Ferrari, Alonso: “I'm happy but we continue to work hard”

The drivers Fernando Alonso and Marc Genè, together with the general director of ARP, Lorenzo Bassetti, responded this morning to the numerous questions that the media asked them during the inauguration ceremony of the Ferrari Store in Calle Serrano, the famous Madrid shopping street .

For both the Scuderia and Alonso, the key word to describe 2012 is "work". This is the underlying theme of the statements of the Asturian driver, the most sought after by journalists, who said he was happy with his leadership in the drivers' championship, without forgetting the "lots of work" still to be done. “I am happy and I want to enjoy this beautiful moment. But we certainly cannot stop working, because despite the fact that we are now leaders in the championship, we could easily be sixth or seventh, many points behind the leaders. Therefore there is still a lot of work to do. We are happy with how the year started in terms of points, not enough with the competitiveness of our car since we suffered a lot in the first races of the season” - declared Alonso.

“In Canada we want to confirm this improvement, and be competitive even on a more 'normal' circuit, because Monaco is a track with unique characteristics and Barcelona is equally so with its fast corners. So Canada and Valencia represent two very important test beds for us, to see if our cars will be as competitive in qualifying as they were in Monaco, and to get the top positions on the starting grid. We have made some improvements on the car and we will bring some new solutions to Canada. It's a race on and off the circuit: all the top teams are working to introduce new features. So far we have tried to make the best of what we had. We hope in Canada to be able to confirm the improvements of Barcelona and Monaco... This year, two or three tenths make you win or lose five or six positions, because we are all very close. This is why in every race the challenge is to bring new solutions and race against time in the factory", declared the Scuderia driver.

The Monaco Grand Prix was a challenge in terms of improvisation in the teams' strategies. The changeability of climatic conditions, with rain as the main actor, did not allow us to carry out the usual tire tests, a situation that became more complicated with the debut of the Supersoft compound. Fernando started from fifth position on the grid, but managed to gain two positions, finishing the test on the third step of the podium, gaining some points which allowed him to take the lead in the standings.

Asked if he could have won the race if he hadn't come back to replace the tyres, Alonso explained: “When a race is over, it's always easier to think about the strategies that could have been adopted. Surely if we had done even a few more laps with the Supersofts in Monaco, we would have had some chance of victory. But, of course, if before the race, when the strategy is being prepared, they tell you that on lap 30 the Supersofts are the best compared to the others, you don't believe it. And I would have put my hand in the fire that it wouldn't have been like this,” he declared. “In the same way, when you mount the new Softs, for two or three laps you fly and have exceptional grip. Instead, we had problems getting the tires up to temperature and neither Webber nor Rosberg nor we could keep up with Vettel... So even if we had changed strategy Vettel and Rosberg would have done the same and the positions would have been unchanged."

Another curiosity of the many journalists who gathered for the inauguration of the Ferrari shop was why this championship is so close with six different winners in the first six races of the season. For the Spanish rider this is partly due to the regulations and limitations that are introduced every year. “Every time a new solution is discovered the following year they ban it. The creativity or potential development of a car is increasingly limited. We are seeing cars that are more similar each time and each time they resemble GP2 more in the sense that, in each championship, there are more drivers competing for the title. Although the World Championship is very open, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari are always in this order in the constructors' standings. In the first six or seven positions of the drivers' championship there are the same ones from last year. This is why in the end, in a championship that lasts many months, those fighting for the title are always the same."

Alonso also gave his opinion on his teammate, Felipe Massa, who he supports 100% and whom he recognizes as having the "talent needed to fight for victory".

In the Monaco race, Felipe showed that he has improved a lot and proved to be very competitive throughout the weekend, achieving a sixth place in Sunday's race. “It's difficult to think that Felipe can't score many points in this second part of the year and that he can't score podiums and fight for victories. He has the talent to do it. It was an unfortunate start for a series of reasons: bad luck, due to a slightly longer adaptation to the tires than in the past. The ones obtained were not normal results for Felipe,” declared Alonso. “He has my full support. And he has the support of the team to change that. Or to change the results. Because many times in free practice or qualifying we were very close and either due to the start or because someone touched him he started the race losing positions. In Monaco it seems that this trend has stopped so let's hope that everything goes well from now on."

Compatriot Marc Genè, also guest of honor at the inauguration of the Ferrari sales points, answered questions from journalists who wanted to know his opinion on Alonso. “Fernando is the fourth world champion with whom I collaborate after Schumacher, Raikkonen, Villeneuve. I've always said that he is the most complete. He is the best of those I have raced or worked with. He is the one who knows best how to get out of difficult situations and this confirms his current position in the rankings. His charisma makes him a true leader for the team. We are lucky to have him with us and work with him. Ferrari is one of the few brands that, regardless of the drivers, has always had many fans around the world. But now in Spain, with Fernando's success, Ferrari fans have multiplied."

The general director of ARP, Lorenzo Bassetti, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Store released a statement on the performance of the Spanish market: "Spain is a very important market for us, demonstrated by the number of sales points opened in the country, which have reached quota six. After Italy, Spain is the second market in terms of number of stores and we hope that it will also become the second in terms of turnover".