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[sagi58]

For those of us who just can't get enough of the feeling of victory:

[youtube]/LuRg_co2tFk[/youtube]

[gdh]

Here's hoping for continued success and improvements for the rest of the season. It has been a tough few years for us Ferrari fans. Mercedes is still the team to beat, would love to see Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg , Kimi and Williams Team battling wheel to wheel right up to the final checkered flag with the WDC and constructors being determined by the final race results.

[myownalias]

Mercedes is still the team to beat, would love to see Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg , Kimi and Williams Team battling wheel to wheel right up to the final checkered flag with the WDC and constructors being determined by the final race results.

Wouldn't we all, I don't like seasons where one team dominates, even if my favourite team Williams were dominating, I wouldn't like it as I like competition.

[sagi58]

 wrote:">Scuderia Ferrari Technical Director James Allison post race interview - F1 2015 Malaysian GP

[youtube]/VCAwus3oyl8[/youtube]

[sagi58]

 wrote:">Lunch With a Trophy



The winning cup of the Malaysian Grand Prix on display at the Maranello Factory Restaurant

Maranello, March 31st – The winner’s trophy of the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix traveled with the cabin luggage of Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene. And today at lunchtime, the cup awarded to the winning Constructor in the race was put on display at the entrance of Ferrari’s company restaurant to be admired by the women and men who work at the factory. Nobody missed the chance of taking a picture with the coveted trophy. Maurizio Arrivabene, as well as Technical Director James Allison, Power Unit Director Mattia Binotto, engine designer Lorenzo Sassi among the others, posed with the cup which, in Maurizio’s own words, ‘is your prize’.

Click for more pictures and a video!!

[sagi58]

Awww...

 wrote:">Sebastian: you’re always with me

Maranello, 1 April – Everyone was expecting him and Sebastian Vettel didn’t disappoint. After a morning in the simulator, the driver met all the staff of the Gestione Sportiva, assembled together to celebrate last Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix victory.

Sebastian chose to address the team in Italian: “It was a very emotional moment,” he said. “I have won many races, but the first one with Ferrari is very, very special. On Sunday night I wanted to celebrate with the mechanics and I said to them, ‘thanks a lot, but I want to be one of you, no more no less. I am part of the team and, even if out on track, I’m alone, I know that really I never am, because I am always with you. I want to thank you for giving me a nice car and I think, in fact I know, that we will experience many more great moments together.’”

Maurizio Arrivabene was also there, passing on warmest greetings from Kimi Raikkonen, who had been in touch by ‘phone from Finland, as he is there for his son’s christening. Maurizio reminded everyone that this win was only the starting point and that the team had to continue working with the utmost dedication and concentration. “I think that, the ‘forza Ferrari!’ from Seb over the radio immediately after taking the chequered flag, was not just for the achievement of a childhood dream, but also for memories of the moments spent with another great champion, who won so much for Ferrari, namely Michael and above all there was the joy of being there with all of you. You have been here for such a long time and you deserve it.”

[sagi58]

This is the sort of thing that embodies just how passionate Ferrari is:

 wrote:">Text from Schumacher's manager brings Ferrari F1 boss to tears

Sabine Kehm sent message to Maurizio Arrivabene after Ferrari's win in Malaysia

A text message sent from Michael Schumacher's home in Switzerland reduced Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene to tears after the Malaysian Grand Prix.

After a tumultuous period for the great Italian marque, seven-time world champion and Ferrari legend Schumacher's protege Sebastian Vettel broke through with a landmark and emotional win.

But Arrivabene, who worked with Ferrari during the Schumacher era as an executive for team sponsor Marlboro, said he felt in control of his emotions after Vettel's win.

"I was trying all the time to stay cool," the Italian told Sport Bild.

"But then a text message made me cry."

The German magazine said the text was from Sabine Kehm, Schumacher's manager, who had reportedly watched the Sepang race at the house of her 46-year-old client, and at the side of Schumacher's wife Corinna.

Schumacher suffered brain damage in a skiing fall late in 2013 and has not been seen publicly since.

Arrivabene has admitted he sees striking similarities between Vettel and his German compatriot Schumacher.

"When I noticed it for the first time," he admitted, "I was very emotional.

"They have different natures, different personalities," said Arrivabene, "but the way Sebastian approaches his work -- delving into every detail of how he can motivate everyone and criticize constructively -- reminds me of Michael.

"Both share the same cultural background and this perfectionism, which they have brought to Ferrari," he added.

[sagi58]

I posted part of this article in the Alonso support thread; but,
this is it, in its entirety.

Do you think it was a once-off? I sincerely hope not!!

 wrote:">Alonso doesn't think Ferrari can beat Mercedes 'regularly'

Even after Ferrari's breakthrough win, Fernando Alonso insists he has no regrets about swapping the Maranello team for the back of the grid. "Looking forward!" he wrote on Twitter after Sepang, where his Ferrari replacement Sebastian Vettel sensationally won. "Very happy!"

A Reuters reporter, however, admitted he feels a "twinge of pity" for the 33-year-old Spaniard, while The Times said Malaysia had left Alonso "red-faced". Italy's Corriere della Sera said: "Sebastian leaves the Alonso era behind and leads us back to where the Ferrari success story was interrupted."

Alonso himself, however, insists he has no regrets about having joined McLaren-Honda, as he thinks Mercedes is still clearly the dominant team in F1. "Ferrari has progressed, yes," he is quoted by Spain's El Mundo Deportivo. "But enough to beat Mercedes regularly? I don't think so."

Indeed, many others in the paddock also expect the pecking order to resume the silver hue in Shanghai, the scene of the forthcoming Chinese grand prix in two weeks. Pat Symonds, Williams' technical boss, thinks Ferrari's Sepang win was related to the very high temperatures last weekend. "As soon as it warms up," he told Auto Motor und Sport, "the Mercedes has problems with its rear tyres. It reminds me of their problems in the years 2010 to 2013," said Symonds.

Nico Rosberg admitted Mercedes has work to do after Malaysia. "I'm flying to England this week as we need to sit down as a team and draw the right conclusions from our defeat in Malaysia," he told Bild newspaper. "Vettel's pace was pretty scary and it was totally unexpected. I particularly want to know why we had so many problems with the tyres," he added.

[sagi58]

A bit sobering:

 wrote:">Ferrari chief makes Vettel admission

Ferrari technical chief James Allison says Sebastian Vettel would have struggled to overtake Lewis Hamilton out on track in Sepang.

Vettel claimed a surprise race win in Sunday's Malaysian GP as he opted to stay out during an early safety car period, while Mercedes' drivers Hamilton and Nico Rosberg - who were then sitting in first and third place - made early pitstops.

Neither Hamilton or Rosberg could close the gap enough over the rest of the contest when back out, but Allison admits Vettel would have faced a difficult task overtaking the reigning world champion if the Briton had been out in front.

"I think we were probably a bit quicker than Mercedes in race," said Allison. "We saw that when Mercedes were in traffic that was slower than them, they found it hard to get past.

"So if you're maybe a tenth or two tenths quicker, which is maybe what we were, than that is super hard to turn into an overtake, super hard to overtake on two cars."

He added: "[Had Vettel stopped] They would have had the opportunity to split their strategies and at least beat us with one car," he said.

"The safety car presented us with the opportunity to get past in a relatively painless way."

[sagi58]

Williams is worried:

Rob Wilkins wrote:">F1 Malaysian Grand Prix: Gap to Ferrari is a concern, says Smedley

Williams' Rob Smedley admits the deficit to Ferrari is a “concern” following last weekend's 2015 F1 Malaysian Grand Prix

Williams' head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley has admitted the gap to Ferrari is a “concern”.

After a relatively poor qualifying in Malaysia last weekend, Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa recovered to finish fifth and sixth.

However, disappointingly both were way behind Sebastian Vettel, over a minute off the winner at the finish, while Kimi Raikkonen also beat them in the sister Ferrari and took P4, despite starting further back and despite getting a puncture on the opening lap.

“Of course I am concerned,” Smedley told reporters, including Crash.net, after the second round in the 2015 F1 World Championship. “To be 60 seconds behind at the end of the race, absolutely it is a concern. It would be quite remiss of me to say I wasn't concerned about that, but there are certain bits of it, like the fact Sebastian could do one less stop than us, that certainly helped him. That is where we need to start concentrating.

“At the same time we need to develop the whole car package and keep pushing on with that. So, yeah it is a concern - if anybody is in front, it doesn't matter what colour their car is, and we just have to keep pushing on and make sure we are developing at a faster rate than them and if we do that, we will close the gap.

“It is very simple.”

Smedley also confirmed that there was no way they could have done two stops.

“I think it [the tyre management issues] are a combination of a lot of things really and I think that is part and parcel of what we need to do now,” he explained. “There is a car package based deficit and it is not as if we should shy away from that. There is a car package based deficit now from both Mercedes and from Ferrari. We have to work hard to improve that. But at the same time, currently, we have to look at our tyre management and see how we manage the tyres.

“Why were there cars in the race that could do one less stop than us? That is a really key point. And it is not that we look at it afterwards and say we could have done one less stop. We couldn't.

“The key factor here is that we have to understand as a group of people that there is work to do in that area. It is like everything, you have got a deficit and you have got a deficit in all areas. It is never one area and you don't have this one eureka moment where you unlock half a second or a second from the car.

“We have just got to go away and do our due diligence and we will do it right and we will find the right answers.”

Meanwhile, Smedley noted he was pleased to see his former team get the victory and end its win drought.

“I am happy for the guys there,” he continued. “I think they have gone through a period of abject misery over the last few years given their resources and their budget. It is good to see that they are having some pay back for the hard work. They are not a bunch of idiots by any means and never have been and today you have seen how formidable Ferrari can be when they are running at their best. I have got lots of friends down there and I am pleased for them.”

[sagi58]

Mercedes is not:

On Max Beer and Ben Anderson wrote:">

Mercedes equipped for Formula 1 fight with resurgent Ferrari

Mercedes expects to bring forward some of its 2015 Formula 1 development programme to fend off the emerging threat from Ferrari.

Just two weeks after Mercedes took a commanding Australian Grand Prix one-two with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, the champion team was defeated by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in a straight fight at the Malaysian GP.

The result followed a substantial reorganisation of Ferrari's F1 programme that has given the team renewed impetus after a win-less 2014.

Asked if Mercedes was prepared for a resurgent Ferrari, Wolff said he was confident in his squad's resources but admitted there was a need to react.

"I have read an article that Ferrari were ramping up budget massively," said Wolff.

"We have everything we need. We feel confident that with the amount of resources we have, the stuff we have, we are well placed.

"We just need to stay calm, continue to develop, put the right things on the car and put some things on the car earlier than we would have actually planned.

"But there's no reason to panic.

"We are back into a normal, regular racing season where you have more than just one contender."

Wolff suggested he was amused by how assessments of the 2015 F1 season had changed so dramatically from the Mercedes-dominating Melbourne event to the more open Sepang race.

"I think we mustn't be extreme with our assessment," he said.

"At Melbourne we were extreme in saying Mercedes was going to win the whole season and nobody is going to catch up.

"Two weeks later people were saying 'is this the end of an era'?

"It is maybe the start of a new era of a good battle, a battle we would like to take on, a challenge we want to take on.

"It is about staying calm and assessing and trying to come back with confidence and with the speed we have had in the last couple of races."