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Despite retiring from Sepang, Fernando Alonso is promising a battle in the next two races in China and Bahrain, in order to make the best of the European Formula 1 season.
"If we can have a weekend with normal conditions, we can qualify well and score points. We want to achieve more than last season, so this year in China and Bahrain it is relatively easy to improve''.
A year ago, Alonso finished ninth in Shanghai and seventh in Sakhir, but now he is confident of a podium finish on both occasions:
"If we arrive in Europe with three podiums to our credit, it will be great for morale. I don't think Red Bull has been that impressive. In Australia they dominated all the sessions showing spectacular pace. In Malaysia we knew they had problems with tyre degradation and in fact Mercedes fought with them until the end. I think we could have taken the podium. It's still too early to say what the hierarchies are, the first two races were very unstable: we haven't seen any potential in qualifying yet and we don't know where we are yet either".
A year after the disastrous 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, Ferrari returns to Shanghai in a different spirit. Felipe Massa, fifth overall after two Grands Prix, is more confident this time around.
"Even though we have only had two races, the start of this championship has shown us to be more competitive than last year. It means that the work done during the winter on the F138 has paid off. I believe that the single-seater has ample room for development. I always have a great desire to fight for victory and even if in the first two races not everything worked perfectly, we had some encouraging feedback, starting with a very good race pace".
After two races it may still be premature to draw a sketch of the values on the track.
"The idea I have is that there are more than two teams capable of fighting both for individual victories and for the championship, and in this group there is also us. It makes me optimistic to see that every time we go out on track the feedback reflects the expectations we've accrued both in the wind tunnel and in simulations. In Melbourne I think the car had absolute potential and even in Malaysia, despite the long series of unforeseen events that affected the race, if we look at the lap times it shows that the car was very competitive".
In the break granted by the 2013 calendar after the Malaysian Grand Prix, Massa, along with Fernando Alonso, spent some time at Maranello to better prepare for the upcoming trip to Shanghai. A job that made the Brazilian confident:
"I think the whole team has prepared very well ahead of the next Grand Prix we will be able to have all the updates we planned to bring to Shanghai after the work done in the simulator last week. I hope that this effort will translate into an improvement in performance as we expect it to. Shanghai is a very beautiful track, with a great variety of corners and a very long straight where you can reach high speeds. It is a configuration that forgives nothing, and that rewards an efficient single-seater both in the fast areas and in the corners where you need good downforce. It is also a track where there has always been a lot of tyre degradation, especially at the front, so it will be the race strategies that will play a very important role in the final result. The goal is not just to score points, but to be able to get on the podium, maybe on the top step. The season has started in the right direction and it is right to have ambitious goals".
Looking to the future for a moment, Fernando Alonso says:
"I am oriented to finish my career in Ferrari. It is the best team in the world, there is nothing above Ferrari".
Fernando Alonso talks about his future, swearing allegiance to the Maranello team, while not ruling out an experience in another category:
"It is something I have not thought about yet, what I am sure of is that if I continue racing it will be more for the pure pleasure of doing it than for any other reason. But we'll see, I still have a long way to go in Formula 1".
Thinking about the present, Alonso returns to last year's Malaysian Grand Prix, which ended on the first lap for the Spanish driver after the decision not to replace the nose of the single-seater, damaged following contact with Vettel:
"It's easy in hindsight to say that it would have been better to pit straight away. But it was a decision that was made in a matter of seconds, during which we thought I could have held out for another lap, and used the stop to fit dry tyres as well. Statistically in every season there are two or three retirements, so the numbers say we could have another stop as well".
The aim now is to redeem himself in the Chinese Grand Prix:
"I am optimistic and obviously my chances are still intact, the championship is still very long. I hope I still have the chance to win many more races this season".
There is also talk about the new engines that will be used next year, and the Spaniard says:
"I don't think we will know much before January 2014. They will be small engines, with less power, a challenge for the engineers. The new rules always try to limit the speed of the cars, which is a bit strange. But we also have to consider that we need to bring Formula 1 technology closer to the road cars we drive every day".
Alonso finally praises his idol:
"Senna, the best of them all".
Meanwhile, ahead of the next Chinese Grand Prix, Red Bull decides, after what happened in Malaysia, there will be no more team orders. This is the solution found by the World Champion team to restore serenity inside the pit. Relations between Vettel and Webber are at an all-time low after the rude behaviour of the German at Sepang, where the World Champion, ignoring the instructions received, attacked and overtook the Australian, stealing the victory from him and causing a ruckus. Between obvious embarrassment and palpable irritation, the team tried to deal with the case. Vettel apologised repeatedly: privately, publicly, via the web. Everything resolved? Not quite, although rumours of a final handshake are coming from the paddock. Dietrich Mateschitz did not like the spectacle offered by the drivers on the Sepang track. Helmut Marko confesses:
"He was definitely annoyed".
The World Championship has offered a three-week respite thanks to the calendar: now, after the mini-break, the circus is back on track in Shanghai, which hosts the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday 14 April 2013. Vettel and Webber will start again with no special orders, as admitted by Helmut Marko:
"There will be no more team orders from us".
But Sebastian Vettel is back to talk about what happened in Malaysia.
"I don't apologise for winning, that's what I'm here for. I think there is not much to add about what happened. I apologised to the team after putting myself above the team, which I didn't intend to do. But I don't apologise for winning. I get paid for it and that's what I'm here for".
To forget Sepang and return to the top in Shanghai, in the Chinese Grand Prix scheduled for next Sunday. These are the goals that Fernando Alonso continues to have.
"Our goal here is to fight to finish on the podium. Five weeks after the first race in Australia, we have had, as I think most teams have, time to make some updates and I am reasonably optimistic that what we have brought here will give the results we expect. So we are aiming for the podium, with both cars would be even better. I think we need to improve qualifying, which is a weak point compared to our race pace".
The Spanish driver also returns to talk about the Sepang retirement:
"I am not worried about not scoring points in Malaysia, because in the course of a season in Formula 1 all drivers have at least two or three retirements. It was a shame about that contact in turn two, but as far as whether or not to pit, I think the damage was done by then. Now we will try to be a bit more careful, to have a bit more margin, with the hope that it won't happen again".
Alonso then praises Felipe Massa:
"Felipe I think is doing a fantastic job and driving at 100 per cent. However, talking about the last four races is a strange calculation, involving races from last year and this season, and the conditions in qualifying in Melbourne and Malaysia were not so normal. As I said, he is doing a great job and I hope to qualify ahead of him in several races this year. To do so will require a fantastic lap".
Team orders were the subject of debate after the tactics adopted by Red Bull and Mercedes in Malaysia.
"As a driver, you always want to win, and do everything to achieve it. However, what matters are your team's priorities, so it's difficult to comment or have an opinion on what Red Bull and Mercedes did in the last race, without knowing what they talked about beforehand. But as I said, when you are in F1, you sign a contract with your team and you have a professional obligation to your team, and sometimes people confuse team orders with an obligation to do your job".
From individual sport to team sport (albeit atypical). The genetic mutation taking place in F1's complex organism is having violent side effects. And in the paddock, still shaken by the events of Sepang, accusations are flying, with Vettel literally declaring war on Webber, with Rosberg and Hamilton (caught in an allergy attack) pretending nothing has happened, and with Alonso and Massa sending each other encrypted messages.
What happened at Sepang was that - with enormous anticipation of Formula 1 customs - the race was directed by the team orders from the Mercedes and Red Bull pits. Orders with a clear and threatening tone intended for Rosberg and Vettel - which, however, had opposite results: in the case of Rosberg they were successful, in the case of Vettel they crashed against the instinct of the driver, of the strongest, of the one possessed by the demon of victory: he stepped on the accelerator and went on to win, causing a wave of controversy so high that even yesterday the paddock was full of debris. The biggest of these was the wreckage of Red Bull, understood as a team, that is, as a group of men walking in the same direction. Making it clear to the world that the situation inside Red Bull's garage is explosive is Sebastian Vettel himself who, with a cool head, fourteen days after the incident, swipes his badge at the turnstiles of the paddock at the Shanghai circuit and fires back at his team-mate:
"I would do exactly what I did again".
To the reporters, it doesn't seem true: after that puppy-dog sulk exhibited on the Sepang podium, the German finally stopped whining and showed himself for what he is:
"Mark has never helped me in the past, I respect him as a driver but I think he should have done more for the team (i.e., for him, Sebastian, ed). I apologised to the team, on the podium because I put myself before the team. But not to Webber who didn't deserve to win. The fine? They didn't fine me, and why would they fine a driver who wins a race?"
The funny thing is that just before Vettel's words, Webber had tried to shut the matter down:
"It's not true that I want to leave Red Bull, I don't want to quit F1, everyone saw, for me it's history closed, I just want to win".
More or less the same attitude flaunted by Rosberg:
"Mercedes' only mistake at Sepang was not to speak beforehand about any team orders, now instead everything is clear".
Crystal clear: Hamilton comes first, you come later, would acidly chime Ross Brawn, the Mercedes team principal. At this point, Briatore's well-known and infallible first theorem - controversy between two drivers of the same team inevitably favours the first driver of the opposing team - should make Ferrari smile. Were it not that Massa's rediscovered competitiveness, who has been qualifying ahead of Alonso for four races now, has made the air crisp and so the question of team orders becomes urgent even for the Maranello team's box.
"I only respect them if they are intelligent and in the past they have not been".
Warns the Brazilian, hinting that if they were to come to him now, at the third race of the season, he would do as Vettel did. While Fernando Alonso warns:
"I don't want there to be confusion between team orders and professional duty. We can't do as we please here. Casillas is a goalkeeper, not a striker, and a doctor when he goes to hospital is not a nurse".
However, on Friday 12 April 2013 the news became official: Felipe Massa is experiencing a second youth.
In the free practice of the Chinese Grand Prix, in fact, if in the first session the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were ahead of everyone (with the first Ferrari, that of Alonso only fifth and 1.248 seconds behind Rosberg), in the second session the Brazilian is really doing the phenomenon. The time of 1'35"340 speaks for itself: Massa is very fast, just think that behind him is Kimi Raikkonen, who sets a time of 1'35"492 and that Alonso, third, with a time of 1'35"755, is almost 0.5 seconds behind his teammate. But what's going on?
"With the medium tyre the car didn't seem to go so well, then with the soft the car improved markedly".
This is how Felipe Massa himself explains the time he set during practice.
"The race pace is very good with both tyres, I was impressed by the difference in performance between the two tyres. Looking at the car with a fantastic race pace, I made an impressive time with the soft, I am confident. Hopefully we can go like that again on Sunday".
Fernando Alonso is also satisfied:
"The sensations at the end of the day are good, we did a good job and then it is always a lot of fun driving here in Shanghai, a circuit with very special characteristics, like the first corner".
From what you can perceive the Speranzosa, as Luca Montezemolo calls it, is a computer-car, very close to the simulator they use at Maranello, full of controls but easy to drive, in the old motoring sense. In short, it is ideal for Felipe Massa, who thus finds himself in a real video game in which he evidently feels very comfortable. Which, should it be confirmed in the coming races, could become a problem for Alonso, because Massa with a car like that can't be beaten by anyone. Saturday 13 April 2013, at the end of the third and final practice session, the Ferarri drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa set the best times. They are followed, almost 0.7 seconds behind, by Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes. However, the Anglo-German car is the fastest on Medium tyres. Moreover, the wind affects the performance of the single-seaters. Not surprisingly, Lewis Hamilton will start on pole position in the Chinese Grand Prix. The British driver is the fastest in qualifying, lapping in 1'34"484. Alongside him on the front row will be the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen. Third time and second row for the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, who precedes the Mercedes of German Nico Rosberg. Fifth time for the other Ferrari of Felipe Massa, who will start ahead of the Lotus of Frenchman Romain Grosjean. Not a happy qualifying for Red Bull. Sebastian Vettel finishes ninth, doing worse than the Toro Rosso of Australian Daniel Ricciardo and the McLaren of Englishman Jenson Button. The World Champion, fresh from his victory in Malaysia, ends qualifying with a mistake and prefers to preserve the Medium tyres with which he will start the race. At the start he will be able to take advantage of the ideal compound while his most formidable rivals will start on Soft tyres. Next to the World Champion will start the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg. Further back is Mark Webber's Red Bull: the Australian, betrayed by a fuel pressure problem, leaves the scene in the second phase of qualifying and will start from the seventh row. In Shanghai, the watchword is optimism. At Ferrari, they look forward to the race with confidence. Fernando Alonso, third in qualifying, wants to return to the podium after the disappointment in Malaysia:
"Goal podium? Even a little bit more. I am very happy, the car has been competitive since the start of the weekend. We made some changes and the car is responding well. In qualifying I managed to get the time with just one lap, it was important to conserve the tyres".
Somewhat less satisfied was Felipe Massa, who after dominating Friday's free practice set the fifth best time:
"I expected something better. Maybe the others had a bit more petrol in free practice, they improved a lot. We are there, in the fight. We know that strategy can also make a difference, it counts a lot and maybe the pole position weighs a little less".
Confidence also shines through from the words of Stefano Domenicali:
"We have a good base, we can really do an important result. I am happy because we are on the second and third rows, placing two cars in front in qualifying is always a good result".
Explains the Ferrari team principal, who on the different strategy adopted by Vettel says:
"We will see tomorrow who will be right, it is clear that it is a different strategy. We know that the soft tyres last a few laps compared to the medium ones. In any case, we have seen that it should not rain. We are convinced of the choice we have made, it will be interesting to see how everyone will interpret tomorrow's race".
The happiest of all is obviously Lewis Hamilton, on his first pole with Mercedes:
"It's a fantastic feeling, I'm very, very happy. I feel ecstatic. Hopefully I'll have a good race tomorrow, I also have a nice margin, I didn't expect that after the Ferraris went very strong. I can't complain about what I did. Tomorrow I expect a very difficult race".
Lotus' Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen, who will start from second position, is also smiling:
"I'm still happy, we don't have the speed to get pole, I would have liked to be first but we lack a bit of downforce".
Sebastian Vettel explains Red Bull's strategy of starting on Medium tyres:
"Mercedes and Ferrari are very fast, so we chose to go in a different direction. The softs don't last long, the mediums seem a better solution. We have a choice, I think it's clear what we are trying to do. Whether it's the right choice or not, we'll see".
Mark Webber will start from last place in the Chinese Grand Prix. The Australian Red Bull driver, fresh from his second place in Malaysia (a podium finish accompanied by controversy for the overtaking move against him by team mate Vettel) is being punished by the FIA because during the second qualifying heat he stopped at the side of the track without petrol. Red Bull admits that they failed to put enough petrol in the tank of Webber's car to allow him to return to the pits. The team was not fined, but the driver, who had finished qualifying in P14, was relegated to last position. They call it Bernie's move. The anecdote from which it takes its name is a great Formula 1 classic, dating back to the days when Bernard Charles Ecclestone was still just a good team principal at Brabham. The narrator's voice, with a strong London accent, is his own:
"I had two drivers who used to throw tantrums at me. They were fighting like cats and dogs. And me from trying to keep them quiet. Until one day I got really tired. I called them and told them that from then on they would have to do as I said. Their faces were disappointed, they stared at the floor, but they did not dare to say a word. After the meeting one of them came back, took me aside and told me that he, no, would not respect my decisions. I told him that I had played that little game to see which of the two was a pilot, which of the two had the killer instinct. I sent him off smiling, complimenting him. Then I called the mechanics and told them to put less petrol in that driver's tank than necessary, so that he would stop right in the last laps".
It seems that Sebastian Vettel, three times World Champion and protagonist of an interminable controversy with his teammate, is also Ecclestone's favourite driver. That must be why some journalists of typically Anglo-Saxon stamp, on Saturday evening in the paddock, look with a slightly bewildered face at the press release with which the FIA disqualifies Mark Webber (his team mate and victim of Vettel's whimsy), condemning him to start from the last position on the grid. The tank of his Red Bull was mysteriously found to be empty by the stewards, whereas according to the regulations at least one litre of petrol is needed for the controllers to ascertain its regularity. Many at first thought it was the usual cunning of Christian Horner's team, who had already tried it last year in Abu Dhabi to play with the underweight petrol. But this time the case is very different from Abu Dhabi: this time the irregularity is much stranger, it happened in Q2 - i.e. at a completely pointless moment - and, apparently, really by mistake. But mistakes in a technical and exasperated sport like F1 do not exist. At best, they are the alternative faces of an unresolved situation. At worst, unconfessed acts of sabotage. The fact is that while the race of the second driver with a grudge will start without any hope of victory (and without even the possibility of meeting his rival on the track), that of Sebastian - the team's darling - is instead intact, albeit slightly ruined by a mistake (this certainly a product of the toxic climate in the garage) by Vettel himself. He will start ninth, Sebastian. But on Medium tyres and chasing a two-stop strategy (instead of the standard three). From there he will try to make up as much as possible to catch up with the happy trio: Hamilton, Raikkonen and Alonso. Needless to say, Vettel's target is the Spaniard. Not that Mercedes and Lotus do not pose a real threat. But it is undeniable that Ferrari, fast on the track and very fast in the race, is scarier these days. On Sunday 14 April 2013, for this Grand Prix, as in the first two races of the season, the FIA telemetry, which sends real-time information to the drivers during the race, is not active due to its malfunction. At the start of the Chinese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton maintains first position, followed by Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, who pass Kimi Räikkönen at the start. The two Ferrari drivers pass Hamilton at the start of lap five, with Massa passing on the inside and Alonso passing on the outside. Also on lap five Romain Grosjean passes Nico Rosberg and moves up to fifth.
At the end of lap five the two Mercedes drivers return to the pits to make their first tyre change, followed by Fernando Alonso. Nico Hülkenberg passes in first, followed by Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, as they have not yet changed tyres. The first two drivers pitted on lap 14, with Vettel taking advantage of the slow tyre change made by the Sauber team to overtake the German. Jenson Button thus moves into first position, followed by Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen, who passes Sergio Pérez. After the first series of stops Felipe Massa finds himself behind the Mexican, and doesn't seem to have much pace. On lap 16 Mark Webber touches Jean-Éric Vergne's car and pits with a damaged nose. The Australian returns to the track but, shortly afterwards, loses a tyre, which crosses the track without hitting any other cars. On lap 19 Vettel passes Massa and moves up to sixth place, behind Perez, who like his teammate has not yet made a stop. On lap 21 Alonso passes Button, and moves back into first place. On lap 24 they both return to the pits to change tyres. Sebastian Vettel is back in first position, followed by Nico Hülkenberg and again Fernando Alonso. Jenson Button is fourth, followed by Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen, Paul di Resta and Felipe Massa. The Spaniard retook the lead by first overtaking Nico Hulkenberg on lap 26 and then Sebastian Vettel on lap 29. First Hamilton and then Räikkönen passed Button, and were back in podium positions, behind Alonso and Vettel. On lap 30 Hulkenberg changed to soft tyres for a shorter stint; two laps later Vettel made his stop and changed back to medium tyres, then returned to the track behind his compatriot. However, the Red Bull Racing driver quickly passes the Sauber driver. Then Vettel also passes Button, but both still have to fit Soft tyres. Between laps 35 and 37 both Räikkönen and Hamilton make another tyre change, while Alonso waits until lap 41. After the tyre change Alonso is second, behind Vettel, but quickly overtakes him. The classification now sees Fernando Alonso in the lead, followed by Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Paul di Resta. On lap 49 Jenson Button makes his final tyre change, followed two laps later by Sebastian Vettel. The German drops down to fourth place, and in the final laps he rejoins Lewis Hamilton, but is unable to overtake him. Fernando Alonso wins the Chinese Grand Prix, followed by Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa, Daniel Ricciardo, Paul di Resta, Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg. In China, Fernando Alonso showed unprecedented strength and determination.
But also a crazy car, an overpowering Ferrari. The team radio on lap 47 is sensational, when Fernando Alonso was in first position and had just set the fastest lap (a risky and pointless thing to do) and from the pits they tell him over the headphones:
"Don't push too hard, it's no use".
Alonso's response?
"I'm not pushing too hard...".
There, in this dialogue is all the essence of a Ferrari-missile returning to victory after twelve Grands Prix (a lot for a team of its level) and doing it in the best way. That is, dominating and leaving no-one any hope. Especially to that Red Bull which, after the mistake made in the pits on Webber's car (they didn't tighten a wheel that came off during the race) found itself with Vettel off the podium. A snub.
"Generally we can be happy. It's disappointing not to get on the podium but the strategy was right, I didn't miss much to get second place, I lost ground at the start. I tried to catch Hamilton but to overtake him I needed another lap, some slow cars made us lose ground. We knew it was crucial to be able to do some clean laps at the start but it wasn't possible. I don't think it was possible to win, Alonso's Ferrari was too fast here: he started in front and got ahead, I couldn't do it".
But let's go back to Ferrari: Massa was also going strong today and in the end sixth place was more the result of a small sacrifice imposed by the pit stops (the Brazilian had to delay his entry into the pits to give precedence to Alonso, thus remaining an extra lap on the track with the tyres cooked) than by the performance of the car. It's a shame, because a podium finish for the other Ferrari without this little strategic misfortune would not have been possible. Of course, Vettel still leads the World Championship standings with 52 points, but Raikkonen is now second with 49 points and Alonso is third, with 43 points, with Hamilton fourth on 40 points. But the World Championship is as wide open as ever. Especially now, with a stellar Ferrari. The fans are really dreaming. Lewis Hamilton brings home a podium, even though he almost lost it on the last lap to Vettel's recovery.
"We are very happy. It was a great result for the team who did a fantastic job, we didn't have the same pace as the first two but I'm happy to be here. We would have hoped to win, I have to congratulate Alonso and Raikkonen. I couldn't get close to Kimi, I had problems managing the tyres."
Kimi Raikkoen was aiming for victory:
"I was hoping to win".
That was Kimi Raikkonen's comment from the podium of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, which the Finn finished second.
"But after a bad start the car was going well. Perez pushed me against the kerb, I tried to catch him but ended up hitting him in the rear. The wing was damaged, that didn't help but didn't affect me too much. We managed to fight for second place, without the damage maybe we would have been faster".
Penalties for Mark Webber in Red Bull and Esteban Gutierrez in Sauber, to be served at the next Grand Prix. In Bahrain the Australian will start with a three-place grid penalty for the incident he was involved in during today's race with Jean-Eric Vergne of Toro Rosso. Instead, five penalty positions in Bahrain for Sauber's Mexican for the incident with Force India's German Adrian Sutil. The judges are also assessing other positions in relation to the use of Drs. Also under investigation is Lotus' Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen, who finished second. Be that as it may, the news is not that Ferrari won. The news is that Ferrari dominated.
"P-h-e-n-o-m-e-n-a-l".
Shouts Andrea Stella, Fernando Alonso's engineer, who has been driving the FIA people crazy for a couple of years now with his radio communications in Italian (a forbidden language).
"P-h-e-n-o-m-e-n-a-l".
He shouts, and the great thing is that it's a lie. Because, in reality, there was nothing truly phenomenal about Fernando Alonso's victory on the clear and windy afternoon in Shanghai. The Spaniard drove cleanly, impeccable if you like, but nothing extraordinary.
"I've been following him since he was 18 years old".
Confides an amused Spanish reporter, one of those who has spent his life also collecting Nando Nacional's sighs.
"And I don't remember a single victory achieved with such ease".
Mentally watch the film of the race again and you will understand what we are talking about. Of the eight overtakes made by the Spanish star during the Grand Prix, only one, the first, the one against Hamilton in the first laps can be said to be a real overtake. The others are all feints, favoured by the inertia of the Grand Prix, the tangible signs of which were etched on the tyres of the rivals. Come to think of it, even the one on Hamilton was worth a half: the soft tyres on his Mercedes, it is well known, only last a few laps and those fitted by the Englishman at the moment of the - spectacular - assault on the pair of Ferrari drivers were already at the end of the race. Yet something true, in the lie shouted by Stella into the microphone at the end of the race, there is, paradoxically, something true. Phenomenal in fact was Ferrari as a team, as a set of men - from team principal Stefano Domenicali through to Felipe Massa, passing, of course, by way of Alonso - whose merits as a great driver remain undeniable. After four years of humiliation coming from Red Bull, the Maranello team has been able to react on a technical level, has been able to understand better than the competition the extent of the Pirelli revolution - which, it seems, has impacted the balance of the World Championship more than an aerodynamic or regulatory revolution - and has learnt a new and difficult working method, that of simulations, a game of hypotheses and deductions and bets, quite different from the one it was used to in the days of the fat cows, when any problem was solved with test laps on the Fiorano or Mugello track, and it came to the start of this 2013 loaded like a gun, ready to explode with all the competitive anger accumulated over these years of disappointments. The result was an easy race, in which everything went perfectly: the strategy, impeccable right from qualifying; the management of the tyres, which by now represents an asset in its own right, masterful right up to the last lap; the nerves, extremely solid. A battleship of fury that routed all the competition, perfectly represented by a Red Bull that seems to have lost itself in the internal controversies, but not only. Because even from the technical point of view, Adrian Newey's men seem to have less confidence than in the past: when it came to generating aerodynamic load they were unreachable, now that it is a question of managing it to save the tyres and that the work in the factory looks more like a chase after compromise than a hunt for perfection, the Anglo-Saxon geniuses have gone into confusion.
More dangerous than them at the moment are the two talented outsiders, Lewis Hamilton - whose Mercedes has been revived by the good ideas of engineer Aldo Costa, who seems reborn at Brackley - and Kimi Raikkonen, stainless and almost automatic on his revelatory Lotus. But, you know, Formula 1 is a sport where each race is a story in itself and everything is always in constant and continuous evolution (or involution), and in the end, even when the circuits have no junctions or exits, as Domenicali says, it takes a moment to go the wrong way. And this, of road, has only just begun. Only a few minutes have passed since the victory and Stefano Domenicali already says that it is only one race, Ferrari is already looking ahead to the next one. You know, when you are excited you often say what's on your mind. And the technical tour de force in which the team in Maranello is now immersed is impressive, with technicians coming and going from Italy, defying time zones and astral distances, to make the car faster and faster. In fact, there are many modifications on the launch pad. And in Bahrain on Sunday we will see more, linked again to aerodynamics. The F138's strong points for now are its starting system, which is exceptional indeed, and its race pace, which at the moment fears no comparison. Two plus points that can be nullified by traffic on the track. That is why Ferrari is now looking with concern at the car's real flaw, namely its qualifying performance. At this point, if Ferrari manages to solve this last problem, it will really be possible to make the most of the race pace and thus find themselves with a more or less invincible car on their hands. While President Luca Montezemolo writes on the Ferrari website, first congratulating the entire Gestione Sportiva, sending a message to all the women and men who work at Maranello after Fernando Alonso's fine victory in the Chinese Grand Prix:
"Congratulations to everyone for the beautiful victory achieved with a competitive car. I am happy for all of you, who deserve a fair reward for the work done. We know where to improve, we know it will be a long and difficult championship but we want to be protagonists. Let's continue like this, with even more commitment and determination, and more satisfactions will come. Thank you all".
After the rightful celebrations, the Shanghai triumph is archived very quickly, as in a few days it will already be track time again at the Sakhir track in Bahrain. All the mechanics are working late into the night to prepare the crates carrying the two F138s, now on their way to the Middle East. The good performance in the Chinese Grand Prix does not dampen the concentration of all the team members, but serves as a further motivational push to always give their best in view of the upcoming engagements. After the first three races of the season, the overall competitiveness of the championship has become clear. Classifications in hand, the numbers say that as many as four teams are aiming for the maximum result, a wider range than the values seen on the field in 2012. The Chinese victory confirms Scuderia Ferrari in this group, with the knowledge that it can fight on all fronts, but also that it must continue with the same concentration shown in this start of the season, keeping up the pace of work on the track and in Maranello. The high number of competitors with ample opportunities to aim for the 2013 title increases the unpredictability of the results. Track adaptability, temperature variability and tyre management are issues that will have to be addressed on the eve of every race. And if the values that emerged in the first three races are confirmed, consistency will become crucial. On this front, both Alonso and Massa confirm a good adaptability of the F138 to the three tracks on which the championship has already stopped. In qualifying at Melbourne, Sepang and Shanghai, held in very different atmospheric conditions, the two Ferraris were the only single-seaters to always finish in the top-five. Unforeseeable incidents weighed on the race balance, but as Alonso pointed out after his success in Shanghai, in the two races he finished in this first part of the 2013 season came a win and a second place.
"I thank the Chinese fans for their support all weekend, it's great to race here. It was a fantastic race until the end, we had no problems with the car, the tyre degradation was better than we expected. We got a second place and a win and this start to 2013 is positive, we are optimistic for the future. At the end the team told me to slow down and I said I wasn't pushing? It's impossible not to push, let's continue next week in Bahrain. I expect a difficult race, there will be different conditions. The car so far has always seemed in a position to finish on the podium. Celebrations? I have a flight too early, the guys will celebrate more. It's been a long time since my first victory here, eight years. It was an almost perfect race for us, we didn't have any problems during the race. The start was clean, I managed to overtake Raikkonen and in the first stint also Hamilton. The car seemed better from the point of view of tyre degradation and in the rest of the race I had to manage the tyres and the lead over the chasers".
Fernando Alonso continues:
"It was not so easy to understand the race, it was a bit confusing with some tense moments because when you have to overtake it is always a risk. The team did a perfect job for both qualifying and the race, the timing of the pit stops was perfect and I think this victory is a great reward for the team, very well deserved after the disappointment in Malaysia. The car gives a very good feeling, it is a positive start to the season and we must continue in this direction, without taking excessive risks. We hope to bring home valuable points in Bahrain as well".
However, it is still early to establish the hierarchies of the World Championship:
"Who will be my main rival for the title? It is too early to say, we have to wait until after the summer break to have a clear idea. We hope to be in that group and that Felipe (Massa, ed) will be there too: it would mean that the car is going well".
For now, balance reigns even among the top teams:
"Lotus, Red Bull and Mercedes are in the same position as we are. We will see what the updates of each car will bring in terms of pace. It can happen to everyone not to finish a race, that will also weigh in the title fight. The pace is one of our strengths, usually on Sunday we are OK while on the single lap we struggle more. The long runs and tyre management are good, but we will have to be careful and maximise weekends like this when everything goes right. Sometimes we can win, sometimes we can get on the podium. The important thing is to hit our targets because on other tracks we will have more difficulties".
After the Sepang retirement, a reaction from Alonso was expected:
"Additional pressure? No, I didn't feel it. The pressure is there in every race, especially when you are at Ferrari: when the season starts everyone expects you to win the title and in every race it's the same. Then there is the battle with your team-mate...the pressure is always there, this year is no different. You have to bring the results home and when you can't there's a bit of disappointment, but we've worked really well with the team at Maranello in recent weeks and we've worked out how to do better in qualifying. I am satisfied with the work done so far, I am in the best team".
Also present in China was Piero Ferrari, Ferrari's vice-president, who went to the podium to collect the cup:
"It is a great emotion, a race dominated thanks to Fernando Alonso, a great, great professional. Alonso did a perfect race. And, I repeat, it is a great satisfaction, this is everyone's work".
The images of Fernando celebrating with the team are the crowning achievement of so much work, so much effort.
"We came from a race that didn't give us what we wanted, so it's phenomenal".
This was the comment of Andrea Stella, Fernando Alonso's track engineer, at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix won by the Spaniard.
"It touches my heart, the hearts of all the people working at home and all the fans".
After the poetry of champagne, the prose of words. It was an eternity away, Alonso. The winner's press conference. A rite of celebration that had not been his since July 2012. Fernando enters the hall, wearing his sponsor's cap, looks at the audience and, as usual, lies.
"It was not easy".
But, this time, no one believes us. During the race we heard you telling Andrea Stella - your engineer begging you not to push too hard - that you weren't pushing at all...
"Drivers always push. In an F1 race it's impossible not to, but it's certain that we still had some speed at that moment. Hopefully we can play it in Bahrain".
Thirty-first victory in his career, but above all a victory of strength, of power. A dominant one.
"Fantastic race for the whole team, this one. From start to finish. We had no problems whatsoever with the car. The tyre degradation was better than expected (Fernando is the only driver in the paddock who can afford such a statement, ed) and this allowed us to manage the race pace at will. All this, after the disappointment of Sepang, tastes very sweet: this year we have finished two races, one we won and the other (Australia, ed) we finished second. 2013 has started well. I am optimistic".
Can you tell us about your race?
"A very clean start that allowed me to prepare to overtake Raikkonen and then, in the first stint, also Hamilton. The car gave a very good feeling from the point of view of tyre degradation. We managed the distance well with those behind. It wasn't easy to understand the different stages. After the overtaking, the strategies were mixed, creating a bit of action on the track, and there were risks with each manoeuvre. Fortunately, the team was perfect in both the car setups, the calls for stops, and the execution of the pit stops. In the end the win came as compensation for Malaysia, and I honestly think we deserved it".
Ross Brawn continues to say he is impressed by Ferrari's race pace. Is he right?
"It is undeniable that it is one of our strengths. On the single lap we continue to struggle a little bit. But for some reason on long runs and tyre management we are stronger, probably the reason for that partly escapes us too, but that's how it is".
Now there is Bahrain. What should we expect?
"A very tough competition. In my opinion it will be very different from this one. Anyway we will be there to fight for a podium. It's a very important test, with the high temperatures, we are likely to have some problems again".
After this start of the season, in terms of the world championship you fear more Raikkonen and Lotus or still Vettel and Red Bull.
"It's very early to make such an argument. I think we can start talking about it after the summer. By then I hope to be in the leading group and maybe in the company of Felipe. It would mean that the car is going well. But at the moment I don't think there's anyone ahead, neither us, nor Lotus, nor Red Bull. Then we'll also have to see how lucky we are. Looking at what happened here to Kimi (he finished the race with a damaged front wing, the opposite of what happened to him at Sepang, ed) it's clear that luck will also play a role".
A few days after the triumph in China, Ferrari moves on to Bahrain where the fourth round of the 2013 World Championship will be staged. The mood at Ferrari is euphoric, but team principal Stefano Domenicali is calling everyone to calm.
"Shanghai was a great weekend. The team worked very well and Fernando drove an extraordinary race. I was sorry for Felipe Massa, who saw his chances of finishing the race in the top positions disappear due to a 'graining' problem. The result is certainly a nice boost ahead of the Bahrain round that awaits us in a few days' time. The F138 showed a good performance,' he confirms, 'but we don't think we have reached the top. A victory is important, but we still have a very long season ahead of us, and we know we still have a lot of work ahead of us. We have to improve our speed in qualifying and we still don't know how to rank our rivals, because in the first three races there was no consistency in performance".
He continues:
"Obviously we have seen some of our rivals show good potential and our goal is to catch up with them very soon. Only by improving our performance in qualifying will we be able to make better use of the potential we have on the race pace. If we start from the first positions we can also manage the tyres better".
In the meantime, the men of the Maranello team start working in the pits at the Sakhir circuit.
"We are expecting different conditions from those encountered so far, with very high temperatures that will affect the performance and behaviour of the tyres. On the Shakir track the cooling devices are also under a lot of stress, but as usual we will do everything we can to prepare the setup of the F138 in the best possible way. If we want to achieve our ambitious goals this season, we need our drivers to be able to perform at their best. It is good to see that after the first three races of the year they are both in the top-five of the championship standings, and our aim remains to provide Fernando and Felipe with a good single-seater at every opportunity".
Of concern is the political instability in Bahrain, which last year had first forced the Grand Prix to be moved, then removed from the calendar altogether. Bernie Ecclestone, boss of the Circus, is calm.
"I don't think the people in Bahrain are bad, nor do I think they want to try to hit our sport. We are terribly selfish: we want to go there, have a good race and go again. We don't want to have problems, nor do we want to see people arguing and fighting about things we don't understand. Last year I spoke to some of the protesters and government representatives we have to deal with: it was really hard to tell who was right or wrong".