Ferrari Aiming For A Double Podium Finish During The Race

Ferrari are aiming for a double podium finish during tomorrow’s Chinese Grand Prix, after a competitive qualifying performance which will see Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa start tomorrow’s race from 3rd and 5th respectively. Both drivers have been quick this weekend, and therefore will be aiming for a decent result during the 56-lap race.

After several highly uncompetitive seasons in Formula 1, Brazilian driver Felipe Massa has finally returned to his competitive ways this year. Last season rumors began to surface of Felipe Massa leaving the Ferrari outfit for 2013, however the Scuderia elected to retain the 31-year-old alongside Fernando Alonso. So far that decision seems to have paid off, with Felipe Massa scoring points in the first two races, including a front-row start last time out in Malaysia.

This weekend in China Ferrari look exceptionally competitive, in stark contrast to Red Bull who seem to have lost their dominant pace which was on show last time out at Malaysia. Many have predicted Ferrari for victory this weekend, and both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa are eager deliver the expected results. With the race expected to be based solely around tyre preservation, Ferrari are confident they can finish with both cars on the podium after tomorrow’s race.

“I think the weekend has been very good for us.” Explained Fernando Alonso, “The car felt completely different Friday. This morning we made some changes and the car is responding well and I think we have a good set-up for the race as well, which is more important than qualifying always and I think tomorrow if everything goes well we should be able to fight for the podium, hopefully with both cars, so this is good news so far for the team.”

Many of the teams and drivers up and down the order are wary of the Pirelli tyres during the race, with degradation levels once again worryingly high for some teams in particular. However, Ferrari are confident ahead of the race after not suffering from any issues with the Pirelli tyres so far this weekend. Despite qualifying on pole, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes could well be struck with severe degradation which could in turn benefit Ferrari.

“We have no big issues with any of the tyres to be honest.” Continued Fernando Alonso, “Obviously the soft, they degrade much more and they will last not too long but in the long runs we did nothing that was surprising us, let’s say. Hopefully we can have a good race, a clean race and be on the podium at the end of 56 laps.”

So far this season Fernando Alonso has been matched by Felipe Massa at Ferrari, with the Brazilian driver out-shining his team-mate at the Malaysian Grand Prix in particular. However, Fernando Alonso will undoubtedly be striving to remind the paddock who is number one at the Scuderia during the race, which could well see the Prancing Horse rise above the Red Bull.

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