European GP qualifying

[Tension_36th]

As expected copying rival tech wont get you anything significant. Mercedes just went backwards while Ferrari looked sheepish to an almost stand still Mclaren in terms of development.

Redbull is simply too strong, they have improved even more. Mclaren is getting dangereous even without updates they are becoming a pestilence.

[TheProdigalSon]

Updates worked.. on hard tyres the ferrari especially in Alonso hands could have got a top 3 start but Ferari need to sort this problem out with the soft tyres, other teams are beating them when they shouldn't be becuase they can't switch the tyres on. Seeing Alonso on hards then switch to softs felt like he was driving a different car, so dissapointing..

[Chrissie]

Not suprisingly, tension, Alonso disagrees with you....

Quote:Alonso praises Ferrari's updates
Fernando Alonso has praised Ferrari's updates for Valencia, saying the team would have struggled to reach Q3 without them.

The Italian squad has introduced several new components in its F10 in the hope of moving forward, and the team enjoyed a good qualifying on Saturday.

Alonso qualified in fourth position, with team-mate Felipe Massa in fifth.

The Spaniard admitted he was pleased with his performance, and conceded things would have been much harder for his team without the upgrades.

"I am happy with this result," said Alonso. "Here, so many teams, including Ferrari, have brought new parts and so it was important to show we are capable of fighting for the top places.

"We managed it and we must bear in mind that, without the updates we have on the F10, we would probably have struggled to make it into Q3.

"Tomorrow, we have the potential to fight for a podium place: it will be important to get a good start, choose the right strategy and not make any mistakes because the walls here are not forgiving.

"Obviously, reliability will be very important as this track is very tough on the cars. With the harder tyre, our car was more competitive as its behaviour inspired more confidence over the flying lap, but to have done Q3 with this compound would probably have compromised our race."

autosport.com

Quote:Alonso pins hopes on tyre management
Fernando Alonso believes that his hopes of finishing on the podium on home turf in Valencia should be boosted by the fact that his car is so good on its tyres.

Although the F10's characteristics have sometimes led to he and team-mate Felipe Massa struggling to get soft tyres switched on in qualifying, the Spaniard is upbeat about how their plight could well be a help for the likely long stint on harder tyres that are expected in Sunday's race.

"To get the maximum from the soft is difficult for us," said Alonso. "We need to improve in that area, but it is not the first time it has happened.

"Sometimes we feel more comfortable with the prime. And, in a way, it is an advantage for the race pace because when we have to do 40/50 laps with the prime tyre, normally we are better than our competitors. We will try and exploit that more."

Although the upgrades that Ferrari brought to Valencia, including the blown diffuser, did not help the team overcome Red Bull Racing or McLaren, Alonso said he was still pleased with the situation the team found itself in.

"I think it is okay, I think it is what we expected," he said. "I think everyone did a big step, so there are teams like Mercedes out of Q2. That creates a picture of this championship - how interesting it is, and how much improved everybody is to see Mercedes out of Q2. So thanks to our improvements we are fourth and fifth.

"That is a fantastic result for the team. There were many races we were not fourth and fifth, we were struggling a lot, so hopefully tomorrow we have the possibility to be on the podium.

"But for sure we need to keep improving because half a second off Red Bull is too much. We need to keep improving."

autosport.com

[icegirljenni]

and when they thought they have bring some upgrade to improve the gap, they end up facing the same old tyre prob, which is still unsolved tsk tsk

[Tension_36th]

They cant say that their upgrades didn't do them any magic for them, thats a moral downer. But their engineers will be looking at Mclaren and shaking their heads.

But this is an age old technically reasoned and tested reality. You just dont rush out and copy rival tech to your car, you develop new tech to suit yours. The good thing is Ferrari didnt go backwards like Mercedes. But its also down to the nature of this Valencia track, not many sweeping corners. When they get to silverstone it will be very different and most likely very bad for them. Barcelona, Turkey were the way they were because of that.