Positive day for Ferrari

A blown engine in the morning and afternoon brake and gear problems failed to sway Fernando Alonso from the belief that Ferrari can enjoy a good weekend at the team’s home grand prix in Italy.

“Today almost everything happened, with various mechanical problems and we did not manage to test everything we wanted, but all the parts that failed can be changed and thanks to Felipe we have all the information we need to do well in qualifying and the race,” said Alonso who finished the day in third place on the timesheet, marginally behind the twin McLarens of fastest man Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button. “Even if today was complicated, it was still positive: it’s good that everything happened today, because we must try and avoid any problems tomorrow and Sunday.”

Alonso said he was happy with the performance of his car today and that his team’s competitiveness was at a better level than at Spa last weekend.

“I am optimistic about the car balance, which we did not have to change between FP1 and FP2,” he said. “Compared to Spa, here we are on the pace. Maybe we have a bit more downforce and make up a bit of time at the two Lesmos and the second chicane, while we are losing out in the first sector with the two long straights. We will analyse these details this evening and tomorrow we will try and improve also in terms of top speed, which was probably our weak point today.”

Team-mate Felipe Massa got through his full programme today and admitted this his fourth place on the the Friday timesheet this afternoon was a good sign ahead.

“A very positive day because I managed to make the most of the track time, completing the full programme we had planned,” he said. “I am also pleased with my lap times, as I was always up there with the quickest cars in both sessions. We will be trying to improve the car set-up still further tomorrow, but I am confident for the rest of the weekend.”