Maranello - I wasn't too happy with the third place at the Monaco GP. For sure it was the best result in the last time, but that was nothing new to me and we knew that we could arrive on a place on the top. When the leaders in the Championship are so far ahead in the classification, in the end it's only a victory that counts. Being back on the podium is a nice reward for the whole Team.
The hard work of the last weeks finally bears some fruit, which is really positive for all of us. We know that we're on the right way now: there are still some minor things to be done but sooner or later we will win. We'll show up with further improvements of the F60 in the upcoming races and we hope we can then challenge the leaders even more, in the qualifying and in the race.
The Monaco qualifying is so much more important than on other tracks and we've almost done a perfect job: we missed the pole by 25 thousandsth of a second. Not starting from the first position means that it's very likely you won't win. Furthermore the second position on the grid doesn't help on this track. You start from the dirty side of the track and whenever I found myself in this position I always lost at least one position in the field, because the tyres spin a lot at the start. In fact Rubens overtook me, which was really a shame. If I had manaaged to stay beind Button I think I could have easily opened a gap. In the end it was difficult to fight for second position and then there was this story at the last pit stop, where we lost a couple of seconds, due to a problem with the right rear wheel. When I took up the race again I was further behind the Brazilian than before.
We brought home both cars and gained some important points. There were many things at Monaco we can be satisfied with.
I'll race in a rally in Italy next Saturday, in the Marca Trevigiana, and I want to thank the Scuderia that they gave me the possibility to take part in such a competition. I really enjoy myself and it will be my first experience on the tarmac after some tests on snow last winter. As I'm coeing from the race track it will be intersting to see what I will be able to do behind the wheel of the Fiat Grande Punto S2000 on the roads close to Treviso.
Maranello - It’s always a very special week, the one of the Monaco GP. It’s a unique track where the qualifying is more important than on the other tracks and we have to try to implement it in the best possible way, learning from the lesson we were taught recently.
I’ve never been very lucky during the two Monaco weekends as a Ferrarista, but I really hope that I can end this streak of bad luck. The F60 improved a lot at Barcelona and now a place on the podium is no longer a mirage. It will be very important to see how things go during the free practice session to understand if we made up some ground also on this track, like it happened in Spain. Last year we were able to place both cars in the first row and it would be a dream to repeat that. We’ll use the KERS also at Monaco: it might not have the same advantage as on other tracks, but anyway there’s a performance improvement.
I’m expecting faster lap times than in the past. In theory this year’s rules slowed the cars down in the fast corners, but due to the slicks we’re faster in the slow ones. To be ahead in this race you have to be absolutely perfect. We drivers know that you can’t loose your concentration not even for a second: the blink of an eye is enough and you end up in the wall. You need a 100% driver and a 100% car for the whole 78 laps if you want to win: that’s the only way to be successful.
Maranello - Sometimes motor sports is like that. You’re trying extremely hard to improve, but then nothing goes right, like it happened in Spain. An incredible series of negative moments and the wrong decisions made it a very bad weekend for me.
The only positive aspect is that the car’s performance has improved a lot compared to the last four races: the hard work over the last weeks is leading somewhere. Right from the start I noticed that the car had improved and that there was a great potential to be used; not just in the last race, but for the whole season. The qualifying was a bad thing. We took the wrong decision and paid an extremely high price. That was a terrible moment. Unfortunately the race was very short for me, but at least we could see that we were competitive. I had a good start, although it was difficult for me to see the light and I left when I saw that the other cars moved. I’m sure that I could have made some points, because the car went very well. I was about to pass Heidfeld on the first lap when the safety car came out and that possibility was gone. After that it was difficult to overtake, although I was faster. But I wouldn’t have finished the race anyway. The electronic control for the accelerator stopped working, due to a hydraulic problem and I had to stop next to the track. After five races I’ve got only three points. The fight for the Championship is really difficult now, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not motivated. I want to win again and I’m sure that we will do it. We’ll keep on working on the car to make it more competitive and especially more reliable. We could see already that hard work pays. The next race is at Monaco, where I had some great weekends, but it’s a very difficult race. It would be great to fight for a position on the podium, but this track is even more unpredictable than others. The qualifying will be even more decisive and one should not make even one mistake.
Maranello - It’s a bit more than a year ago that I won my last Formula One race. At Barcelona in 2008 I had my best weekend with Ferrari: pole position, victory and fastest race lap. Since then I came very close several times – I’m thinking of Magny-Cours, Montreal and Spa – but for one reason or the other I could never make it. Having said that, a driver never looses the lust for winning and I want to have that feeling again as soon as possible.
After four races outside Europe it’s always very nice to come back to the Old World. Furthermore I really like the Circuit de Catalunya a lot, also because I could win here already twice in my career. I really liked hearing from the Team that the new aerodynamic package’s first signs are positive. It will be really interesting taking the car out during Friday’s free practice sessions. We drove on this track back in March this year, but it’s always really difficult to understand from the tests, who’s really strong in the field. Furthermore many cars have changed quite a lot since then. With the new aerodynamic package we’ll have more downforce compared to the first four races, but also almost all of the others will show up with some updates. We’ll see who has done better work.
Aerodynamic efficiency is crucial at the Circuit de Catalunya for a good lap time. It’s a very demanding track from a technical point of view and you need a good car to be competitive. A good qualifying will be important to avoid getting stuck in the field with all the risks coming with a situation like this at the start; we paid our price for that at Bahrain. Overtaking is never easy at Barcelona, but now we’ll see if the KERS can help to make it easier. On such a track it might make the difference, especially at the start.
Until now we gained only three points. The sixth place at Bahrain was a decent result, but now we have to reach much higher. I spent some days at home in Switzerland. I trained and followed the ice hockey world championships, which are held in Switzerland this year. Obviously I’m shouting for Finland. Monday night we played very well and we won against Canada: this match showed that you should never give up and fight right until the end. This is what we’ll do at Ferrari.
Tomorrow I’ll go to London for the opening of the new Ferrari Store on Regent Street. On Thursday I’ll fly to Spain. It will be a very interesting weekend.