Maranello - They say that Hungary is somehow similar to Monaco: true, the corners are very slow, but the Hungaroring is definitely more “forgiving” than the track at the Principality, where the tiniest slip will almost certainly make you end up in the barriers. Having said that the next race will definitely be the most similar one to the one at Monaco. This year we gained a place on the podium at Monaco and this is our objective for Budapest: we were able to fight for the pole until the last moment and I think that if we had gained it, the race would have gone in a completely different direction. We’ll retry in Hungary, but it will be difficult. The F60 should adapt pretty well to the track, but we know that all the other teams have improved their cars considerably after the race at Monaco, so there will be fierce competition: we’ll get a better picture of the situation on Friday morning after the first free practice.
The qualifying’s result is really important at Budapest, because overtaking is even more difficult than usual: if you don’t start from one of the front rows you risk transforming the race into a long hot and difficult afternoon, without any hope for a good result. After two race weekends not really with summery weather at Silverstone and the Nürburgring there should be finally some high temperatures: our car is quite kind to the tyres compared to many others, which means that these conditions should help us more.
This year the tyre performance has varied a lot over the weekends.
The crucial point is the temperature and it’s clear that the perfect window to use them is really narrow; but it’s the same for all the teams, as we could see at the last races.
We’re at the tenth race of the championship, which has been very difficult up to now. We’ve been working hard to close the gap we had since the start between us and the leaders; naturally also all the others have been improving their cars. Furthermore with the fact that we can’t test this year during the championship it’s even more difficult to make up ground. How the season’s second part will go also depends on the decision of how to use the resources, because the work on next year’s car is now already in full swing.
After Hungary there will be a longer holiday than usual. The first week I’ll dedicate to the Rally in Finland, where I’ll drive a Fiat Grande Punto Abarth. After that I’ll relax a bit together with my family and friends, before starting with the preparations for the race at Valencia on 23 August.
Maranello - The curse that seems to follow me in Germany struck again. I finished both races, at the Hockenheim and at the Nürburgring, only a few times. The points I could have gained would have made a difference in the championship’s outcome. On Sunday we had the chance for a good result, but I left empty handed: obviously I’m not lucky racing there.
The F60 had some updates and the set up was pretty much ok, but we’re still paying a high price in terms of downforce as you could see in some sectors of the track. The qualifying was really difficult, because the grip was constantly changing, although the conditions were the same for everybody out there: in Q1 and Q2 it was really important to find the right moment to go onto the track, while in Q3, on the dry track, we decided to put lots of petrol in the car, because we didn’t have the possibility to be on one of the front rows. At the beginning of the race I was right behind Felipe and we both had the possibility to gain a good position. At a certain point, and we still don’t know exactly when, debris got stuck in the radiator and perforated it. On lap 14 I was asked by the pitwall to lower the revs and then, after the pit stop, I started losing performance right until the moment I had to stop. On lap 29 I collided with Sutil: he came out of the box while I was on my line; he tried to defend his position on the inside. The cars collided and he lost a bit of his front wing, while the side of mine was slightly damaged.
With these wide wings it’s quite easy to collide and break them. I went with Adrian to meet the stewards and we thought that it was a normal race accident, as indeed did the stewards.
The next race is in Hungary. Traditionally this is some sort of a home race for us Finns, because there are so many fellow countrymen on the grandstands. I’ll show up with a new rear wing, which worked really well on Felipe’s car and there’s the possibility that we’ll have further modifications. The F60 should run pretty well at the Hungaroring with its many slow corners; furthermore the temperatures should be slightly higher than at the weekend in Germany: it would be great to gain another podium.
Maranello - The statistics tell the opposite but I really like racing in Germany, especially at the Nürburgring. I gained the pole four times, but I could never win. Maybe I just wasn’t lucky enough here and at Hockenheim. Just look at the last race for example. I gained the pole position, but right after the start there was a downpour and the race was suspended. When it started again I was on third position with a perfect strategy, but then I had to retire due to a hydraulic problem.
Realistically this year our objective can’t be a win. We still have to make up ground compared to the leaders as far as the performance is concerned. That’s why the Team continued to work very hard over the last weeks to bring some new solutions to this race. The track should be better for the F60’s characteristics than Silverstone, but we’ll get a clearer picture during Friday’s free practice sessions. To be competitive you need a car with good traction, which is very stable while braking. It’s always difficult making predictions and promising something to the fans, but for us today a place on the podium is already a good result, considering that we’ve been there just once this year.
There are still nine races until the end of this extremely difficult season for us. Our objective has to be to give it our all race after race, without thinking that the leaders are so many points ahead of us. I really trust the Team’s work and its capacity to close the gap between us and the leaders.
During this longer than usual break I went to Finland to enjoy the summer there with my family and some close friends and played some tennis. I want to thank Ferrari for giving me the possibility to participate in the 1000 Lakes Rally with the Fiat Grande Punto Abarth at the end of July. It will be my debut in a championship rally. As we don’t have any tests during the season we’ve got plenty of spare time and it’s nice to participate in a race to keep busy. I already tested over the last days, but my approach remains the same: it has nothing to do with Formula 1, it’s pure pleasure.