Ferrari scored their first podium of the season thanks to a a third place finish from Fernando Alonso. Although Felipe Massa failed to score in eleventh place, the team are hopeful that the competitive pace they showed today will continue in the next few races.
“It’s been a very long time since we last saw one of our drivers on the podium and today, finally, we were able to,” Stefano Domenicali said. “Fernando drove a very nice race, to crown a great weekend on this past; he did not put a foot wrong and was aggressive when he needed to be and prudent when he had to manage the situation.
“I am very sorry for Felipe who has every possibility of getting a good result.
“Today we were competitive for long periods and if Fernando had not been stuck behind Rosberg for a few laps after the start, he could have put Vettel under more pressure.”
Alonso is pleased with his first podium of the season – a result which sees him remain in fifth place in the drivers’ standings. “I am pleased with this results which is down to three weeks of hard work from the entire team at Maranello and at the track this weekend,” Alonso commented.
“We have not started this Grand Prix on the right foot, after having quite a few problems on Friday. But then we moved forward and today it was great to be back fighting for the top places.
“We had come so close to the podium already in Malaysia and China and today we managed to jump on in – but this is only a first step. We must continue in this direction.”
Despite his lack of points, Massa is pleased with the performance of the car. “The positive thing about this weekend is the improvement in performance of the car; we had a bit more aerodynamic downforce and also greater speed on the straights.
“It is an encouraging sign but we have to continue moving in this direction, introducing new parts already in Barcelona.”
