushes to put on rain tires at the first downpour, he, alerted by who knows what other sense, waits, as if he knows it's a false alarm, that the real rain will come much later. Not even a lap, and the sky proves Button right; the rain stops, and the Englishman begins a long, solitary race as challenging (the track was still slippery) as it is winning. He will build up such an advantage that subsequent downpours and pit stops cannot change the outcome. The rest is only Hamilton and Alonso.
Two similar races, both marked by an initial mistake (wet tires at the first change) and a subsequent thrilling comeback, fluid and unstoppable, enriched by those small competitive vandalisms that have always made the fortune of this sport. Hamilton, for example, was about to exterminate a dozen Williams mechanics while trying to pass Vettel in the pit lane, while Alonso shortly after passed his teammate while both were returning to the pits, defying Ferrari's internal code. The truth is that the Englishman and the Spaniard are true, instinctive, and fierce drivers, and along with Vettel, the best in the circus. And it's at least singular that none of the three is currently leading the standings (Button first with 60 points, followed by Rosberg with 50, the Hamilton-Alonso pair at 49, and Vettel at 45). Michael Schumacher no longer belongs to the category of the best drivers in the circus, tenth and mistreated by the rookie Petrov and by what remained of Massa's nervous system after Alonso's stunt. The discussion is starting to take on sad and melancholic connotations. The German is slow and clumsy, and the comparison with the brilliant Rosberg humiliates him. In the paddock, some are beginning to ask a question awaited since August: are we sure that Ferrari did not contribute decisively to creating the Schumacher myth? The answer in the coming Grand Prix, starting with the one in Spain, provided it takes place: the paralysis of air traffic due to the eruptions of the Icelandic volcano is also putting Formula 1 at risk because teams cannot send their cars to Europe.
"These races with five pit stops don't help us. So far, we have only had a normal race in Bahrain. There I won, and we finished first and second".
Fernando Alonso would like a normal Grand Prix to exploit the qualities of his Ferrari. In the Chinese Grand Prix, conditioned by rain and characterized by a flurry of twists and turns, the Spanish driver finished in fourth place.
"I don't even know how many pit stops we made".
Says the Spaniard, thinking about the frequent pit stops and interruptions for the entry of the safety car. Alonso, in reality, complicated his life even before the green light: he anticipated the start and was penalized.
"I made a mistake; I started early, and the situation became more difficult. However, we were still aiming for the podium, we haven't been able to reach it for three races. The ending was very complicated. We would have needed another tire change, but it was not possible. Overall, we managed to limit the damage".
Now, the circus stops for three weeks. The World Championship will arrive in Europe on May 9, 2010, with the Spanish Grand Prix scheduled in Barcelona.
"We hope to have a normal race. The only normal race we've had, I won".
Similarly, for Felipe Massa, it was not an easy race. The Brazilian has to settle for ninth place. Furthermore, he lost the leadership in the World Championship and the direct comparison with his teammate, Fernando Alonso, who also overtook him in the pit lane.
"It was a very tough race from the beginning; it was also difficult to choose strategies due to the weather. What happened with Alonso? I took a bit of water; he managed not to get wet, to get alongside, and it worked out for him. No controversy. Did I lose the lead? A difficult race, we have to think about the next one, work on the car, and be competitive race after race".
While Ferrari's team principal, Stefano Domenicali, says:
"First of all, I would like to congratulate the pit-stop team, which did an extraordinary job today, performing three double stops without making the slightest mistake, indeed allowing us to gain positions. As for the strategic choices, especially those related to the first stop, I believe it should be highlighted that among the top four finishers, there are two drivers who made one choice and two who made a different one, which means it's difficult to say at the moment which one was right: in hindsight, Button's choice paid off more, but it must also be said that without the penalty for the early start, Fernando could have definitely fought for the win. As for the overtaking between Felipe and Fernando, we could only see it afterward, in the television replay, I believe it was a normal race incident, and there are absolutely no problems between the two drivers: when you always race to win, moments like this can happen. There is a bit of regret at the end of these first four races of the championship. Surely, we have collected less than what was within our possibilities, either due to incidents or problems that depend on our responsibility".
The evening falls, and with the evening, suspicions arise about the Shanghai circuit. The verdict, which resolved with a mild reprimand the circus act of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in the pit lane, leaves everyone more than surprised. It doesn't take a rules genius or a sports lawyer to understand that there is a significant disproportion between the enormous danger of what happened on the sixth lap and the delicacy of the measure taken by the FIA. The cynics say:
"Apparently, a rule says that Hamilton can do whatever he wants in the pit lane..."
The facts tell that on the sixth lap, at the time of the first pit stop, Hamilton and Vettel enter the pit lane somewhat casually, with Hamilton overtaking Vettel just before the line indicating the start of the pit lane. The two arrive side by side at their respective boxes, change tires in more or less similar times, and come out practically side by side. Vettel, on the outside relative to the boxes, is in the middle of the pit lane and stubbornly holds his position. Hamilton doesn't give up (there is no more than a meter between his tires and the mechanics of the other teams) and continues his attack. A duel unfolds right at the most critical point of the circuit in terms of safety. A head-to-head that risks escalating when Hamilton swerves and, for a moment, aims directly at the Williams mechanics. Fortunately, nothing happens. Two minutes later, the stewards warn that there is an investigation into the incident. In the paddock, everyone takes for granted the punishment for Hamilton (25 seconds penalty or a few positions lost in the next starting grid) and for Vettel (a reprimand). At 6:29 p.m., however, the FIA's decision arrives:
"After hearing the drivers and team managers and watching the video, the stewards have decided that Vettel and Hamilton drove dangerously and therefore impose a reprimand on both".
In other words, nothing: another bad spot for F1 in the campaign for safe roads, so dear to Jean Todt's new FIA. And in parallel, there will be no settling of scores. Or maybe there will be. Who knows. However, whatever form it takes, the announced confrontation between Alonso and Massa through the press by the Brazilian must necessarily have one characteristic: being definitive. Any aftermath, any misunderstanding, any unspoken word could have devastating consequences on the season of the two drivers and therefore on Ferrari. It's been a few hours since Alonso's overtake at the entrance to the pit lane at the Shanghai circuit, and Felipe, as he had already done in the heat of the moment, tries to remain as calm as possible, ultimately succeeding. At least apparently. While everyone else around him is focused on finding a way to bypass the flight block and return home (and, more importantly, to send the car, the engine, and everything needed to face the next Spanish Grand Prix to Europe), he continues to rethink those moments that marked his race.
"I had just come out of the hairpin before the pit lane. He followed me, overtook me, and when I realized he was there, because I didn't know he was there, it was too late. I realized that we were risking causing an accident, and that wasn't right".
Indeed, it wasn't right. The same is thought by the leaders of the Maranello team and the fans. But evidently, Alonso didn't think the same at that moment, for whom Felipe is an opponent like any other:
"If it had happened between two cars of different colors, it wouldn't even be talked about. It happened between two red cars, and nothing else will be talked about, even if it's useless".
The moment of the race was crucial, and that's what matters to him. Being the first into the box on that lap made the difference between the fourth and seventh final positions, between a race at the front and a race at the back. And Massa doesn't hide it:
"The position lost in that situation cost me other positions during the Grand Prix".
Only he never thought that Alonso could play such a trick on him. And it is precisely from this difference in feelings that the need arises to clarify what the real balances and intentions are.
"It is clear that I will talk to him. People who work together talk about these things. And we must be very clear-headed at this moment".
And during the evening, a Ferrari spokesperson reiterates that between the two, it was just a race incident, and someone wanted to force some of Massa's statements to sow discord.
"The good of the team comes before the individual".
Fernando argues that the issue is simple: these are car races, and car races are based on the primary concept of getting ahead of others, so you have to overtake. And so, by overtaking Massa, he did nothing more than his duty. That's all. So simple and so logical that even Felipe, the victim, couldn't find anything to object to:
"I made a mistake, and he passed me".
There is something violent in the way the first fire at the Ferrari house is extinguished. Something that harks back to the law of the strongest animal and establishes hierarchies at a deeper and more effective level than any team agreement or order. An astute observer, at the end of the day, sums it up like this:
"If Alonso is paid double compared to Massa, there must be a reason".
It may be a bit ruthless as a comment. But from the docility with which Felipe, both on and off the track, accepted his colleague's second seasonal affront (a similar incident occurred in Bahrain), it seems that the situation is clear: Alonso is a driver willing to do anything to win, Massa is not. Now it's up to the Brazilian to prove that he can do anything to win at the right moment, just like his teammate. A tough task for Felipe. Because now that internal peace is compromised, if not broken, he will have to lift his head without succumbing to the temptation to cross the bounds of acceptability, without risking damaging the team (and therefore himself) with kamikaze maneuvers or the like. The temptation will be as strong as the risk that Massa runs of becoming a sort of modern-day Barrichello, perennially overshadowed by the leading teammate and destined to finish second. For now, the roles are assigned.
And so, while Felipe delves into the technical explanation of what happened, it falls to Fernando to perform the main task, that of setting the course for the team:
"We urgently need to raise our points average and return to winning in Barcelona and Monte Carlo. McLaren deserves the lead because, even if it doesn't have the best car, it has been good at exploiting every opportunity it has had".
The alleged affront to Massa is something for journalists, according to him:
"If our car didn't have the same color as this thing, it wouldn't even be talked about; it would be a completely normal episode".
One could respond that, curiously, he and Felipe have cars of the same color, so it's right to talk about it. However, that would only risk making him very angry, especially since he's not in a good mood:
"Starts are my specialty. I messed up here and wasted a great opportunity. I think I could have won. I will never make such a mistake again".
Massa must have thought something similar. Face-to-face clarification for Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa after the media speculated on some statements made by the two after the Chinese Grand Prix. Ferrari, in a statement, says that everything is fine between the two despite speculations on some media about the consequences on their relationship related to the overtaking incident at the pit-lane entrance during the Chinese Grand Prix. After landing in Nice from the flight that brought them back to Europe, the Brazilian and the Spanish driver entrusted their responses to the Ferrari official website regarding the controversies that arose after the race. Felipe Massa says:
"As often happens, there is always someone who wants to create a bit of confusion".
And Fernando Alonso agrees:
"If someone wants to create a mess, let them do it; they won't be able to ruin the spirit of this Ferrari".
According to Brazilian media, Massa would have wanted an explanation from his teammate for that risky maneuver.
"Between me and Fernando, the situation is as usual, and a pass won't change it. I have already explained what happened after the race, and it seems useless to go back to it, but it seems that someone doesn't want to understand. Have we talked with Fernando? Of course, just like we talk every day when we're on the track. We know well what Ferrari wants from us drivers and how we should behave on the track".
Alonso shares the same ideology as his teammate:
"I am surprised by what they told me, although only to a certain extent. I had already said it in Shanghai: this incident only creates a stir because it happened between teammates. If the other car had been green or gray, we would all be praising the maneuver instead of wasting time creating controversies where they don't exist. Felipe and I are racing, knowing that the team's interest comes before ours. We know how to behave, and we have demonstrated it on other occasions in these early races. It's not the on-track duels that create problems within a team, and I know this from direct experience".
He has a dream, Luca di Montezemolo, and despite the objective difficulties, he certainly hasn't stopped believing in making it come true. Ferrari continues to hope for a third car in Formula 1 races, and if it happens, the president has no doubts about the driver's name, hoping for a pairing that would excite Italian motorsports enthusiasts.
"I would do everything to have Valentino Rossi".
But when will an Italian driver arrive?
"There are no Italian drivers who can win. For me, winning is enough; the driver can be Australian, Ostrogoth, and not speak Italian. As long as he wins".
But will Valentino Rossi ever come to Ferrari?
"I hope so. We would like the third car, and then I would do everything to have Valentino. When he wins this MotoGP championship as well, that's enough: he must also win in Formula 1 with Ferrari".
Speaking of successes, in response to a specific question, Montezemolo explains that on Sunday, at the beginning, he had hoped that the Chinese Grand Prix could be the right occasion to return to the top step of the podium.
"I saw Alonso very well in the first five corners, but there was the small detail that he had started earlier".
The eventful Chinese Grand Prix also saw Fernando Alonso overtaking Felipe Massa at the entrance to the pit lane, risking contact between the two cars. However, Montezemolo, like the Ferrari team itself, plays down any possible controversy between the drivers.
"There is no quarrel between Alonso and Massa; they know what they have to do and will continue to do it because they know they are racing for Ferrari and not for themselves".
Bernie Ecclestone against the volcano. It often happens to very powerful men, at a certain point in their lives, to lose a bit of perspective. On Sunday, April 18, 2010, it happens to Bernie Ecclestone, the boss of Formula 1, terrified by the remote but not entirely impossible possibility that the next Spanish Grand Prix, and its revenues, could be canceled due to the blockage of European flights (teams are facing significant difficulties returning and bringing cars, equipment, and personnel back to Europe). He declares war on Eyjafjallajokull.
"The Grand Prix will happen, volcano or no volcano. I'm sure of it. Canceling it is not even up for discussion. Of course, we will all have problems, but you will see that in the end, we will all find a way to get home".
Then, when a Chinese journalist insists on asking him how he can be so sure, Bernie concludes laughing:
"Sir, trust me: the Spanish Grand Prix will happen, although it remains to be seen where, indeed".
In short, despite some nervousness beginning to show, the community of this Formula 1, lost in translation - hostage to an Icelandic volcano in Shanghai - still tries not to lose its sense of humor. While the major teams - McLaren and Ferrari first - are trying to find charter flights to bypass the ash barrier (a rather complicated mission), someone else delights in hypothesizing alternative routes, such as Lucas Di Grassi, a Virgin driver, who swears he bought the following itinerary to return to England: Shanghai-Beijing by plane, then the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow, by car to Helsinki, and finally, a nice ferry to England. The idea of the Trans-Siberian was actually first suggested by Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull. But he doesn't say it jokingly. In fact, he's quite upset. The fact is that this situation also has a rather heavy sporting downside and risks damaging those teams that planned to bring more substantial aerodynamic developments to Spain, including, beyond Horner's Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Renault, namely the teams studying an adaptable version of the F-Duct proposed by McLaren. An aerodynamic invention that could be quite effective, especially in duels, and now that the championship is getting into the thick of things with the return to Europe.