Maranello - The race in Abu Dhabi will be my last Grand Prix with Ferrari and as usual I will give it everything to gain the best possible result. We’ll try to conclude this difficult year with a good result, hoping that it will be enough to gain the third place in the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren took over in Brazil. It will be difficult, because the competition is very strong. Furthermore in Brazil the two Titles have been assigned, so maybe there are certain drivers, who will risk a little bit more, as everything has been decided already. Our direct competitors are still improving their car, while we have been using the same car since the race in Hungary at the end of July.
There are many expectations as far as the Yas Marina circuit is concerned, but it’s difficult making any predictions, because we’re racing there for the first time. As far as we can see the organisers have done some great work and the circuit seems to me very interesting and challenging. Furthermore there will be a very special challenge, given the fact that we’ll start the race in sunlight, while it will end with artificial lights: this will definitely add some suspense.
As I wrote before, it’s time for me to say good-bye to the guys at Ferrari after three years together. I’m proud of the things we achieved, especially the Drivers’ Title in 2007 and the Constructors’ title in the same year and in 2008.
This season the car wasn’t as competitive as we wanted, but at least we managed to win one race and we gained a certain amount of points. Let’s hope we can conclude the season with something nice to be remembered!
Maranello - First of all I want to congratulate Jenson for winning the Championship: I know how he’s felling right now… He had a great start of the season, winning six out of seven races, while the second part was pretty difficult for him. But a Championship is decided by the points you gain as of March and he gained more than anybody else.
This year we didn’t have the possibility to fight for the World Title.
We didn’t have the right performance to fight for the win in every race. As we expected we had a difficult weekend also in Brazil, but without what happened on the first lap I would have been able to gain a place on the podium. We had some problem with graining in Friday’s free practice sessions, but we managed to improve the car’s set up, so that my lap times were competitive in the race. When there’s rain, the qualfying turns into a lottery. We were very fast with the super wets over the weekend and I was always amongst the top three. With the intermediates I lost some grip and it became more difficult for me. I still managed to gain the fifth position on the starting grid, which was a good position for the race. I had a great start, benefitting also from the fact that I had soft tyres, while the others around me were on the hard compound. I had a good exit in corner 3 and I tried to attack Webber, benefitting from the KERS: he suddenly changed his racing line and before I could even think I hit the grass with two wheels and damaged the front wing. In this moment my hopes for a place amongst the top three ended up in smoke.
I came back to the box and we changed the strategy to a race with just one stop. While I was in the pitlane I saw Heikki’s car in front of me with the hose stuck to his car, fuel came out and hit me even in the eyes. I was in a ball of fire for a second: I almost stopped to get out of the car and when it was over my eyes still hurt.
Unfortunately in the first part of the race I was stuck for a long time behind Grosjean: when he stopped I had a free track. All in all the sixth place is a good result, considering what had happened. Although I don’t like the fact that we lost points to McLaren in a race where they started behind us. Now we’re one point behind in the standings: everything can happen in Abu Dhabi and we’ll give it everything to regain the third place.
Maranello - Traditionally the Interlagos circuit has always been favourable to Ferrari and we really hope that this will be true also this year, although we know that it will be difficult. The crucial point will be the aerodynamic downforce, but at the same time it’s important to have a stable car while braking. The last corner is very important, because it leads onto the long uphill straight leading to the main straight: the KERS should help us a lot there.
There’s no doubt that this track is connected to the most wonderful memory of my career. Two years ago I won the Drivers’ title here in Brazil, but I did well many more times, gaining five times a place on the podium. Usually Brazil is the last race on the calendar, but this year we’ve one more, the one in Abu Dhabi. I really like the classic circuits like Spa and Suzuka. Maybe Interlagos is not as technical like the other two, but it’s very demanding nevertheless. We’re driving anti-clockwise, which is not very common and the weather conditions can change in a second.
My goal is to gain a place on the podium, which might not be easy. Every race things are more and more difficult for us, because the other teams continue improving their cars, while we have been using the same car for a couple of months. We have to be perfect and benefit from eventual weak moments of our competitors
I’ll celebrate my 30th birthday on Saturday. A place on the podium would be a great present, but as I just said, also our competitors have to contribute to it somehow. We’ll try to keep the third position in the Constructors’ standings. For my birthday celebrations I’ll wait until I’m back in Europe to celebrate with my friends and my family.
Maranello - At the Japanese GP we’ve made a step forward compared to Singapore, where we weren’t even able to fight for a place in the points: the fourth place was the best result we could reach and we have to be satisfied with it.
When the car stays the same it’s all about the circuit, which makes the difference, together with how the tyres work.
Having said that in Suzuka we never had the right downforce, as you could see by our performance in the first sector, while we were competitive in the second and the third. In the second part of the race we were pretty strong when we were using the soft compound.
In theory a fourth place is a great result, but as a team we need these five points, which enabled us to keep the third place in the Constructors’ standings. There was no possibility to fight for a place on the podium. We decided to start on the hard compound and I had some problems during the first stint. Then, with the soft compound, the goal was to catch Heidfeld and I was convinced that we could make it. Then there was the safety car and that’s where you usually hope gaining some position. But in Suzuka it was really difficult staying in the slipstream and at the restart I tried to see the end of the main straight to check if it was possible to overtake Hamilton, but it wasn’t even realistic to try.
There were many accidents in this race, but I think that this is very frequent in Suzuka. When you’re driving at the limit there’s always the possibility to make mistakes. And this is a track where you have to pay a high price for a mistake, due to the high speed and the narrow run-off areas. Having said that I really like Suzuka’s challenge: I was really happy to come back after such a long time.
We have to give it everything in the last two races to stay on the third place even if McLaren is getting stronger. It will be difficult to keep them behind us in Interlagos and Abu Dhabi. It’s difficult to say how the F60 will run on these tracks: we’ve had several surprises throughout the season. Naturally I’d love to gain a place on the podium in Brazil, also because I’m celebrating my 30th birthday there. It would be a nice present!