Yeah that sucks.
One would think that they would know the rules. It really is a shame because Perez was awesome
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Yeah that sucks.
One would think that they would know the rules. It really is a shame because Perez was awesome
Well done to the Porker.
Webber had a fantastic race, but what the hell is going on with Ferrari? :blink:
Great race, and brilliant from Webber finishing 3rd after starting 18th.Quote:
Originally Posted by Noxide
I know. Really slow start from Ferrari.
Quote:
Skysports - Montezemolo demands more
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has demanded that they improve their performance following a disappointing start to the Formula One season
The Italian marque's tough start to its 2011 campaign comes despite it being tipped as a pre-season favourite alongside current world champions Red Bull.
While the latter outfit have won two of the three races to date with drivers' champion Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari's best result was Fernando Alonso's fourth place in the Australian Grand Prix.
As a result, Ferrari currently lie third in the constructors' championship table with less than half the points of leaders Red Bull.
Montezemolo told Ferrari's website on Monday that "this cannot and must not be the team's level".
He also said he expected "our engineers to act with determination and know-how and to improve the performance of the car in a short time".
The next race on the calendar is the Turkish Grand Prix on May 8.
Meanwhile, after finishing down in seventh place in Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, Alonso acknowledged that he had seen "better Sundays".
In an action-packed race, the double world champion came out on top in a battle with seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
However, he still finished behind team-mate Felipe Massa for the second successive race.
"It was a good battle, but I would have preferred to have been doing it for a podium finish rather than seventh place," said the Spaniard, who lined up fifth on the grid over a second slower than polesitter Vettel.
"Unfortunately, our race pace was too slow and I don't think that a different strategy would have changed anything. I've had better Sundays in my career, but I won't get downhearted or lose confidence.
"We know we have to improve to get to the front: McLaren and Mercedes have managed it and there is no reason to think we can't do the same."
Ferrari have principally struggled for qualifying pace this season but they also fared badly during the race in Shanghai.
Massa and Alonso both briefly led, although that was more down to Ferrari's decision to place them on two-stop strategies.
Vettel also ran a two-stopper but his fastest race lap was almost three-quarters of a second quicker than Alonso's best.
Indeed, that effort was also bettered by Team Lotus's Jarno Trulli, who also stopped twice on his way to 19th place.
Alonso said Ferrari know where their weakness lies and will be working hard to rectify the issue in the three weeks before the next race in Istanbul.
"Clearly, aerodynamics is our Achilles heel at the moment and that's what we have to work on the most," he said.
"The car has not changed, while others have made progress."
Nico Rosberg has emerged as a candidate to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari when the Brazilian's contract ends after the 2012 season.
Rosberg has impressed alongside Michael Schumacher at Mercedes in the last two seasons and Italy's Autosprint magazine reported that there had been "contact" between his management and Maranello based Ferrari.
The article added Ferrari was merely checking on Rosberg's contractual situation - he is believed to have inked a three-year deal when he joined Mercedes in 2010.
The rumours would tie in with speculation Paul di Resta is being lined up for a Mercedes race seat, and also suggestions Massa could replace Mark Webber at Red Bull.
Catalunya coming up...
Predictions??
Did Catalunya on F1 2010 today, its a tough track. Didn't get past Q1 in qualifying in 18th and got 5 grid pen for smashing in to Vettel so started 23rd. Finished the race in 23rd.
Predictions?.. Vettel to win. :laugh:
I have a feeling that it's going to be Webber, Alonso or Hamilton...
Don't think Vettel has this one...
What's the point of "hinting" at it constantly!
Just do it already !!! :mad:
Quote:
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says the future of the sport is in the teams' hands and has warned that a breakaway series is one possible course of action available to them.
The Concorde Agreement binds the teams to Formula One's current owners, CVC Capital Partners, until the end of 2012. However, when that contract expires Montezemolo says there will be three options open to F1, two of which do not involve CVC.
"I think we have to be very pragmatic," Montezemolo said in an interview with CNN. "At the end of 2012, the contracts of every single team with CVC will expire. So, we have three alternatives. We renew with CVC, or we theoretically - as the basketball teams did in the U.S. with great success - we create our own company, like the NBA. Just to run the races, the TV rights and so on. And third, to find a different partner."
Late last year Montezemolo made a similar statement but Bernie Ecclestone, who works on behalf of CVC, responded: "Luca's a lovely guy but he likes to say these things and then he forgets what he is saying."
However, set against the background of News Corporation and Exor, an Italian investment company with close ties to Ferrari, showing an interest in buying the sport, Montezemolo's comments should carry added weight. The Ferrari president said ultimately the teams would decide on the sport's future.
"Bernie Ecclestone did a very good job but he has already sold out three times, so he doesn't own the business anymore," Montezemolo added. "It is CVC that will sell. It will be the teams' decisions. At the end of 2012, the contract will expire, so theoretically CVC doesn't own anything. I think it is important to have alternatives. We will see. We have time to do it."
The teams have already made clear that they are looking to gain a bigger share of F1's profits when it comes to negotiating the next Concorde Agreement, but they are also looking for greater investment in the future of the sport. Montezemolo said there were several areas that he feels need more attention.
"We have to invest in the USA," he said. "We have to improve new technologies in F1 for the people watching the television, for iPad, for the internet. So I think we are in front of a very important moment.
"We will race in Russia and India. F1, thanks also to Bernie Ecclestone, has become a worldwide sport. Now we have to find the best solution. It is important to invest for the future and the other teams."
Montezemolo also criticised the new rules for 2011, which on the whole have been well received.
"We have gone too far with artificial elements," he said. "It's like, if I push footballers to wear tennis shoes in the rain. To have so many pit-stops - listen, I want to see competition, I want to see cars on the track. I don't want to see competition in the pits.
"A little bit, yes - but in the last race there were 80 pit stops. Come on, it's too much. And the people don't understand anymore because when you come out of the pits you don't know what position you're in.
"I think we have gone too far with the machines, too many buttons. The driver is focusing on the buttons, when you have the authorization to overtake. We have gone too far.
"Ferrari will push a lot with the authority - with the respect that we have to the federation and the other teams - to avoid going too far with F1. Because I think it can create problems for the television people and on the racetrack."
Fernando Alonso has committed his future to Ferrari until the end of 2016 after signing a new contract with the Italian team.
Alonso joined Ferrari for the start of 2010 after a difficult two years at Renault and a troubled time at McLaren in 2007. He came within four points of the title in his first season at the team and, despite a slow start to 2011, expects to see out his career at Maranello.
"I am very happy to have reached this agreement," he said. "I immediately felt comfortable within Ferrari and now it feels to me like a second family. I have the utmost faith in the men and women who work in Maranello and in those who lead them: it is therefore natural for me to decide to extend my relationship in the long term like this, with a team at which I will no doubt end my Formula One career one day."
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said he was delighted to have the two-time world champion onboard.
"It is a great pleasure to have renewed our agreement with a driver who has always demonstrated a winning mentality even in the most difficult circumstances," he said. "Fernando has all the required qualities, both technically and personally to play a leading role in the history of Ferrari and I hope he will be enriching it with further wins very soon."
What an awesome race!!
I actually found myself rooting for Hamilton. :blink: