Ferrari: Disappointed but determined to fight back

The heavy storm that hit the Marina Bay circuit in the early hours of the morning made the team’s job of packing up all the equipment and cars used in the Singapore Grand Prix even tougher. All the freight now heads for Suzuka where the fifteenth round of this long season takes place on 9 October. However, the Scuderia Ferrari drivers, engineers and mechanics are now returning to Europe for just a few days, before flying off once again, this time to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Stefano Domenicali is already back in Maranello, having left the circuit shortly after the race had finished. It would not have been an easy trip for the Scuderia Team Principal, like all the team disappointed with a performance in which the 150º Italia definitely did not live up to expectations, with the added complication that it showed up theoretically unexpected problems, such as a high level of degradation on the Supersoft tyres. Analysing the performance will therefore be a priority for the engineers in the few days prior to the departure for Japan, because there is no way the team wants to tackle the Suzuka race and then the remaining four rounds with the sense it has given up. There is still one achievable target in its sights; that of finishing second in the Drivers’ championship, given that Fernando and Button are split by just a single point. Certainly if the relative strengths of the teams are the same as in Singapore, it will be hard to succeed, but no one at Maranello is planning to leave anything to chance. At the same time, the remaining kilometres of the season will provide a test track for some solutions and ideas that could be useful for 2012. There will be some aerodynamic updates on the cars in Suzuka and other new elements should be seen in Korea. In the meantime, the team will be looking to get on top of the reasons why the step forward expected at Spa, linked to a particularly aggressive interpretation of the exhaust system, did not materialise: a new version of the floor should have been tried out in Friday’s second session in Singapore, but the shortening of the earlier session and some technical glitches meant the team has had to postpone that test until Suzuka.

Despite failing to finish in the podium position he had fought so hard for during two thirds of the race, Fernando Alonso left Singapore with a smile on his face. “When you see that the entire team is doing its utmost and maybe even more, you can only be satisfied,” he said. “Obviously, we hoped for better here, but I have great faith in the work we are doing. We were convinced we could make a step forward after the summer break, but it did not turn out that way, while our rivals progressed even more. That does not mean we cannot be in the fight in the next few races: it will be tough, but I can feel the team has a great wish to redeem itself and to prove its worth. It is this type of attitude which, last spring, convinced me to extend my contract to the end of 2016. If I did not believe in the quality and determination of the people and the potential in terms of the structure and resources, then I would not have made that decision. Now we must knuckle down after a difficult weekend and prepare as well as possible for the race in Suzuka, one of the greatest tracks on the whole championship calendar.”

Felipe Massa would also prefer to turn the page and concentrate on Suzuka, a track where he took an amazing pole position in 2006, beating at the wheel of the same car, Michael Schumacher, who still holds the record for the number of poles at this track. Yesterday, the Brazilian’s race was ruined by the puncture to the right rear, which came as a result of being hit by Hamilton’s front wing, when a place in the top six was within Felipe’s grasp. “I am very disappointed with the way things went yesterday: Singapore is definitely not a lucky place for me, given something always happens to me here,” he told ferrari.com. “As for Hamilton and his behaviour both off and on the track, I have already told him all I had to say: I have not changed my opinion by one iota since yesterday, but I consider the matter to be closed. Better to think about the next race and about trying to finish this difficult season in a good way, as well as preparing as well as possible for the next one.”