Fernando Alonso apologises for FIA criticism

It wasn’t the Sunday we were expecting, that’s for sure. The Safety Car appeared at the worst possible moment for us and completely ruined our race. On Sunday evening, I was very angry about everything that happened, but now that anger has been transformed into positive energy driving a desire to fight back. Right from yesterday morning, my mind was already focussed on the next Grand Prix at Silverstone, where we will try and channel all that accumulated energy into the car to try and make up for what escaped us, for one reason or another, in Valencia, even if we know that, in theory, Silverstone is not a track that suits the characteristics of our car.

We were particularly unlucky in terms of the timing of when the safety car appeared on track. It would have only needed a few seconds more or less to totally change our race. It does not achieve much going over the events that followed on. Obviously, in the clear light of day, I am much calmer than I was in the moments immediately following the race. At the time, I reacted emotionally and in that situation, it is all too easy to adopt a tone and say things that can be interpreted wrongly, giving rise to suspicions, something which I had no intention of doing. Sure, I understand that the stewards have a difficult job to do and they have to take decisions that are not easy. What I meant was that those drivers who, like us, respected the regulations, unfortunately, in this situation, suffered much more than those who broke them, even though they were given a penalty. And I am not referring to any of the drivers in particular: it’s a general matter and I think we should talk about it together in a calm way, to ensure that things like this do not happen again. I was pleased to hear that the FIA has reacted promptly, calling an extraordinary meeting of the Sporting Working Group and I am confident, certain even, that all the points up for discussion will be cleared up in a comprehensive fashion.

Even if the Valencia result was not what we wanted, it has not done irreparable damage. It’s true that the gap to the leader has now jumped to 29 points, but we have not even reached the halfway point of the season. We trail by just over one win, so the situation is still very open. The updates we brought to Spain saw us make a step forward and get closer to the front runners. I am satisfied with that, but also aware that we must continue to push on with the development of the F10, because we need to have a car capable of fighting for pole and to give us the edge over our rivals as soon as possible. If we are now 29 points off the championship leader, it means that in the next ten races, we have to score at least 30 more than whoever is in the lead at any one time.

One of the most important aspects of everything that happened on Sunday is the fact that Mark Webber emerged almost completely unhurt from an accident that was as spectacular as it was frightening. It proves once again that the work led by the FIA in terms of safety is absolutely vital and it is clear that one should never get complacent about this element of the sport.

This evening, I will be in front of the television to watch my home team, Spain playing for a place in the quarter finals of the World Cup, against Portugal. It’s a very tough fixture: I reckon there will not be many goals and I just hope the decisive one will be scored by a Spaniard! As for Cristiano Ronaldo, I really hope he saves his goal scoring for next season with Real Madrid.

From Fernando Alonso’s blog on www.ferrari.com