Ferrari team confident of 2011 season with Pirelli tyres
With the launch of Ferrari’s new F150 car, the officials and drivers are making strong statements about their objectives, as the Ferrari team President Luca di Montezemolo said, “Ferrari has to win this year's [drivers and constructors] World titles.”
The F150 was launched for a media presentation at the Ferrari's Maranello factory’s Fiorano test circuit on Friday. The honour of the first drive was given to Fernando Alonso who will hand the car over to team-mate Felipe Massa for a drive in front of the
fans on Saturday.
Last year, Alonso was just inches away from taking the title when a pit-stop error in the final race cost him both the driver and constructor titles.
"Last season we had difficult and beautiful moments, and we want to build on those beautiful moments. Our two drivers are a wonderful team and they want to prove their value,” Said team Principal Stefano Domenicali.
Ferrari’s technical director Aldo Costa has stated that a few changes have been made in the new F150. A movable rear wing is installed, which can only be used once per lap, making overtaking much more interesting. The Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems or KERS
is installed and the holes underneath the car are closed according to the regulations. When asked, he also said that the outside of the new car will be the same, but the inside is completely different. Ferrari is confident that their new car will be competitive
from the first of the 2011 season. The team understands the importance of getting a good start to the season.
Domenicali expects Ferrari’s main competition this year to be Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes. These teams, which are closely matched on performance, battled neck to neck during most of the 2010 season. He feels that Ferrari is very clear on their objectives
of winning the Championship titles and that the 2011 season with be tough for both the drivers and constructors.
The Ferrari driver’s line-up is the same as the 2010 season with the 29-year-old two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Both drivers seem confident ahead of the season as significant development work has been done to the team. Alonso will
head into the 2011 season knowing it was his team's failed pit strategy that cost him the Championship and not his driving abilities. This fact gives Alonso a slight psychological edge over the German driver Sebastian Vettel, who considered himself a touch
lucky winning the 2010 drivers title.
On the other hand, Felipe Massa said, "I would like to start this year with positive results, and I'm confident I will do this.” He also said that in the up-coming 2011 season, he will try to be ahead of his team-mate Fernando Alonso. Last year, Massa was
out- matched by his team-mate Fernando Alonso, who managed to score more points during his debut season with Ferrari.
Massa has been dreaming of winning the drivers title since joining with the Ferrari team since 2006. His best finish was 2nd place in 2008.
Last year Massa had all sorts of problems with the Bridgestone tyres. He tried many different combinations, but was unable to bring the tyres to the right temperature and competitive grip.
But with the installation of Pirelli’s new tyres Massa is confident of his performance against his team- mate. "I want to be more competitive from the first to the last race this year and I think that the Pirelli tyres will help me," said Massa.
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