Source: NextgenAuto
Showing posts with label Wrooom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wrooom. Show all posts
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Alonso does the double on ice
The curtain has come down on the twenty first edition of “Wrooom,” the fantastic Philip Morris International event which brought together Scuderia Ferrari, the Ducati team and the specialist Formula 1 and Moto GP media on the beautiful slopes of Madonna di Campiglio.
The final act saw Fernando Alonso do the double in the traditional race on the frozen lake, which also featured the drivers and riders from the two teams and was kicked off by Luca Badoer saying his final farewell after his long career as the Scuderia’s test driver. He drove an F60 fitted with special studded tyres and the Wrooom logo on the engine cover.
The first race in go-karts saw the Spanish driver beat team-mate Felipe Massa and the American Ducati rider, Nicky Hayden. Behind them came the Maranello team’s new test driver, Jules Bianchi, Valentino Rossi and the Ferrari men, Marc Gene and Giancarlo Fisichella. The finishing order was used to set the grid for the second race in Fiat 500s, when Alonso comfortably managed to keep the lead, even when the Safety Car came out with five laps to go, ahead of Hayden and Rossi.
In the closing press meeting this evening comes the celebrations for the ski race held this morning, which saw victory go to Giancarlo Fisichella.
Source: NextgenAuto
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Alonso on Massa, Massa on Alonso
There’s an unwritten rule in Formula 1, as in all motor sport – your main rival is your team-mate. The Alonso-Massa pairing became a year old right here in the snow of ‘Wrooom’ and it was logical to ask each driver his verdict on the other.
“I have a great respect for Fernando: we have a good relationship, we work very well together and there are no problems at all,” said Felipe. “It’s clear that I want to be ahead of him but that is normal. In 2010 I didn’t manage it because I wasn’t comfortable with the tyres but I hope to battle with him this year: I’m perfectly prepared for that. We will have the same treatment, as has always been the case at Ferrari. I feel very focused and have faith in my chances.”
“I have an excellent relationship with Felipe, better than what people want to see from outside,” said Fernando in turn. “This week we’re here to ski together and in the evening we play poker, which says a lot. We do everything that two team-mates and two professionals must do, also because we need each other. For example, in the 15 days of testing that we have available before the start of the championship we will have to divide up the work. Each of us will have to give 100% to help the team develop the car, beginning or completing the work of the other, depending on the programme. We will have to be practically one driver made up of two different people.”
Source: NextenAuto
Massa on what’s new for 2011: “Changes in the right direction”
January is the month of physical preparation for the drivers. This year at Wrooom they’re talking about that even more than usual given that the cars will again have KERS, with all that this system brings in terms of additional weight for the car. “Compared to 2009 the situation is different because the minimum weight of the car has gone up,” explained Felipe Massa. “Two years ago every ounce could have an influence while today there’s a bit more margin. Anyway, I believe I’m one of the lightest drivers, if not the lightest: let’s say I will always pay attention to avoid gaining weight – but without going over the top.”
2011 will offer innovations other than the return of KERS, from Pirelli tyres to the new adjustable rear wing. “I think that these changes are going in the right direction,” said Felipe. “We will certainly have more buttons on the steering wheel and we will have to pay a lot of attention – for example with the buttons to activate KERS, which you don’t use all in one go but at different parts of the circuit according to the track and the moment. As for the rear wing, we won’t be able to make a judgement until the first races.”
“The team believes in me”
Felipe Massa is now the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro veteran. Since the farewell to Luca Badoer, the Brazilian driver is the man with the longest service for the red team. Under contract with Maranello since 2001, Felipe is now in his sixth season as an official Ferrari driver. “My target for this season is simple: to win races and to fight for the title,” said Felipe. “I know that things didn’t go well last year but that is the past. I believe I can return to fight for the crown and I have nothing else in my mind. I am happy to start the year here at Wrooom: it’s a very enjoyable week. As I’ve now been coming here for so long, I’ve also learnt to appreciate snow, something that we Brazilians don’t see very often. I’ve always enjoyed skiing because I did in on water when I was young. Here I’ve also learned how to do it on snow.”
On the causes of his difficulties last season, the Brazilian driver explained: “I was never comfortable with the tyres, in particular the front ones. I didn’t manage to adapt my driving style to those tyres, which were very different to the ones from 2009. That took its toll, especially in qualifying and when the available compounds were the hardest ones. There were never problems with motivation, not even after a difficult weekend like Hockenheim. Fernando was better than me but I know my potential and I know that the team believes in me. In the past I’ve always had very strong team-mates, like Michael and Kimi, but I’d never found myself in a situation of not being comfortable with the car, as I had in 2010. The critics? They haven’t hurt me, what troubled me was not having the results I wanted.”
Source: Ferrari.com
Alonso sees Schumacher as biggest threat in 2011
Fernando Alonso has named Michael Schumacher as his most dangerous rival ahead of the start of testing for the 2011 season.
Alonso lost out to Sebastian Vettel in the 2010 championship race, with Schumacher finishing his comeback year back in ninth and without a single podium finish. However, when asked who he sees as his biggest threat for title glory this season, Alonso was adamant it was Schumacher.
"There will be five world champions on the track and the most dangerous champion for me is always Michael," he said at Ferrari's media event Wrooom. "Now in January if I have to choose one name I have to say Michael. He is a seven-time champion, he has nothing to prove, he had a difficult season but he is still a champion. He is still super class and if the car is right he will be a contender."
However, he did admit that Vettel would come back even stronger in 2011 and that the McLaren pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button could not be ruled out.
"No doubt Sebastian will be a contender, he will have experience and will be calm in certain moments," Alonso added. "He will drive better than last year and that makes him dangerous to us. McLaren will also be one of the favourites."
When asked if he thought 20 races in a season was too much, Alonso towed the Ferrari party line and said less restriction on in-season testing plus a full calendar would be ideal.
"I like 20 races, I like racing, competing so to have more races is welcome," he said. "But I also like testing so I'd like 20 races and more testing. It's not easy and it's unfair for new drivers that they cannot test more."
Source: ESPNF1
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