Fernando Alonso says pole was possible

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso said he believes he could have taken an "easy" pole position at the Italian Grand Prix without problems with his car

The world championship leader qualified 10th after a mechanical failure in the final part of qualifying. He had been fastest in the first and second parts.

He said: "Maybe today was an easy pole. It's never easy but it was a good chance - the car was performing well.

"We need to take this potential into the race and recover some positions."

The 31-year-old Spaniard is behind all but one of his world championship rivals on the grid.

The McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button qualified first and second, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel will start fifth and Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen seventh. Only Red Bull's Mark Webber is behind him in 11th.

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“In Q2 the car felt perfect, then when I pushed for the first attempt in Q3, I felt something wrong”

Fernando Alonso

Asked if he could have battled for pole, Alonso said: "I have no doubts this time.

"Sometimes you never know, but this time we were [one minute] 24.1 with the hard tyre, we were 24.0 with the medium tyre in Q2 with an easy lap, and then in Q3 we know we have always three or four tenths in the pocket."

Hamilton's pole time was a 1:24.010.

Alonso said Ferrari knew something had broken in the rear suspension, but that they would not know exactly what until the car came back from its official checks.

The team said they suspected a broken rear anti-roll bar.

"In Q2 the car felt perfect," Alonso said. "The out lap in Q3 it felt good and then when I pushed for the first attempt in Q3, I felt something wrong and I said on the radio we need to check the car.

"They found more or less the problem on the data but they said: 'There is no time. There is four minutes left in Q3, so we just go out and we see what we can do.'

"We hoped to complete one lap and maybe overtake some cars that were not going out, but everybody went out so we did not take any advantage of completing the lap. Nothing we can do now, I think for tomorrow everything will be OK."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said: "Of course I am extremely disappointed, because this was one of the easiest situations in my career, which started in 1973, to get a pole position in Monza.

"Alonso was absolutely the quickest, the car here is extremely competitive.

"To start 10th instead of first, we have to be disappointed, particularly because this happened after what happened in Spa, when we lose all the points, and in front of Monza and at a very important point in the championship.

"Felipe has a huge opportunity to win the race tomorrow, for him, for us, for his future.

"And you know and we know how strong is Fernando in the race. I hope tomorrow we will see a different situation."

Source: BBC

Hamilton: I Still Have Respect For Massa

Lewis Hamilton is adamant he has no issues with Felipe Massa despite yet another slating from the Ferrari driver after the Japanese GP

Hamilton and Massa are, to quote Martin Whitmarsh, "magnetised" this season with the duo having had at least three clashes on grand prix Sundays; Monaco, Singapore and Japan.

The latest, which took place last Sunday, again resulted in Massa hitting out Hamilton - although this time verbally and not physically.

But despite the bad blood that lingers from Massa's side, Hamilton insists he has no problem with the Ferrari driver.

"Of course, the situation has not been great for some time now, but I think I've always had respect for Felipe and I still do today regardless of the negative comments that he is coming out with," Hamilton told Autosport.

"It is easy in this sport when you are competitive and in the heat of the moment to say things you don't mean.

"Whether or not he does mean them, regardless, I have tried to show respect and particularly in the last race... I am really sorry for that, I really didn't see him, and I saw the replay: he was quite far up alongside me, out of my mirrors and I could not see anything, so by the time I saw him it was too late.

"I've been I the wrong place in the last few races. I had the car to be a bit further ahead. Perhaps if I was doing the right job I wouldn't be in this situation with Felipe, but all respect due and I hope in the future we can put our guards down and he can be cool with me. I am cool with him."

And Massa reckons that time has already come as he wants to move on, putting his troubles with the McLaren driver in the past.

"I have nothing to say," he said. "The only thing is that, we always need to think about moving forward. I really saw many mistakes from him, and that is it.

"I tried to speak to him, he didn't want it, and to be honest I don't care anymore. I will not go and speak to him. I will carry on doing my job like always, so it is okay. I always look to the future."

Asked whether he was considering an official complaint to the FIA about Hamilton's driving, the Brazilian said: "No, no. For sure, the only thing that is important is to be consistent.

"We saw some penalties, even for less things than the last race, and even Lewis has also excused himself. So, that is the only thing - to be consistent with the FIA penalties. There is nothing more than that to say."

Source: Planet-F1

Ecclestone admits 'problems' with new Korea track

Bernie Ecclestone on Sunday sounded defiant amid reports Korea is not ready to welcome Formula One.

Yeongam, about a four hour drive from Seoul, is scheduled to host its inaugural Grand Prix late next month.

Karun Chandhok did the first demonstration laps of the track on Saturday in a Red Bull, admitting that the venue is not yet complete.

Photos showed some buildings and grandstands are half built, fences missing, run-off areas unpaved and the track with only an initial layer of asphalt.

"How can a Grand Prix take place here?" wondered the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, captioning a photo of a construction worker carrying materials against the backdrop of a half-built building.

The newspaper said even a full supply of water and electricity is not yet present.

Additionally, many seats in the main grandstand are not installed, while parking lots are not ready to accommodate cars.

"There are problems," admitted F1 chief executive Ecclestone, "but we assume that the race can take place.

"The circuit is definitely ready, but as for all the buildings, perhaps not," admitted the Briton.

"So we may have to put up some tents," Ecclestone joked.

Source: Motorsport

Red Bull drivers suffered engine problems in Germany

Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber both suffered engine problems last weekend at Hockenheim, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Webber, who finished an unaccustomed sixth, revealed he had to reduce his speed in the second half of the race because the supply of oil from an auxiliary tank was not working.

"I was happy to just get to the finish," said Webber. "It was our strategy to only show our final package on the very last day of testing. So we were down on kilometres to guard against all those sorts of issues."

Vettel, who finished third after starting on pole, encountered problems between the Friday practice sessions when his high-mileage Renault V8 was replaced after an oil sample was tested.

Vettel had been hoping to convert his pole position into another race win but a poor start saw him squeezed out by the two Ferraris into the first corner. The team's race starts is an area team boss Christian Horner is looking to address.

"They were definitely not the best starts," admitted Horner. "It has happened to us several times this season."

Source: ESPNF1

Trouble on SS2: Kimi loses over a half an hour

SS2 was a troublesome one for Kimi. He stopped after the first split and when his times were recovered, he had already lost over 30 minutes.

Kimi Räikkönen: "We hit a rock and bent the steering arm and we couldn't go full speed. We changed it on the road section and now it is okay. In the second stage a connection came loose on the fuel pump after three kms.The steering is still a problem."

There was talk of mechanical problems on WRC Radio. Kimi said he had a loose fuel connection, unrelated to his problems on SS1.

He got a 2:40min penalty for finishing over 16 minutes late at TC3.

We'll keep you posted.

SS2 Official Times

Click to enlarge

Source: WRC
Thanks: maki @OF

SS2: Solberg fastest again while Raikkonen hits problems

Citroen privateer Petter Solberg extended his lead of Rally Mexico on Friday's second stage, increasing his advantage over second placed Sebastien Ogier to 14.4sec.

Measuring 23.83 kilometres, Friday's second stage, Ortega, is the longest of the day and the highest of the rally - reaching an altitude of 2,737 metres above sea level.

Solberg and Citroen Junior team driver Ogier were the two fastest drivers through in almost identical C4 World Rally Cars, with Solberg completing 4.6sec quicker.

After hitting a rock on the previous stage, Citroen Junior Team driver Kimi Raikkonen had a more serious problem on SS2 which brought his C4 WRC to a halt four kilometres from the start line.

Raikkonen stopped after two large jumps, but the Citroen team said early indications were that a mechanical problem was to blame.

Raikkon and co-driver Kaj Lindstrom are working on the car and more information is expected soon.

Raikkonen's exit promoted Munchi's team driver Federico Villagra up into tenth place overall. Otherwise there were no changes to the top ten positions.

Source: WRC