Ferrari staying "positive" about next race
Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal, thinks the team is due for a change in luck. The squad needs to get its title challenge back on track; one way they can achieve this is by revamping the F10. The other, motivate the drivers.
Fernando Alonso put up a good fight for a podium position at this weekend’s Silverstone race, but somewhere along the way plans went array and the Spaniard wound up in 14th place. Part of the reason he finished so far back was due to the controversial drive-through penalty he received after cutting the corner while passing Renault’s Robert Kubica.
Ferrari number two Felipe Massa was out of points contention early into the race after a first-lap puncture. He bumped wheels with Alonso, the second time the drivers have made contact during a race, and suffered a punctured tyre.
The Maranello squad had their first no-score race of the season. It cost them a lot, and they are now behind McLaren by 113 points for the Constructors’ Championship.
“For sure, we have not collected the points that we deserve,” Domenicali said of Ferrari’s point-free first half of the season.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has made it clear the team is in a critical position and cannot afford to keep missing these “opportunities” to win. The team has scored a meagre four points at the last two races, and though the car is fundamentally fast, the team has to avoid further “dramas” and focus on podium positions.
Ferrari rival McLaren saw both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in the top four spots, in the fourth consecutive race the Mercedes team has been in. The only good that came of the weekend was how well the F10 performed on the Silverstone track, something the team was sceptical the car would be able to do. For Domenicali this means the next race will be better.
“There is the positive side of the fact that we are really on the right side because we are going up once again with the performance of the car...we just need to stay strong and try not to be too emotional.”
Though Silverstone marked the half way point in the season and Ferrari will have a lot of catch-up work to do if they want to challenge for either the Constructors’ or Drivers’ Championship, Domenicali is not letting the pressure get to the team.
“If we stay cool I’m pretty sure we will take the results that we deserve.”
Ferrari is, for the time being, in third place for the Constructors’ standings. Alonso is 47 points behind leader Hamilton for the Drivers’ Championship, just about the equivalent of two victories. The new points system implemented by Formula One this season increased the amount of points a driver receives for a victory – 25 points - in an attempt to enhance competition and make the drivers fight harder for victory.
There are nine more races remaining, and Domenicali is not ready to admit defeat. If Kimi Raikkonen can turn around from a similar points differential three years ago to win, so can Ferrari.
“We know that the [points] gap is bigger, but don’t forget that in 2007 we won the championship with two races to go 17 points behind,” Domenicali preached. “So before saying that everything is finished, lets wait. We need to be positive on that.”
Ferrari has its strengths but right now their drivers are the ones who need to work harder to get the results. This is particularly directed at Massa, who has not been on podium in the last eight Grand Prix races.
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