Fernando Alonso says Ferrari should be proud of still running for the championship – Formula 1 news
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso insists that the team should be proud of remaining in the fight for the drivers’ championship after he finished third in the United States Grand Prix.
“We will try to go to Brazil with the possibility to fight for the world championship which is something that we fight for all through the year and we arrived in that fantastic position,” he said. “Only Sebastian is in a better position than us but we should
be proud of ourselves so try to enjoy the Brazil race and do our best, fight all the race and see what the outcome at the end is.”
He pointed out that the team is always able to qualify seventh or eighth and are always among the top four during the first laps. He thinks that the first few laps really helped to keep the championship fight open for them.
The driver said that making it to the podium this weekend felt like a victory. The team was not expecting to lose the three points that they gained in the previous Grand Prix to shorten the gap with their rival team Red Bull. However, he is happy with the
kind of race they had and pleased with the number of points that were scored by him and his teammate Felipe Massa.
Alonso was to start the race from eighth position while Massa was ahead of him at the sixth position. Both drivers were on the slippery side of the track that could have hindered Alonso’s progress. In order to help Alonso, the team deliberately broke the
gearbox seal on Massa’s car which earned him a place five positions down the grid; moving Alonso to seventh. From there, he moved to fourth place and successfully gaining the third after Mark Webber’s retirement.
Ferrari team principal, Stefano Domenicali, has defended their decision saying that it was in the team’s best interest. Massa has also insisted that he does not regret it but is happy to help his team. The team had come clear about their intentions to the
stewards who presented the penalty.
Massa also had a good race coming in fourth at the end of the race.
Tags: