download

#897 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix

2023-01-07 00:00

Array() no author 82025

#SecondPart, Fulvio Conti,

#897 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix

“2014 will mark the beginning of a new era in F1, and it seemed to us the right time to launch an organization within the team as solid as possible fo

fotor-2023112911278.jpeg

"2014 will mark the beginning of a new era in F1, and it seemed to us the right time to launch an organization within the team as solid as possible for the years to come. The most important consideration in the decision to leave my role as team principal was to ensure good timing for the team. Throughout the season, we have started a process for my succession which has gone very well and Toto and Paddy will take the reins. Thanks to our work and to the collaboration between the two units (England and Germany), the team is in the ideal position to achieve success in 2014 and I am proud to have contributed in making everything go well".

 

Niki Lauda, the non-executive chairman of Mercedes, reveals that he tried, unsuccessfully, to change Brawn's mind.

 

"We had long discussions with Ross about the possibility of him continuing with us, but you can't keep someone who has already decided to leave - said the former Austrian champion - Ross has decided that it was time to hand over the reins and we can only respect his decision".

 

A handover, the legend crowning his heir. Michael Schumacher praises and extols Sebastian Vettel, the cannibal of the 2013 Formula 1 World Championship, capable of winning the fourth consecutive world title. Schumacher shows enormous respect for his compatriot:

 

"I am very happy for him. If someone has to break records, I would like him to be that person".

 

The champion also indulges in a playful joke towards Vettel:

 

"I am glad I am not his teammate".

 

A clear reference to the not-so-easy relationship with Mark Webber, who bid farewell to Formula 1 after the last Grand Prix of the season, at the end of several seasons in which he often had to settle for finishing behind the German.

 

"I am a good friend of Sebastian, and together we also won titles at the Race of Champions".

 

And while on one hand Sebastian Vettel is idolized, on the other Bernie Ecclestone attacks Fernando Alonso. The English manager, despite claming to sympathize with the Spanish driver, doesn't spare him of an attack:

 

"I am a bit disappointed because I am a big fan of his and an admirer of Ferrari. But this year he gave up and his attitude shows that he was thinking about another team".

 

Ecclestone's not at all veiled comment is referring to rumours that have linked Alonso to McLaren in the last few months.

 

"I don't know if Ferrari is not competitive because of him or if the people at the top of the team are not able to fulfil their role".

 

In contrast, his words about Vettel and Raikkonen are of a completely different tone.

 

"It probably has to be said that he is the number 1 among the drivers I have met".

fotor-20231129112643.jpeg

Ecclestone says about the Red Bull driver, while regarding Kimi:

 

"I think he is the star this year, considering the means at his disposal".

 

He says praising the Finn who, after his adventure with Lotus, will return to drive for Ferrari in 2014. In the season that has just ended, Raikkonen had to deal with the economic problems of his team:

 

"I think he was motivated by the hope of getting paid. He is a positive person for a team: he is good for us and for his team. He is super, he’s a real driver".

 

Adds Ecclestone who, in the end, praises Pirelli's work:

 

"They did an excellent job for us".

 

Sebastian Vettel, ruler of the last four F1 seasons, also hopes that the big changes made for 2014 won't cause the top tier of four-wheeled racing to lose its lustre, wiping out the excitement that the far more powerful engines used until now could give.

 

"I'm a bit sad because my first Formula 1 test was with a V10. I remember that test, and then we switched to a V8 the following year. When I had my second shot in an F1 car and I could feel the difference. I just hope we are not going backwards from the point of view of power. We will lose in terms of revs and I think that's a shame. Since it's a new direction we are taking towards a new technology. I still remember the first time I went to watch F1 in 1992. It was raining and it was just the free practices at Hockenheim. The cars only went out for the installation lap, and you could just hear the sound of the car running on the track, you could feel it in the ground; these are the first memories I have".

 

Vettel recalls, adding:

 

"I just hope that in the future we won't lose this excitement. I need to smell the cars, the cars have to be powerful, it has to give something that you don't forget".

 

Once again, Fernando Alonso has to show up at the classic Paris Gala as vice World Champion, and witness the award ceremony of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. From the City of Cinema of the French capital, however, amidst the dutiful compliments for the amazing 2013, Fernando Alonso launches his challenge for 2014.

 

"I want to congratulate Sebastian Vettel on his fantastic championship with Red Bull. They had a superb season and they deserve these titles. We hoped to make life more difficult for them but they were excellent: this is their night".

 

And he goes on, saying:

 

"I hate losing. At the beginning of every year, whatever the situation is, the goal is to fight to win until the end. I love winning and I love motor racing: this year I finished second, and there is no doubt that, being so competitive, I would like to win as well as the team wants me to. However I am still honoured to be here today and I want to thank the team for this: we hope to be first next year".

fotor-20231129113920.jpeg

Alonso also receives an ovation from the audience, when he invites those present to applaud Mark Webber, who bid farewell to the Circus at the last Brazilian Grand Prix, and Robert Kubica:

 

"With Mark we have been together in Formula 1 for twelve years and we shared many fantastic moments, we will miss him next year. Robert is doing great things in rallying but we look forward to having him back in Formula 1".

 

He may be 83 years old but Bernie Ecclestone, when it comes to chasing TV and organizers' money, is unstoppable. Too many races were left before the conclusion of the last World Championships, Mr. E's wealthy interlocutors had protested after the Interlagos race. Blame Sebastian Vettel and the unspectacular technical supremacy of his Red Bull. And thus, after long deliberations, on Monday, December 9, 2014 the FIA announces the solution: from 2014, the last Grand Prix of the season - which will be held in the wealthy and generous Abu Dhabi - will be worth double. No longer 25 points, but 50 for the first, 36 instead of 18 for the second and so on. In this way, those behind are supposed to have more margin to catch up. Granted that if next year Red Bull were to show up again on the starting grid with a missile like the one of 2013 those extra 25 points would certainly not make the difference, it must also be said that insignificant projections have shown how, with this new regulation, Ferrari would have won both in 2012 and 2008. But these are not the only concessions that the FIA ​​has deemed appropriate to make to the spectacularization of F1. In fact, following a request from the drivers, it was decided to assign a fixed number to each of them. Apart from the number one which will go to the World Champion (Vettel), the others, from 2 to 99, will be chosen before the start of the first race and then kept for the whole career (most likely Alonso will take 14, Massa certainly 19, Raikkonen, who knows, maybe not even he knows). Less suggestive but no less relevant are the other announced novelties: like, for example, the 5-second penalty for minor infractions, a middle ground between nothing and the drive through (which often, as it happened to Massa at Interlagos, devastates entire races). Finally, in addition to establishing a winter tire testing session in Bahrain (December 17-19, 2013), the FIA ​​decides to open up the discussion on the budget cap to cut costs. The intention is good but to expect that in the end something will actually be done about it is optimistic. As one season has just ended, at Ferrari the focus is already on the next one. The desire for redemption after the last disappointing championships is the primary goal of the men at the Maranello team. At the traditional Christmas lunch held on Saturday, December 14, 2013, Fernando Alonso explains:

 

"It is never easy to finish in second place, but we must look ahead. Everyone always expects a lot from us. Next year we will try to do better and I know that you are working very hard. There are new rules and extra work for all of you, but know that on our side there will be maximum effort in physical and mental preparation to be at 100% in March for the first race. We are facing some important years and so: Forza Ferrari!"

 

After the day in the simulator, Alonso will have another virtual driving session in Maranello, to continue to familiarise with the new procedures and to share more ideas with his engineers. The one who hopes that Alonso will triumph with Ferrari is undoubtedly President Montezemolo.

 

"Over these years, Alonso has given his all and deserves to have a competitive car to win a World Championship with Ferrari. I also understand certain moments of frustration, shared by all of us, but I am sure that he knows well what Ferrari represents and for this reason he will be even more willing to give his best".

 

The president of Ferrari bids farewell to Felipe Massa, who will move to Williams next year, after eight years spent in Maranello:

fotor-20231129114234.jpeg

"It will be good for Felipe to leave Ferrari. He will return with new-found motivation, like football players who change teams for a while before returning to their own. The doors of this company will always be open for a man and a driver with his qualities, he has tied his name to Ferrari and I want to thank him for his contribution during these years spent together".

 

Montezemolo does not deny a certain regret for the disappointing season, closed with only two Grand Prix victories:

 

"The bitterness remains for not having had a season as we would have liked, especially after a positive start that we all hoped would continue. It was certainly due to some external factors, but mainly because we did not bring the necessary improvements to the track, a mistake we must not repeat. I would like to give Domenicali credit for giving his all, it is thanks to his work and that of his collaborators that we are making progress on the equipment and technologies that will be useful to get back to winning. I am certainly tired of finishing second: we have all the capabilities, the skills and the spirit to return to the highest step of the podium".

 

Forced to win, do you like that as a slogan? Not a new one, because, as Montezemolo says, Ferrari is obliged to excel, but is absolutely essential. And with him all the tifosi, enthusiasts who in January will have an important task through social networks, choosing the name of the new car with a referendum. A remarkable survey, considering the 83.000 users who followed the live web broadcast of the presentation of the new car last January. The team, on the other hand, is asked to put into practice the desire to be first again.

 

"Since that all the requirements are there, starting with Alonso, the best driver in the world, and continuing with Raikkonen, an ace driver who will know how to spur him on, contributing to forming the strongest pair. I'm not afraid of a war between the two, I hope they are not like Letta and Renzi, otherwise I would be worried. The others are the ones who will have to tremble, as only Mercedes with Hamilton and Rosberg can have an equally valid duo. We don’t have room for Vettel, even though I respect him a lot, because we have the unreachable Alonso, who doesn't bother me when he's angry, as long as he remembers that Ferrari comes first".

 

The driver, the best one. And then a technical director like Allison:

 

"Excellent addition, a figure of this kind has been missing for years, we were lacking".

 

As in the strategies:

 

"We had an amateurish approach, now it's scientific, it’s not a coincidence that in 2013 we were the best team in the execution of pit stops and in the effectiveness of tactics".

 

Furthermore:

 

"A state-of-the-art wind tunnel, after being closed for eight months, no more skewed data. We have learnt to exploit the simulator, us who considered it an alien for years, given the skill in developing the car through on-track tests".

 

Ferrari is also ready for the challenge of the 6-cylinder turbo engine.

 

"A complex novelty, but it doesn't scare us. It will have a different sound and will make the fans grimace, but it will be reliable. There are other things that worry us, new rules that clash with F1, like the driver becoming a taxi driver to save fuel due to the smaller tank".

fotor-20231129114110.jpeg

Rules he does not like.

 

"I agree on a three-year plan to cut costs, but we have to start thinking about the post-Ecclestone era, with a collective structure. At the end of January I will meet the teams in Maranello. The return of the tests during the year is good, eight days is a starting point, but the races are too complicated, with all those tire changes, many people don't understand anything. Making aerodynamics less decisive was a first step, we must bring engines and gearbox back to the centre of development, because research must be useful for production cars. No more grey areas in the regulations. F1 cannot be judged by experts in sled dog racing. I am perplexed about double points in the last race. I am fascinated however by Ferrari's return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We are thinking about it".


instagram
twitter
youtube
whatsapp
tiktok
spotify

©​ 2024 Osservatore Sportivo

Team

Contact us

Info

Create Website with flazio.com | Free and Easy Website Builder