A change to the Grand Prix format is being considered for next year. The Strategy Group, which meets at Biggin Hill on Thursday 2 July 2015, is proposing a change to the race weekend, with free practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday morning and a qualifying race in the afternoon to determine the grid for the Sunday Grand Prix. It is being discussed, but nothing seems to be happening. This is one of the 28 proposals put on the table for discussion in 2016. Some are impractical, others will be implemented soon, if not immediately. From the Belgian Grand Prix onwards, the start will no longer be assisted by electronic control software and will have to go back to manual. The intention of the Strategy Group is to give the driver back full control of the car without any additional electronic aids. Will we see cars not starting from the grid again? It is also not ruled out that radio communication could be switched off, except for safety reasons. After the embarrassment of the Austrian Grand Prix, where the FIA struggled to draw up a grid that took all penalties into account, it was unanimously decided to change the penalty system. The proposal will be presented to the F1 Commission and then voted on by fax by the members of the World Council, who will meet in Mexico City next week. Among the proposals that received full support was the idea of fitting the power units with two exhausts: one for the 6-cylinder turbo and the other for the wastegate valve, in order to increase engine noise. It was also decided to allow any new manufacturer entering the Formula One World Championship to use an additional engine (five instead of four). This measure would apply retrospectively to Honda in the current championship, although the Japanese team will use the sixth power unit here at Silverstone. They could be allowed to replace the engine without paying the prescribed penalty. The FIA and FOM have also been tasked with drawing up a proposal containing ideas for power unit development and cost reduction. The package should include a complete overhaul of the number of development tokens and an increase in the amount of fuel that can be used in a Grand Prix, while limiting engine development on the dyno. The Strategy Group is in favour of the teams being free to choose their tyres for a race weekend: the details for 2016 will be decided in agreement with Pirelli, who had opposed this possibility. For 2017, there is talk of increasing downforce: the idea is to build bigger cars with wider tyres, redesigned wings and a different underbody shape. The Williams experiment at the Red Bull Ring was designed to gather data in this regard. Formula One is turning a corner after being labelled by enthusiasts as expensive, technical and boring.
"We're missing the last step, that's what we want to do".
Sebastian Vettel is dreaming of that decisive leap in quality. The Ferrari driver talks about the team's progress in recent months.
"We're working very hard, it's not easy because there's a team like Mercedes in front of us. What we have achieved so far is a great result; it must be fair to recognise that our progress has been greater compared to other teams. We are happy, but what we want is to take the final step".
Vettel is increasingly happy to be part of the Ferrari team.
"The start in November was fantastic, I remember that day very well. The gates of Maranello opened for me for the first time; I had been there as a child, but to come back as a driver was great. Now I'm in Hungary driving this car, it's wonderful. I'm part of a big family and sometimes I don't realise how much we work with the team in the paddock. Then you see all these people dressed in red and you are proud to drive this car".
At a difficult time for Kimi Raikkonen, the German driver reaches out to his team-mate.
"I would be happy if he stayed with Ferrari next season, but I don't decide and I don't know the details. Now there is a lot of talk about him and his relationship with the team, but I think we both want to win and we push each other to the limit. The most important thing is that we help the team; we don't waste energy from that point of view. Kimi is a great talent and very fast; this year he has had many ups and downs, made some small mistakes, but these things happen to everyone. Now we have to concentrate on our work behind the wheel; I'm sure he'll recover and everything will be fine".
If there's one thing that makes Kimi Raikkonen uncomfortable, it's the attention of the people around him. If it were up to him, the world would be a deserted place, filled only with desolate tracks and fast cars - no fans, no journalists, no sponsors and no colleagues. In the Ferrari press conference room, for example, there is a chair that can be raised and lowered hydraulically. Well, before every press conference Raikkonen lowers it all the way down until he almost disappears, and only starts talking when he's sure the chair's piston has reached the bottom. Fernando Alonso did the opposite last year; he only spoke when he was sure he could look down at everyone. It was significant to see Raikkonen, who always spoke after Alonso, collapse in front of the journalists. Anyone who witnessed that scene will understand the anxiety Raikkonen is feeling at the moment. Everyone is talking about him. His team principal, Maurizio Arrivabene, who alternates between threats and ambiguous pats on the back, keeps telling him (on behalf of Marchionne?) that the renewal of his expiring contract must be earned on the track. In other words, win or go. Sebastian Vettel talks about him and does not share the opinion that Raikkonen is the boss of Ferrari. Vettel does not like the idea of replacing him with Valtteri Bottas, the young Williams-Mercedes driver. So he makes an unsolicited and humiliating speech:
"Just a couple of bad races and they accuse you of having a crisis. It happened to me. The truth is that I get on well with Kimi; he's a guy I like, honest, no nonsense. I respect him a lot. He was like that before he became world champion in 2007 and he's been like that since. He's a champion and he knows what he's doing".
The last sentence is a quote from a legendary team radio, which has even been made into a T-shirt: Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing", the Finn shouted at his engineer who was bothering him on the day of his first victory after returning from a year away from rallying. Those were good times, when the fans, in a mass uprising, helped Domenicali convince a sceptical Montezemolo to bring Kimi back home. Then what happened happened. Domenicali and Montezemolo were gone and he quickly found himself back on the hot seat. The useless drivers' association published the results of a useless survey of fans around the world, aimed at finding solutions to improve F1. Among the questions was one about the most popular driver. Kimi came first, unchallenged. How do you explain that, he was asked at a press conference.
"I don't know, I don't do anything".
Which is undeniable. And on closer inspection, it's also the reason why Arrivabene and Marchionne are about to let him go.
"We need to be faster and stronger in all areas, and to do that we need to work very hard. Unfortunately, things don't happen overnight, we need some time".
Sebastian Vettel, for his part, is asking for some time to bring Ferrari back to the top of F1.
"Our goal at the beginning of the season was to close the gap with Mercedes and try to win a few races. In that sense we've already done a lot. We're here to win, but we know it's very difficult to compete with them in the condition they're in now".
The German then goes on to talk about the tests in Austria:
"Last week's test was difficult because of the weather conditions. We would have liked to run longer in the same conditions, but everyone lost some time and couldn't complete the programme. However, a lot of work was done and it was important for the engine to get some more miles. We are quite happy with the results".
As for the British Grand Prix, Vettel is realistic:
"I hope to be able to compete with the Mercedes on track, because that would mean we are working well. Of course it would be nice, but I know we have to keep our feet on the ground. The gap is still there, but we will do our best to have a trouble-free weekend. The tyre combination here will be interesting; I think it's something to keep an eye on. We have to work and stay focused on ourselves, trying to make progress in each race".
It's test time for Kimi Raikkonen: after Sergio Marchionne's criticism, the out-of-contract Finn knows he's not in a good position and continues to insist:
"It's not up to me. They have to take the decision. The last race didn't go well, but that's part of the game. Let's see what happens between now and the end of the season. I don't know anything more than what you already know".
The weekend at the Spielberg circuit was a forgettable one, but the Finn is keeping it short and sweet:
"I hope to know what will happen. I don't have the feeling that I have to fight against anyone, I have the feeling that I have to get a good result for myself and the team. Then we'll see if it's enough. I've won a championship and I've done good things with this team. My goal is to always try to improve".
Positive words for the car, which has improved compared to last year, even if it hasn't developed enough to catch up with Mercedes.
"We want more. We need to make this car faster, even though it is a big step forward compared to the past. We are working hard".
On Friday 3rd July 2015, Ferrari did not go beyond second and third place in the second free practice session, with Kimi Raikkonen ahead of Sebastian Vettel. As in the morning, the fastest time was set by Nico Rosberg, while championship leader Lewis Hamilton was fourth in the second Mercedes. The German Mercedes driver clocked 1'34"155, 0.347s ahead of the Finn and 0.367s ahead of his compatriot, while Hamilton was around 0.5s behind his team-mate. All these times were set on medium tyres, which will be used in qualifying. Further back, but within a second, were the Red Bulls of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo. The session was interrupted twice by red flags for off-track excursions by Romain Grosjean's Lotus and Roberto Merhi's Manor. In the first session, Nico Rosberg set the fastest time of 1'34"274, 0.070s quicker than Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen was third with Toro Rosso, 1.256s off the pace. Kimi Raikkonen was fourth for Ferrari, followed by Carlos Sainz Jr's Toro Rosso, while Sebastian Vettel was sixth, 1.465s behind Nico Rosberg. The top ten was completed by the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, followed by Nico Hulkenberg's Force India and Felipe Massa's Williams. McLaren struggled, with Fernando Alonso in P17 ahead of Jenson Button.
In the third and final practice session on Saturday morning, World Champion Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time, half a second ahead of his team-mate, who spent most of the session in the garage investigating a possible gearbox oil leak. Behind the Mercedes were the two Ferraris and the two Toro Rossos, with only Kimi Raikkonen coming within a second of Hamilton's time. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso was limited to just six laps, ending his session early. Prior to the start of qualifying, the stewards warned the drivers to respect the limits of the track, particularly at the Copse corner. However, eleven drivers were eventually disqualified for leaving the track with all four wheels in the corner. Pastor Maldonado lost two of his lap times, including his best in Q1, and barely made it into Q2. This was at the expense of the two McLaren drivers, the two Manor Marussia cars and Sauber's Felipe Nasr, who all failed to get into the second session. Meanwhile, Kimi Räikkönen was fastest in the session. In the second part of the session (Q2), both Lotus drivers retired, as did Max Verstappen, who complained of a lack of rear grip. Sergio Pérez qualified eleventh, while Grosjean, in 12th, had his best time disallowed for exceeding track limits. However, his second best time was good enough to maintain his position. Q3 saw the top ten drivers battle it out for pole position, which was eventually taken by Lewis Hamilton, who beat team-mate Rosberg by 0.113 seconds. Both Mercedes drivers were unable to improve on their first times of the session, with Hamilton abandoning his run and returning to the pit lane before the end of the session. Williams, who have taken two podium finishes in the last two races, confirmed their improved form with a second row start, with Massa ahead of Bottas.
"It is a special day. When you get pole position in your Grand Prix, in your home race, with so many fans who motivated me all weekend, it can only be special. My brother is here to watch me, so I'm really happy. It hasn't been an easy few days, we've made a lot of changes to the balance and even the qualifying wasn't spectacular. We'll see if things go better in the race. My first lap in Q3 was really good and Lewis was only a tenth of a second quicker than me. In the second flying lap, I couldn't improve like most of the other drivers, which is strange. It's annoying to be so close to Lewis".
Nico Rosberg does not hide a certain disappointment, although he admits:
"It's always nice to race here at Silverstone in front of all these passionate fans".
Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, is disappointed:
"It was all more difficult than we expected: it wasn't an easy day for me and the team. I'm not happy with the laps I did: I didn't even complete the last one. I made some mistakes with the set-up: not everything worked as it should. We'll see how it goes now, the race pace is there. I'm hoping for an exciting race: we're certainly not starting from the best position and we'll have to win something".
For the first time since he's been with Ferrari, he's not smiling. It's also the first time he's qualified behind his team-mate (without any technical problems) and, according to him at least, the first time he hasn't found a connection with his Eva, aka the SF15-T, which has brought him a win and several podiums this year. Is this the beginning of an evolution? Or just a temporary setback? Hard to say. The fact is that Sebastian Vettel arrives at the press conference and he's not smiling. What's going on?
"What's happening is that we weren't fast enough".
Are you going backwards? You're no longer second.
"Let's say there's still a race to run and a lot to say. But, well, yes, what we have seen today clearly shows that the first two cars on the grid, the Mercedes, are in a different world. And at least here at Silverstone, the Williams are much, much faster. More than us".
Is it the fault of the car?
"The feeling wasn't as good as on many previous occasions. I tried to push, to find the right set-up, but it was impossible, the car was slipping".
Did the incident with Massa have anything to do with the disappointing performance?
"No, it didn't affect the result that much. I was trying to find a bit of space to do a quick lap, Massa passed Rosberg and I found him in front of me while he was braking. That slowed me down a bit while I was trying to get away, but it wasn't the decisive moment in qualifying. The truth is that I made a few mistakes".
Are Mercedes that unbeatable?
"I honestly don't know how much they worked for this weekend. They did their best, as always, but I don't think they brought anything new".
But they are a second ahead of you. And Ferrari?
"A below average performance. But I don't think we should talk about a decline. Let's just say that we didn't get the best out of what we had and that's why we're very disappointed, especially me".
Now to the race.
"The pace is good, but having Mercedes and Williams in front is not ideal on a fast track like this. Overtaking is difficult, you need a good start and a good strategy".
Fernando Alonso said in May after the Spanish Grand Prix:
"They took 43 seconds from Mercedes, nothing has changed. That's why I left, because I was tired of finishing second".
At the time, those words seemed to come from an understandable form of resentment, fierce statements uttered from the depths of a technical and personal crisis of dramatic proportions. Reading those words today, they seem more like an epitaph for Ferrari's season, the first under the Marchionne-Arrivabene duo, who took over at Maranello in November with the battle cry: "A Ferrari that doesn't win is unacceptable". Yes, because if it's true that today's remarks are only about qualifying and that anything can happen in the race, with Ferrari possibly even winning, it's also true that the significant gap Ferrari has over a Mercedes that seems more dominant than ever - beyond any occasional result - measures the distance between reality and the ambitions, declared or not, of the Maranello team. Ambitions that now appear to have been significantly reduced. Although Kimi Raikkonen disagrees:
"I don't think Ferrari has regressed. Every race is different and this time we probably couldn't do what we wanted, but there was a lot of wind on the track and the conditions weren't ideal for us".
If you look for mitigating factors, you can do better. For example, Arrivabene says that Pirelli's decision to use hard tyres (medium and hard) did not help the work of a chassis that seems to prefer softer compounds. Nevertheless, it's undeniable that tyres and wind are the same for everyone. And in an unfortunate turn of events, another team, Williams, has entered the scene in the same conditions. On closer inspection, it's a sort of second Mercedes that has finally been able to exploit the full potential of the engine supplied by Stuttgart. So Ferrari is no longer the undisputed second force in the championship, as was claimed at the start of the season after the illusory and perhaps premature victory at Sepang. Instead, it will have to fight to defend its position against a team with a third of the budget; forget about catching up with Mercedes. A similar situation to last year. The only real difference is that McLaren and Red Bull have self-destructed, leaving the losers of the Ferrari-Williams duel in a decent position. Too little for those who made a break with the previous management their banner. For the rest, it's almost all the same. Starting with the Anglo-German superiority. So far, in nine Grands Prix, the Stuttgart-based brand has claimed eight victories, eighteen podiums, five one-two finishes and nine pole positions. It's a staggering record that has turned the 2015 season into the most spectacular advertising campaign ever seen for a car manufacturer, since Mercedes, unlike the previously dominant Red Bull, doesn't sell energy drinks but cars, despite the Alfa Romeo logo on Marchionne's red bodywork. The British Grand Prix on Sunday 5 July 2015 will be a sell-out event in front of 140.000 spectators. On the way to the grid, Felipe Nasr experienced gearbox problems and had to retire. After the lights went out, the two Mercedes cars did not get off to a good start, allowing the two Williams cars of Massa and Bottas to move up to first and third respectively, with Bottas almost overtaking Lewis Hamilton. Further back, Nico Hulkenberg was also quick off the line, moving from ninth to fifth at the expense of Daniil Kvyat and the two Ferraris. At the back of the grid, Daniel Ricciardo touched Romain Grosjean in Turn 3, causing Grosjean to turn into his team-mate Pastor Maldonado.
Fernando Alonso, who had to swerve to avoid the accident, collided with his team-mate Jenson Button, who retired along with both Lotus drivers. While Alonso pitted for a new nose, the incident brought out the safety car, which led the field until the start of lap four. Hamilton immediately attacked Felipe Massa, only to run wide on Vale, allowing Bottas to take second place on the inside of Club. Meanwhile, Sergio Pérez passed Sebastian Vettel for ninth place, while Max Verstappen retired after spinning in the gravel. For the next few laps, Williams exercised team orders, telling their drivers to avoid racing each other in order to stay away from the Mercedes cars. Bottas complained that he was faster and asked for permission to overtake for the lead, which Williams granted. However, his pace did not improve as the top four pulled away from the midfield, with Nico Hulkenberg in fifth leading by seven seconds on lap 13. Both Ferrari drivers made early pit stops for new tyres on laps 14 and 15, apparently for a two-stop strategy. On lap 20, Lewis Hamilton opted for the undercut and came in for a new set of tyres. Massa, who was leading at the time, and Rosberg, who was fourth, came in a lap later. The pair battled wheel-to-wheel on the exit of the pitlane, but Massa's lead was enough for him to take provisional second place. Bottas arrived a lap later, but Hamilton's out-lap, the fastest of the race, saw the world champion take the lead, with Bottas third and Massa and Rosberg split. Daniel Ricciardo retired on lap 23 with an electrical problem. Halfway through the race, the drivers were told that rain was expected before the end of the race. When Carlos Sainz Jr. lost speed and retired on the track with an electrical failure, the race saw a brief Virtual Safety Car period on laps 33 and 34, after which the first drops of rain hit the track, initially in the pit lane area. By lap 38, the drivers began to lose traction. On lap 39, Sebastian Vettel managed to overtake his team-mate Raikkonen, who pitted for intermediate tyres at the end of the lap, which proved to be a poor choice as the track was not yet wet enough. Meanwhile, Rosberg took third place from Bottas on the same lap, and two laps later took second place from Massa. Räikkönen lost more places and dropped back to ninth on his intermediate tyres. Rosberg, on slicks, pushed hard and significantly reduced Hamilton's lead to just 3.7 seconds by lap 43. Hamilton responded with a pit stop of his own for intermediate tyres, which Vettel imitated.
The strategy proved to be effective as the rain came through and Rosberg and the two Williams came into the pitlane on the following laps, but the stops were too late as Massa and Bottas fell behind Vettel and Hamilton extended his lead to nine seconds over Rosberg. On lap 49, Will Stevens ran wide into the barriers and lost his front wing. He was able to continue, but the subsequent nose change relegated him to last place. Hamilton defended his lead over the final laps to win for the third time at Silverstone (the last two being consecutive British Grand Prix victories and the first by a driver from pole position since 1994). He also surpassed Jackie Stewart's 45-year-old record of laps led in eighteen consecutive Grands Prix. Alonso finished tenth to score his first point since returning to McLaren, while the new B-spec Force India scored double points with Hulkenberg and Pérez finishing seventh and ninth respectively. Thirty-eighth career victory: Hamilton wins the British Grand Prix for the third time, sending the crowd into raptures. A celebration of British pride that was almost spoiled by Williams, who were in great form today. Massa, in fact, had one of the best starts in F1 history: from third to first at the start, closely followed by Bottas. The race started in the most incredible way, with two Williams at the front and two Mercedes struggling behind them because they couldn't keep up with their pace. Then came the pit stops, Hamilton's fast laps and finally the rain towards the end, resulting in a strange order of finish with Vettel in third and poor Massa and Bottas off the podium. Sebastian's skill? All in the early pit stop: when the rain came, Ferrari were extremely adept at changing tyres before everyone else and then effortlessly overtaking their opponents. But podium or no podium, the bitterness remains, because today it's clear that Williams, not Ferrari, is behind Mercedes. And now, in Maranello, the Raikkonen case is really opening up:
"I'm happy with Vettel's third place, but if it hadn't rained, it wouldn't have ended like this".
Maurizio Arrivabene explains.
"Sebastian was great to ask for a pit stop at the right time. Kimi, on the other hand, anticipated too much and that's how it ended".
The Ferrari Team Principal once again took the Finn to task for his race management at Silverstone.
"When it rains, the engineers count a lot, but it's the drivers who dictate the moves".
Completing the top ten were Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, Daniil Kvyat sixth for Red Bull, Nico Hulkenberg for Force India, Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari, Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso, who scored his first point for McLaren. A good result for the team at its home Grand Prix and the first ray of sunshine in a disastrous season. It is also worth noting the failure of the debut of the Virtual Safety Car: a race condition in which drivers cannot improve their times to allow rescue vehicles to enter the track without creating gaps. It proved impossible to avoid being fast in every sector of the track, so in the end some were affected by this rule and some were not, entirely by chance. But let's get back to Hamilton who, with his fifth win of the season, consolidated his lead in the standings with a 17-point advantage over team-mate Nico Rosberg. A significant advantage for a driver in great form and one who could win every Grand Prix between now and the end of the championship.
"The decision to pit? I think for the first time in my career I made the perfect choice from a tyre perspective".
This was how Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton described the decisive move he made in the British Grand Prix, where he took his fifth victory of the season thanks to the timing of his pit stop just before the onset of heavy rain.
"I'm happy because I managed to get the car going even though I had lost a lot of temperature. The clutch was fine but there was little grip, I think it was the same for Rosberg, but it made the race more exciting because we had to keep pushing and I think that made the race more exciting. I'm really happy, you can't imagine how happy I am. I hope I can continue like this and fight for the championship. I'm grateful to this crowd, I couldn't have done it without your support. I saw you with the corner of my eye every lap and it's like you were there to push me".
Nico Rosberg, on the other hand, conceded defeat, the Mercedes driver having to succumb to the dominance of his team-mate, who made the right decision to pit just before the finish.
"It was a good race, I pushed hard to catch Lewis in these difficult conditions, but in the end he made the right decision with the pit stops, so it's fair, I lost, congratulations to him".
Sebastian Vettel was happy but realistic after finishing third at Silverstone, a return to the podium after two races. As he crossed the finish line, the German let out a shout:
"You're great. You are great".
Addressing the men in the garage.
"Without the rain we wouldn't have made it to the podium, but we still achieved a great result. There was a big gap to the front before the track changed. Then, fortunately, everything went well. I chose the right moment to come out and the strategy worked".
Kimi Räikkönen admitted his mistake:
"I made the decision to come in because it was too wet, then unfortunately it stopped raining. I expected too much. During the race, the car wasn't bad, it was just difficult to overtake those in front because they were too fast on the straight".
Here is the English translation of the text provided:
"From the past and the future come the new enemies of Ferrari. Only these enemies have the friendly faces of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas".
The team in question is the martin-white Williams that is vying for the role of anti-Ferrari. And it's not good news, considering that of all the teams, Williams is perhaps the most motivated to take on the Maranello outfit. To illustrate this, on the eve of the race, Robert Smedley, the chief engineer of the British team, also an ex-Ferrari, had called an extraordinary meeting:
"Tomorrow on the track, we race against them. Only against them".
Then he explained the secret of beating them:
"For years they haven't been able to get the hard tyres to work, and we have to be better than them there".
Even if it meant sacrificing something in qualifying. The plan, executed to perfection, had also worked: firstly because Ferrari had done a terrible job in qualifying and had been placed surprisingly low up the grid; and secondly because, as Smedley had predicted, the Williams were over a second quicker per lap on the hard tyres. Then, fortunately for Ferrari, came the rain, blessed by Vettel ("Don't call it luck, I was clever to choose the exact moment to come in and put on wet tyres"), and the mistakes of the Williams pit wall. Sebastian Vettel admits:
"From now on we have to be very careful".
Especially as Mercedes are now on the verge of another double World Championship (Constructors' and Drivers') and the Stuttgart car manufacturer seems to have decided to concentrate heavily on Williams, providing them with engines and all the necessary upgrades. The Germans, as you know, love to win by a large margin. However, there is one man in the Ferrari motorhome who is more excited than usual. It is Maurizio Arrivabene, the team boss. His team is coming off its worst performance of the season. And he knows it. He is mentally reviewing the race and wringing his hands. Felipe Massa's quick start, the Brazilian's battle with Valtteri Bottas, then the comeback of the Mercedes and his Ferrari on the verge of collapse, until the saving rain and Sebastian Vettel's unexpected third place. Is the Italian manager now happier about the podium or more concerned about the performance?
"The glass is half empty. We have to be serious and honest with ourselves and admit that if it hadn't rained, they would have beaten us soundly".
What didn't work?
"At least three things. The first is the track. Silverstone is fast and we know now that we are not good on fast corners. An afternoon like this, get ready, we will experience it at Spa and Suzuka. The second problem is our inability to use hard tyres. And the third problem is that we have lost straight line speed by constantly looking for aerodynamic load to improve in the fast corners, without improving enough in the fast corners".
When you say it like that, it sounds like an aerodynamic problem.
"We have to work on all areas where it is possible. Williams have been very good in the last few races. I don't want them to become a problem. I want our problem to be the Mercedes".
When you and Marchionne took over, you claimed that the main mistake of the old management was to insist too much on the 2014 car after losing the championship. Aren't you making the same mistake?
"First of all, let me say that I have no desire to revisit old issues. Having said that, I think it would be a mistake to abandon this project. The 2016 car and the 2015 car are complementary and stopping work on the 2015 car now would mean losing important data".
Would you like to say a final word about Raikkonen; will he stay at Ferrari?
"Kimi's future is in his hands. I don't want to talk about it anymore. There are ten races left and he knows what we want from him. At the right time we will announce our decision. For now, I want him to work in peace".
But don't you think he's under too much pressure? He has made another big miscalculation.
"Oh no. I was with him these days and he was very calm and motivated. He was riding well. The problem with the strategy was his problem. Kimi saw there was a lot of water in some corners, he risked going off and decided to change; if it had rained two minutes earlier, he would have risked winning the race".
Yes, but it rained two minutes later.