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Last week saw Ferrari (along with the Ducati Corse MotoGP team) play host to the international press at the Madonna di Campiglio ski resort.
While there was plenty of opportunities for fun with their Ducati counterparts, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden and the media with a series of events, naturally all thoughts at the teams press conferences were focussed on the upcoming season.
Senior team figures were keen to stress how they plan to take the fight this year to Red Bull, Mclaren etc in their quest to bring the drivers and constructors titles back to Maranello at the end of the year.
With Alonso, Massa, Stefano Domenicali, Luca di Montezemolo and Piero Ferrari in attendance there was always going to be a good quote or two and hopefully good insight into what we can expect to see from the Scuderia in 2012 and beyond so let's see what they had to say.
Stefano Domenicali, Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal:
Where and when will the new car be unveiled?
“As has been the case for many years now it will be a very conventional ceremony. If the weather is good enough, right from the afternoon of the third February (launch day), or more likely the following day, the car will run at Fiorano to fulfill some promotional obligations, before tackling its first real test at Jerez de la Frontera on February 7th.”
What can we expect from the new car?
“It’s definitely different, because it represents a clear break with the past in terms of the design philosophy. It’s not that pretty, because the shape defined by the technical regulations does not leave much scope, but, and this is what counts really, our hopes are that it is at the very least quick! I asked our engineers, as far back as last summer to look into every little nook and cranny of the rules to push it to the limit, but up until we see the other cars we will not know if we have taken it to the limit or are within it. Then, to really understand the hierarchy we will have to wait for qualifying in Melbourne: we must always bear in mind that the times one sees from testing are not always what they seem. At Jerez and the two Barcelona tests, we can get a rough idea but nothing more.”
On new faces at the Scuderia.
“From the 2nd January, Steve Clark joins us from Mercedes to work as a track engineer, while also joining Ferrari is Hiroide Hamashima, previously Technical Director at Bridgestone Motorsport. He will head up a new project focusing on an in-depth assessment of an area crucial to performance, which is the interaction between the car and its tyres and he will also be our technical link to Pirelli. Both men will report to Technical Director, Pat Fry.”
An important year ahead both on and off track.
“Clearly this is a very important year and we are all aware of that. It is equally clear that there is only one offer on the table, given that no alternative solutions were ever established. In the coming months, talks will get underway on the future of the Agreement as we are still in discussion, especially with the bigger teams, despite the fact we have left FOTA, on the subject of cost reduction, discussions where Ferrari has always been at the forefront. Furthermore, one must bear in mind that the RRA is still in force: what still needs to be established – and this something we are looking at in these days – is if we should abide by the first version, signed in 2009, or the one drawn up in Singapore in 2010. The first one envisages very severe spending cuts for 2012, the year it should run out, while the one signed in Singapore has a revised figure and is valid right up to the end of 2017.
“The key point is to understand if this is an important tool for the future. What should happen to those who do not abide by the rules: today, only a financial type of penalty is planned, but we need to decide if it would not be better to think also of something on the sporting front and, in that case, who should decide the outcome. Going into a season suffering from anxiety does not help and it’s an attitude that serves no purpose. There are expectations that need to be managed as well as possible and I am well aware that the emotional aspect is very important in a team like ours. But that will not change my approach: we will not get over excited if things go well, nor will we be down if we have some difficulties, especially at the start, because we know this is going to be a very long season. We must stay grounded and calm, maintaining our motivation and concentration. Of course, winning is our primary objective and I believe we are preparing ourselves in the right way for this. Everyone is working hard on improving the performance of the car, paying great attention to every little detail. I expect even those who have just joined us to make a significant contribution to what is already a strong group of people. Because once in a while a breath of fresh air can liven things up.”
Regarding the drivers, first Fernando.
“Fernando has had two extraordinary years with us, coming within a whisker of the title in 2010 and improving also last year when despite having a less competitive car, he managed to maintain a very high standard in terms of performance. I was very impressed by the way he lived his life with the team: he is a person who can really motivate others and he can often be found in the factory, working with the engineers.
“I can honestly say that, in over 20 years at Maranello, I have never seen anyone spend so much time here with the team as he has done. Particularly, I believe Fernando has shown a great confidence in us at a time that was far from easy when, in the first part of last year, he decided to tie himself to us for many years. This meant a lot for all of us and it was a very strong show of faith, which was a great motivation to each and every one of us.
Is Vettel now a better driver than Alonso?
"Sebastian had an amazing season, both in qualifying and the race, being able to count on having a car that was equally extraordinary. However, I believe Fernando is the best, although the German comes very close.”
His thoughts on Massa?
“In Felipe, I saw someone reacting at his best, especially when he found himself under pressure. I am well aware that this is a decisive season for him and we need to have him on his best form, for the good of the Scuderia, but I don’t think this situation could be a problem for his relationship with the team. I don’t think he suffers because he has alongside him a driver of the talent and personality of Fernando: rather, this must be an opportunity for him to improve still further: at the age of 31, which he will reach in a few months, everything is still possible for him. Now we must think about one thing only, having a good start to the season and then later on in the year, we can begin to think about the future.”
Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari President:
On the season ahead and his expectations?
"The only thing I ask is to have a competitive car, that’s all. We have brought in some new blood to the team, but always with a dynamic evolution of the organization in mind, without it being a revolution, as indeed we have done several times before in the twenty years of my presidency. We have done it because we did not want to pay too high a cost for being isolated, we here in Italy, compared to the bulk of the world of Formula 1, a sport in which the vast majority of teams is based in England. Once in a while, this applies to any company, not just those in Formula 1, as it is worth while allowing a bit of fresh air in, with an injection of a new mentality and culture, strengthening areas in which we have the greatest need to increase our levels of competence."
“It will be an interesting championship, with so many world champions taking part. Our two guys, Felipe and Fernando seem in great form and everyone else is working flat out on every detail."
Thoughts on the new car and the drivers.
"Domenicali said the car would not be pretty? I’d like it to look lousy: I say that provocatively because I want it to be a winner, reliable but also “simpatico” in the sense that it knows how to win with a smile! We are putting in a lot of effort on the preparation of the car and so too are the drivers: we are confident and have high hopes. I believe he (Alonso) is the one to ask if this car will be quick or not. Because the fact he is quick is a certainty and maybe the question will be asked of him in Jerez after he has done the first kilometres at the wheel of the car to see what it’s like. I have told Felipe to prepare well, both mentally and physically and I hope he finds a car that is better adapted to his driving style, maybe with the softer tyres.”
Bringing home the world championship to Maranello in 2012.
"We came very close in 2010, a long way off in 2011 and we want to win it in 2012. That’s easy to say, but harder to do, but we have an extraordinary sense of determination to get it done.”
On Ferrari’s departure from FOTA.
“I think that as in life, there are moments in which one gets on well with others and times when one feels a need for change. We wish to continue playing our part in Formula 1 in a constructive manner, looking to the future of this sport which is still fantastic and part of our life. I refer, for example, to technology, to the need to reach out to a younger audience, to the need to maintain close links between racing and the manufacture of road-going cars, to young drivers and the need to give them the opportunity, through testing, to show their potential. Without wishing to cause any upsets, I think Ferrari has the right, thanks to its history, to have its say in an autonomous fashion, on the future of this sport.”
The Scuderia Ferrari drivers - Fernando Alonso:
Title hopes for 2012?
“I don’t have a crystal ball, so I don’t feel I can make any predictions. Theoretically, it will be Red Bull, but I say that based only on the fact that, for the past two years, they have won both titles. I reckon we will have to wait for at least two or three races, which means up to Shanghai, to really understand what the hierarchy is. Maybe some people think that the tests mean something, but that is not the case. On paper, we have everything in place to do well, but I can be neither optimistic nor pessimistic, partly because I have only seen the new car in the wind tunnel and from the diagrams on the engineers’ computers. I don’t think there will be a big difference compared to the other cars, because the regulations are very clear, but there will definitely be some innovations and good technical ideas.”
On new faces at the Scuderia and Pirelli.
“All the newcomers are absolutely welcome because they represent a breath of fresh air for the team and bring a new package of experience to the team. Hamashima is a good acquisition because he looks after an area, tyres, where we suffered last year: we did not manage to maximize our potential, especially with some of the compounds and we hope this situation can improve. What do I expect from Pirelli? First and foremost that they don’t change their traditional calendar!”
How has Pat Fry been able to help the team?
“Pat has brought new ideas, combining a different approach to the one that Ferrari traditionally adopted towards its work. If we can get the most out of these various experiences it will be very positive. Already last year, we began to see improvements in all areas compared to the past, but then we stepped up a gear again in the second half of the 2011 season, with a more efficient way of working. I think that the results will be seen even more clearly this year and we won’t have to wait, as was the case in 2011, also because we should have resolved the problems of correlation of our wind tunnel data, which afflicted us in the first part of last season.”
Lack of testing in Formula One.
“It’s an important tool but more than anything, it is a way of assessing some mechanisms. How much a new technical component can deliver in terms of performance remains a question mark after being tried out only on the simulator. Formula 1 is one of the very few sports in which training is forbidden: you don’t ask a footballer or a tennis player to do nothing in between one match and another or for two months prior to a big tournament. Having a go in a kart helps because it is more like driving a single-seater, but it’s like telling Leo Messi to train with a little tennis ball or Raffa Nadal to play with a ping-pong bat…We go karting because we have no alternative.”
2011, a tough season for him and fellow Wrooom attendee, Valentino Rossi.
“It’s true that for both him and me the last season was not so great, even if we tried everything to redress the situation. We have to work, to improve and to have a better vehicle and both Ferrari and Ducati are working hard to achieve this: I really hope that 2012 can go better for both of us.”
The importance of winning.
“Sport is not just about winning, but also about sacrifice, teamwork, determination and passion. However, the final result depends on a lot of other factors and that’s why one cannot say that Ferrari has to win. What is a fact is that we have a great desire to do well and to return to the role of being the dominant team, which is what the Scuderia was at the beginning of this century. I have a lot of years of racing ahead of me and I am only thirty years old. There are some 43 year olds still around and I think I still have room to improve. I don’t know what it might feel like to win a title with Ferrari, but from what I can tell from just winning some races, I can be sure it would be something special.”
His good friend Robert Kubica a potential future teammate?
“Robert is the best driver around and he will prove that when he returns to racing, something I am sure he will do. Him as my team-mate? I am very happy to have Felipe alongside me.”
Life at Ferrari.
“I have always stood up for the team, because when one is going through a difficult moment, as was the case last year, there is no point in blaming one another. We have made a few important changes but we know that making up ground will be neither easy nor the work of a moment. With the team and with Stefano Domenicali, I have always had a very open relationship right from the very first day. When it came to beginning to discuss an extension to the contract I was pleased with the way things were going between us and it seemed natural to renew it for many years.”
The Scuderia Ferrari drivers - Felipe Massa:
Motivation and the season ahead.
“After the last Grand Prix of 2011 in Brazil, I told myself that we had to be more competitive at every level and that’s exactly what we are doing. Something also needed to change on my side and now I feel mentally strong and extremely motivated. I am well aware that this is an important year for me, but the same goes for the whole team: I ask only to not have those difficulties in the races which often cropped up last year, preventing me from getting the results I should have done.”
Experience, pressure and the new car.
“That’s a lot of years and I can claim to be a veteran, that will come in very useful in 2012. I want to read in the papers that Felipe is back, fighting for the wins and to do that, we need everything to be right: if we have a good car then I know I can fight for the title, as I have already done in the past. Since 2008, nothing has changed: after my accident, I am still the same. Sure, it bothers me not having won for such a long time and I have a strong desire to win again: however, I am calm because I know what I am capable of and I am 100% ready to manage the pressure that has always been part of my work.”
"Pressure from the media? It’s to be expected when the results aren’t there, just as it weighs heavily that I have not won a race for a long time. With a well sorted car this will not happen. I am well aware that in some ways, the first part of the season will be more important than the second. When we reach the mid-point of the season, we will talk about my future and see what are the chances of continuing to work with Ferrari: The most important thing is the results: if they are good, making decisions about the future will be much easier and there would be no point in changing a situation that everyone was happy with."
"The design of the new car is very different to those of the past and also the fact that we should have softer compound tyres should work in favour of my driving style. All the same, we will need to have a car that works perfectly in all conditions and on all types of tyre: that’s the target the engineers have worked on all these long months spent designing the car."
On new faces at the Scuderia such as Bridgestone Motorsport’s former Technical Director Hirohide Hamashimi.
“He is a very experienced engineer and being able to count on him is very positive in terms of gaining an understanding about how the tyres work. Pat Fry is doing a very good job: he too is very experienced and has done an excellent job on the reorganization of the team.”
Piero Ferrari, Son of Enzo Ferrari and company Vice President:
Has it been too long now since Ferrari last won a title?
“It’s not actually that long ago since we won: the last time we took the Drivers’ title goes back to 2007 and in 2008 and 2010 we came very close. We have gone through much longer periods of abstinence and much worse times, so I think that this question would be better addressed to someone who is in more of a hurry to see results come and with less patience than myself, who has seen so many in my life."
His relationship with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo.
“It’s a pleasure for me to be close to the team and its boss Stefano Domenicali and of course our President, Luca di Montezemolo. I don’t have any influence on the decisions they take, but there is just a great friendship between us because racing is my passion."
The future of Formula One?
"First of all, I hope that it maintains the right balance between the number of races outside Europe and those held in the Old Continent itself: on the one hand, we must not forget this is a global sport, but on the other we must protect its historic birthplace with certain Grands Prix such as the one in France or the races at Silverstone, Spa and Monza, where we always witness some fantastic racing.”
Thoughts on Alonso & Massa?
“I have been able to have dinner with them several times when I am in Maranello and I always come away from these moments with happy memories: we talk about pretty much anything in a very open way. I think that today there are many good drivers, two or three who can be described as exceptional and one of them, Fernando, is one of us. We also have Felipe who is a great guy, held in great affection at Ferrari, who has shown that, even alongside an extraordinary driver like Schumacher, with a good car, he too can also be very quick: it is up to us to create the right conditions and maybe we owe him something.” By James Foreman
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