Fernando Alonso:
Alonso was one of five drivers in the first official Press Conference for the 2010 F1 season. It was his first as a Ferrari driver. “I have driven the car all through winter testing, but that is just preparation and now we can finally go racing.” said the Spaniard.
“When you change team, you need to adapt to the people and their work philosophy and pre-season that has all gone great. I felt very comfortable right from day one to now and we are well prepared and I am ready for the fight.”
When asked about the winter tests, he added, “We are not in a position to compare times or to make predictions. We can say that four teams, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari can all be favourites to win here and then there are other teams like Force India and Sauber who could also have some good races. My goal is to win the championship, but I want to be World Champion in November, not in March. It will be a very hard job. I have spent all winter getting ready and I have also waited a long time to come to Ferrari, so it has all been about preparing for this moment and I think we are in a position to fight for the wins.”
Alonso also took time to address Schumacher’s return, “It is good for all of us in the sport that he is back,” he said, as the German leaned over to give him a hug! “What Michael has done in the sport will be hard to repeat, with all his titles, wins and pole positions. Winning a race or the title with Michael on the track will give it an extra something.”
Felipe Massa:
Returning to the conference room after being sidelined for most of last season due to his accident in Budapest, was Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. He shared the room with F1 Champions Alonso, Schumacher, Button and Hamilton. “It’s great to be back after eight months, back to racing again,” said the Brazilian. “And I think we are starting well after going in the right direction after winter testing. Driving has been my job for so many years that I am really happy to be back.”
He continued, “It will be vital to finish these early races and to get points which will be very important come the end of the year. Reliability is the key to achieving this and we have made a good start as we were able to complete a lot of kilometres in winter testing.”
When asked about the rule changes for the 2010 season he added, “As we have not had a race yet with the new rules, I can’t say if I prefer this system or the one from last year. But it is good to have a new challenge, with different elements to focus on.”
Here are some quotes additional quotes from Massa on the season opener:
“I expect to score many points in Bahrain, now we have more points than before, as you get 25 for a victory,”
“We don’t know if it’s possible to win, but it’s important to start the championship in the right way by scoring many points.
“The feeling is good, but we have our feet on the ground because we know it is going to be a very difficult championship with a lot of good teams, good cars and good drivers.
“But, what we did during winter testing was very positive and we showed that our car is ready to start the season.
“We need to improve the car and improve the performance race by race to be on top, but I’m very motivated.
“I’m very happy with the way testing went and we can start the season in a better way than we began, not just last year, which wasn’t very good, but the championships before that.
“I think we went in the right direction and I think we’re in a good position and will start the year with a reliable car, which is very important at the beginning of a season, to pick up all the points straight away.”
Source: Ferrari S.p.A
Ernesto Nigro
Source: http://ferrarif1forum.com