German GP - Post-race press conference - Pt.1

Q:
Fernando, as the team told you at the end you have indeed been very quick this weekend. Frustration though for much of the race and you said on the team radio at one stage 'this is ridiculous' but in the end it ended very well for you.

Fernando Alonso:
Yeah, I think it was a good weekend overall. We did improve the car a lot and immediately from Friday we felt very competitive. The car behaved very well and all the set-up adjustments worked really well here in Hockenheim. We know that some circuits will be better, some circuits will be worse. In the race as well we were competitive. We performed really well. Some parts of the race we were fighting very close for first position and it was a little bit dangerous but in the end I think it was a little bit more space between all the cars and we finished the laps with no more risky manoeuvres.

Q:
It certainly wasn't a risky manoeuvre when you managed to get past Felipe. It looked rather easy from where we were watching.

FA:
Well, I think I don't know what happened, but at the exit of turn six I saw Felipe a little bit slow and tried to overtake. You have to take every opportunity you have as it is a very difficult circuit to overtake and you only have one chance into turn six. I was never close enough to do an attempt, so at that point I overtook the other car and then it was 15 or 20 laps to the end. Some more cars to lap. That was some risk at some times as it is a very narrow circuit, especially the last sector, so it was not an easy race but very interesting.

Q:
We heard in Australia this year you saying to the team 'look I am faster than Felipe, let me pass him'. At any stage were you saying that this afternoon?

FA:
Well, I think sometimes you are quick, sometime you are slow depending on what stage the tyres are. Sometimes you have a little bit of graining and sometimes you have some other problems. In some parts of the race maybe I was quicker than him. Some other parts of the race Felipe was very quick and pulling away from Sebastian and me, so it is very difficult to judge but it is a very strong result for the team. Top three in qualifying and top two in the race and the best thing as well is that the car keeps improving. It is not a result down to the weather conditions or to anything like that. It is a good performance from the team and hopefully next week in Hungary we can do a good weekend as well and score some strong points for the team.

Q:
Felipe, a year to the day since your accident in Hungary. A win would have been the perfect way to mark that anniversary. Did you feel you deserved a win this afternoon?

Felipe Massa:
Well, I think so. The start was just fantastic and also the pace on the soft tyres was really great. Then I was struggling a little bit on the hard, but anyway it was a very good race for us.

Q:
You were told by Rob Smedley, your race engineer, that Fernando was the faster car than yourself. A couple of laps later, turn six at the hairpin, talk us through what happened?

FM:
Well, I don't think I need to say anything about that.

Q:
Fernando managed to get past you. Did you make a mistake? Was it under braking?

FM:
He passed me.

Q:
Then Rob Smedley said 'Good lad, sorry'.

FM:
Yeah.

Q:
Did you feel that you weren't allowed to win that race?

FM:
No, the only thing I feel is that we are working for the team and we are doing a very good job for the team and that is the most important thing.

Q:
How pleasing is it for you that Ferrari are back up there competing with Red Bull?

FM:
Well, I think it was a great job for the team during the last month I would say. We were pushing hard. This was a very good track for us but anyway I think we did a good job, good working inside the car, so the car became faster and faster race by race and I think that is very important for sure when you get to the track that you see your car is very, very competitive, so the best you can do is to do first and second on the track. This is what's happened today, so I think as a team we achieved the maximum that is possible for this race.

Q:
Sebastian, another pole that sadly for you, you could not covert into victory. It was the start once again?

Sebastian Vettel:
Yeah, usually we have very good starts. Yesterday I was told Ferrari have good starts but I think up to today we had better ones. Not really sure what happened. I had quite a lot of grip, dumped the first clutch, so I had a big of a bog, so the first five to 10 metres of the acceleration were very poor. I was lucky I didn't stall the engine. I could get going again but lost the momentum, so I knew that it would be very tight with Fernando who was already side-by-side, so there was no way I could stay ahead of him. Then I was a little bit surprised when I saw Felipe come from the left. But still after that I think we had a good race. We knew it would be very tight. The closer you get you start to feel the tyres losing a bit of grip, starting to have a bit of graining but I think the majority of the race the Ferraris were probably just that tenth or two quicker than us, so it was difficult for us to keep up the pace. Towards the end we were able to push again a little bit but it is very tricky. You cannot really do your own rhythm as then you get so many lapped cars and depending on where you find them on the circuit, especially the last sector where it is very narrow, you can drop a lot of time and lose a lot of time but the race is done, so we finished third. I think we can be proud of that. We achieved our maximum today, so congratulations to Ferrari and I am pleased to be on the podium. Very special for me for my home grand prix to see the people here, be on that podium and see everyone cheering. It is very nice and emotional.

Q:
Fernando, you needed a win before the summer break to re-ignite your championship challenge. Do you feel you have done that this weekend? You are back in business?

FA:
I think apart from the win the most important thing is to feel confident with the car again, to feel that we are going in the right direction in terms of developing the car. The new parts on the car we introduced in the last couple of races seemed to work really well, so despite the win the better news for us in the last two or three races is that we are competitive. There were some grands prix that we were not quick enough to fight for pole positions, for wins, for podiums and we had to be conservative and now I think we can push a bit more, be more aggressive and try to score points. There is one race in one week. We did nothing today. I think we cannot go too low when the things were not very good for us and we need to be very calm after this strong result. We are happy, but we did nothing. This is the first step.

PRESS CONFERENCE:

Q:
Fernando, your feelings of a Ferrari one-two. I think it is a certain amount of frustration over the last few races but now you have finally done it.

FA:
Yeah, I think we deserved this result for the team. No points for Felipe and me in Valencia and Silverstone with a competitive car for different reasons and very bad luck. We came back here with some upgrades in the car and with some new parts and they seemed to work really well. From Friday morning we felt competitive. We felt happy with the car, so we just were concentrating on finishing and doing a good Sunday with no mistakes and no problems and everything went fine. To win a race is always special, but to win a race for Ferrari is even more special. Two races we did well this year we were first and second, so this is a very strong result for the team. We just need to continue like this. I think we are going to go down when we have some disappointing races and we cannot be too excited after a strong result. This is a very long championship and we need to remain very focused for 10 months. Today is very important for the team, for the motivation of all the guys and especially for the technical people that keep working day and night to improve the car and this result is thanks to them. This is a good motivation for everybody in Maranello as well but as I said in four days we are in Hungary, so there is no time to really be too excited.

Q:
How important is this win here but do you feel the car will be similarly suited to the Hungaroring?

FA:
I think so. I don't see any reason to be pessimistic for Hungary. The car was competitive in Valencia and Silverstone, more competitive here, so in eight days hopefully the picture doesn't change so much, very strong competition with Red Bull and McLaren, but at least we are in the fight. There were some races this year when we were very close to Renault, to Mercedes and very far away from Red Bull and McLaren. Now I think we feel strong enough to fight with them for important points, so hopefully we can do a good weekend again in Hungary.

Q:
Tell us about the start as you were a bit worried about being on the dirty side. There was a certain amount of pressure from Sebastian.

FA:
The start was very good. We felt good grip already in the formation lap and then in the start itself it was okay. I felt I had a better start than Sebastian who lost a little bit of ground in the first metres. Then I was very close to the wall. Unfortunately I think this battle we lost a couple of metres close to the wall and we lost one position both to Felipe who started very good in third, so we arrived at the first corner quite close but enough to overtake Sebastian, so it was a super start, I think.

Q:
Your view of the start. You must have been interested watching what was going off to your right.

FM:
Well, I think the car first of all did a fantastic start. I think I prepared the tyres very well and then I just had a good grip, Sebastian not pulling away like I expected. He was a bit slower than I expected in terms of wheel spin or whatever. Then I just saw him coming to the right, so the only possibility was to go to the left, so I went to the left and then were fighting each other, so I took the chance to pass both, so it was a great start.

Q:
After that how was the pace of the car? Did you feel it was pretty perfect?

FM:
Yeah, I think it was very good on the soft tyres. It was really good, so I could manage to put a good pace lap by lap. The tyres behaved even better than I expected, the soft in terms of degradation, especially rear degradation. Then I arrived at the time to change to the hard and I was struggling a little bit more on the hard tyres, so it was no news about that. Anyway the car was behaving after but I think I lost a little bit of pace on the hard tyres.

Q:
Then Fernando got past you. Was that your decision to let him past?

FM:
Yeah, definitely.

Q:
Yes, definitely?

FM:
(No verbal answer)

Q:
Sebastian, what was your feeling about the pace of the Ferraris today?

SV:
Not a nice one. I lost two positions at the start. I think the formation lap start was fine, then coming to the race start the lights came off I released the first clutch lever and the revs dropped a lot. The first five to 10 metres the acceleration was very poor, so I lost a lot of momentum. Then it was difficult to recover. You lose that most crucial phase. I knew it would be tight with Fernando. I think he didn't have a great start either. Obviously he had to start from the dirty side, so I was trying to defend my position. But then he was side-by-side and as soon as I saw that there was no reason to go any further. The guy I am focused on is the guy closest to me at that stage and it was Fernando. Then Felipe came around the outside. It was tight then going with more or less three cars into the first corner but not a big deal. I lost two positions after turn one and that was it. After that I think our pace was fine. I felt comfortable in the car. But we were just this tenth or two slower today than the Ferraris. Both of them were pulling away at the first sting a little bit and then the gaps were consistent around I would say three to five seconds. Very difficult then to say as you never really get into a rhythm with the lapped cars. You lose out more than the others, sometimes less. It is tricky. In the end we were never close enough. In the end I think we were a bit quicker again but they had no reason to keep pushing that hard. I was getting closer to Felipe, but he didn't do any mistakes. None the less I am happy to be on the podium. It is special for myself, my home grand prix. Nice to be on the podium even if not the top step and see all the people. Very nice. Lots of energy and big boost for next week. I think we have a very competitive car and today our maximum was finishing third which we did. I would have loved to take a bit more points, but 15 points is still a lot looking at the championship. A lot of race left, so I am happy today.