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Fernando Alonso says he’s looking forward to the arrival next week of new deputy technical director Pat Fry, with whom he worked at McLaren.

The Spaniard insists Ferrari has the best people that he´s ever worked with, adding that Fry can only make things even better.

“He will reinforce our group and we will be even stronger now,” he said after Friday practice in Valencia.  “I’m happy, I worked with him in 2007 and he’s a great engineer, and also a great person. I think it will be a really good integration by the team and I’m sure he’ll help the team to be even stronger.”

Meanwhile Alonso says it’s too early to say how good the latest Ferrari update package is, despite topping the times on Friday in Valencia. He says it was hard to make a direct comparison after low grip Montreal.

“Different tracks, different characteristics. So it’s difficult to know exactly what was the improvement of the car, so we’ll wait for tomorrow to see if we’re really more competitive or not. We’ve been on Friday sometimes very quick, I was P1 also on Friday last year, and I was P8 on Saturday. The job we have to do is tomorrow and Sunday, so today is just free practice, to analyse some components of the car, and evaluate the tyres as we did, so we’ll see tomorrow.

“The programme was to get some laps on the system, on the new parts of the car, to confirm that everything’s OK to race on Sunday. So we tried to do many laps today, and with the tyres the normal job, trying both compounds, on low fuel and high fuel, to see the behaviour of the tyre, with some positive results, so we are happy with today’s practice. We know tomorrow is going to be tight, one tenth or two tenths can make P1 or P2, or fifth or sixth position, so we need to be perfect tomorrow.”

Pressed on what he had learned about the updates, Alonso reiterated that he couldn’t yet make a call.

“The car was good today, but it was good also in Canada. I think when you find a difference between one circuit and another, with different levels of downforce, and different levels of grip on the asphalt, it’s difficult to compare the small differences in aero numbers.

“So instead we have to concentrate on tomorrow’s job, trying to do our best in qualifying. The potential is there, we have been quick in Canada, and I think we can be competitive here tomorrow.

“But it’s never going to be easy. I think Red Bull is very strong here this weekend, McLaren is very strong. It’s not so obvious in free practice two, but they were very quick in free practice one this morning. Mercedes with a big aero update as well, so Rosberg and Michael can fight for important positions.

“And also Renault has a new aero package here. I think we all brought something new, so it’s a matter of doing a good job tomorrow, because everything is more or less as in Canada. We all improved, so we all stay the same.”

 The FIA has confirmed that it has penalised US F1 for failing to take part in this year´s World Championship – although the team does not exist any more as the remnants were finally broken up in a recent liquidation auction.

If nothing else the action serves as a warning to future entrants that they will not get away lightly if they fail to show up.

The full text is as follows:

“During the extraordinary hearing that was held in Geneva on 23 June 2010, the Judging Body of the World Motor Sport Council examined, in application of the new disciplinary procedure adopted at the beginning of 2010, the failure of the USF1 Team to take part in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, for which it had been selected and had registered.

“Having had this disciplinary procedure submitted to it by the FIA President, who did not attend the hearing, the Judging Body of the World Motor Sport Council has found the USF1 team guilty of having infringed the FIA International Sporting Code, the sporting regulations of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and the obligations resulting from its entry in this Championship.

“In these circumstances, the Judging Body of the World Motor Sport Council has decided to impose the following sanctions against USF1:

“A fine of 309,000 euros (a sum equivalent to the Entry Fees for the Championship);

“The disqualification of USF1 (which definitively deprives USF1 of the right to take part, in any way whatsoever, in any competition);

“And the payment of the costs incurred by the FIA within the context of this disciplinary procedure.”

Lewis Hamilton expects Ferrari’s latest upgrade package to give the Italian team a major boost this weekend, on the back of Fernando Alonso´s strong showing in Montreal.

Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes have all chosen to introduce their versions of Red Bull’s blown diffuser in Valencia, although the real benefits will only been seen at a track with fast corners, such as Silverstone. McLaren meanwhile is saving its big step for that race.

“I’m going to be very interested to see [what happens],” said Hamilton of Ferrari’s prospects. “But I think they are going to be very, very quick. I think the updates that they have have less effect here, but it Silverstone it’s a big effect, and in Barcelona it would be a big effect. I think on the street circuits it’s less of a step. I think inevitably it’s going to be a couple of tenths, maybe three tenths.

“Ferrari have got the upgrade, and they were very close in the last race, so they’ll be very quick this weekend. Mercedes weren’t that close in the last race, so I’m not expecting them to overtake us, but maybe catch us up. And Renault have been very quick. But I think the main one you have to think of is Ferrari.

“We’ve got an upgrade coming, but ours is just as race later than the others. How good their upgrade compared is to maybe our upgrade is the interesting thing.

“I’m as excited as you guys to see how their new components pan out in the next couple of days. We’re just going to continue on the route that we’re on, and hopefully that will work for us.”

Lewis says that despite McLaren’s back-to-back one-twos, the team should not be regarded as favourites.

“Red Bull I still think are in contention, and this weekend you’ll see Ferrari step up to it. Just on those weekends we came out as favourites. We’re only half way into the season and there’s still a long way to go. There’s going to be quite a lot of changes in the last bulk of races. What is it, 11 races now? It’s a lot of races, so still a long way to go.

“It feels great to finally get the results, but you don’t just live off those, you put those races behind. You don’t live off the past. You’ve got to take each race one at a time, and it’s going to be tough. I think the next couple of races are going to be very tricky races.”

Pirelli CEO and chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera says that the company’s new involvement in F1 will in effect not cost anything, because the 13 teams are paying.

In addition the company is scaling back other motor sport activities, notably the WRC. That will help to release funds for F1 and create capacity at Pirelli’s motor sport facility in Turkey, where the F1 tyres will be built.

“The experience of our people has been growing,” said Provera today. “And in the last few years we organised in Turkey an investment, which is dedicated to motor sport, where we have competencies and a willingness to do better and better. We will supply starting next year F1, and we have this opportunity thanks to the fact the world is changing.

“F1 understands also the problem of suppliers, and we have been able to reach an agreement to serve F1 with what they need in terms of tyres, and they have been helpful with us, the different teams, paying us for the service.

“At the end of the day for us, the cost, taking into account all items, will be zero compared to our budget. The advertising campaign which is linked to F1 will be switched from other races where we reduce our presence. First of all for rallying, where there are new rules starting next year. We were the only supplier, and there will be staring next year different suppliers, so we will definitely reduce and w will move these investments to F1. We will reduce our budget on other races, and we will be fully dedicated to F1.

“This for us a great challenge, a great opportunity, and we have already dedicated a specific team to this task.

“The capacity we have in place is enough to serve F1. As I mentioned we will switch from other categories to F1, so no need to change anything.”

Provera denied that Pirelli had any problems with Jean Todt, despite the FIA President apparently favouring Michelin’s bid: “There’s no issue between us and FIA. I personally spoke with Jean Todt, he knows that we are committed to this, and he also mentioned the commitment of FIA in order to make our life normal and easy to be ready for the first F1 race of next season.”

Maurizio Boiocchi, Head of R&D, said that F1 tyre development is already well under way.

“We have already met FOTA, the organisation for the teams, in order to clarify and have all the details in terms of technical information needed to develop and supply tyres accordingly with their request. We have simulations and calculations in line with their expectations so we have started already developing our tyres.”

He added that the move to 18ins rims for 2013 is still on the agenda, but has yet to be confirmed: “This is not only in our hands, we have to develop pros and cons, relating tyre and vehicle technologies, in order to match data and development times.”

Boiocchi denied that Pirelli has done a deal with Toyota for the provision of a test car.

“We have several offers. This is one, more or less available on the market. This does not mean that we will use it, because we have other options.”

He suggested that the first tests could be done with a GP2 car, since Pirelli is also developing new tyres for the junior category.

“After this quite soon we will have a discussion with the teams in order to see what could be the first and the best opportunity to have confidence about our development and their needs in terms of the 2011 championship. This has also to be agreed with the FIA, because as you know this is not allowed formally from the rules of today.”

The FIA has finally confirmed that Pirelli will be the official F1 tyre supplier from 2011, and Jean Todt´s suggestion that there could still be tender process has not materialised.

The Italian manufacturer will thus be back in the top level of the sport for the first time since 1991.

In other news the World Motor Sport Council has addressed the anomaly of a last lap safety car by confirming that drivers are not allowed to pass, which is how the FIA interpreted the rule when Michael Schumacher overtook Fernando Alonso in Monaco.

The WMSC has also confirmed that drivers cannot drive excessively slowly on their in lap during qualifying, in reference to Lewis Hamilton stopping to save fuel in Montrel. In a further clarification with immediate effect there is a new rule that ensures cars are driven back to the pits under their own power if a fuel sample is required.

The 107% qualifying rule will be back in 2011, although there is scope for considering practice times in cases of force majeure.

Also for 2011, the minimum weight will rise from 615 to 640kgs, giving teams ample scope to run KERS even if they have heavy drivers.

Next year will also see the introduction of ´driver adjustable bodywork` in the form of a movable rear wing. However it can only be used in the slipstream of other cars, as an aid to passing, and only after the second lap. It will be deactivated when the driver touches the brakes.

Meanwhile there is a ban on any aero device operated by driver movement, which as expected means an end to the F-Duct.

Finally the FIA is looking into a licence system for team members which will enable it to directly penalise them. That was not the case with the likes of Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds.

Ferrari has confirmed that Pat Fry will join the team as assistant technical director as of next week.

A short statement from the team said: “Ferrari announces that, as from 1st July, Pat Fry will join the Scuderia’s Technical Department. 46-year old Fry, who has previously worked for Benetton and McLaren, will take on the new role of Assistant Technical Director, reporting directly to Aldo Costa, while the current structure of the Technical Department remains unchanged.”

The move is an interesting one as Ferrari had appeared to shy away from hiring many English speakers in the post-Ross Brawn era, although Rob Smedley and Aussie Chris Dyer retained senior engineering positions.

The news will no doubt be frustrating to McLaren, because Fry had been a key player for years, with detailed knowledge of all aspects of the car, and he had only recently left the team.

Fry was an electronics engineer involved with missile technology before he got into motor racing. He joined McLaren in 1992 having been Martin Brundle’s race engineer at Benetton that year. His various jobs there included spells as race engineer for Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard, as well as a role overseeing both team cars. Latterly he has been the engineer with overall responsibility for cars built in even numbered years.

Sebastien Buemi says that Scuderia Toro Rosso should be more competitive in Valencia than Montreal, thanks to the move to a higher downforce spec for the Spanish venue.

Although the Swiss driver put in a feisty drive to eighth in the actual race in Canada, he and team mate Jaime Alguersuari could not better 15^th and 16^th in qualifying, as the team appeared to lose out to its regular rivals on pure speed.

“I think in terms of pure lap time Valenecia should be better for us because we drive with more downforce,” Buemi told this blog. “When we use more downforce we seem to be a little bit more competitive. In Montreal we seemed to take a step back on low fuel, compared to the Williams and the Mercedes. Next time we should again be close to the Williams.”

Buemi put in a great performance in Montreal, briefly getting into the lead when he started on prime tyres and stayed out after a long first stint.

“It was a lot better than the last few races. Finally everything went well, from the start to the pit stop strategy. I’ve been really unlucky this year, so it was a really good result and the team did a really good job. They did fantastic work with the strategy. They made difficult calls, and the pit stops were all fine. Sometimes with so many pit stops you can lose a lot of time, and it was not the case.

“I started on the prime, and it had a lot less degradation. It was my idea. The engineers were pushing for the option to start with, and I was really pushing for the prime, so I’m really happy that it turned the right way. I was lucky on the first lap to come a little bit through the incident, which was not really the case in the last races. This time I had no issues.”

Buemi’s Montreal adventure even included a pass on Michael Schumacher: “It looked good, I think! We were really quick on the straight, and lucky to have less wing. I could exit the chicane better than him and then take the slipstream and pass him. I was running with Alonso and Hamilton at the beginning, and I had to close them. It was really good fun, finally a really good race. It was important for me, and to have four points is really good.”

Timo Glock has rarely made the flag in 2010. This is Monaco

Timo Glock admits that he’s frustrated by the continuing reliability problems at Virgin Racing after another retirement in the recent Canadian GP.

Glock’s race in Montreal was spoiled by early aero damage, although ultimately he succumbed to a mechanical failure.

“It’s every time something different, and that’s quite frustrating,” he told this blog. “But that’s the situation and we have to work on a better baseline for 2011 and make it general stronger and see where we are.”

The German admits that while Virgin is progressing, the goalposts are moving all the time.

“That’s the problem. I think we are a bit closer in terms of lap times, because the gap is not as big as it was before. But in general, it’s still difficult. Everyone is moving forward and we’re moving as well, but not quick enough. We’ll get a little bit of a mechanical update for Valencia, so we’ll see where we are then.”

Glock’s race in Canada was compromised by an early clash with Bruno Senna: “It was not perfect. The car was quite difficult to drive on Friday. We made a good step for Saturday, but unfortunately the race was over after one lap. Senna crashed into the back of my car in Turn 8 and pushed me off the track. I just lost downforce, because there was massive damage on the rear end.

“Then the car was really, really difficult to drive from that point on, and we couldn’t do anything. I was just trying to cruise around and keep the car going, but then I had a hydraulic problem and a steering rack failure, and the race was over.”

Nico Rosberg was one of the unsung heroes of the Canadian GP, despite starting a modest 10th and dropping even further back when delayed by the Massa/Liuzzi incident at the start.

From a lowly 14^th, he was able to get back to sixth place by the flag. He also set the third fastest lap, which actually equated to the second best lap, because Robert Kubica took new supersoft tyres with an extra stop 11 laps from home. In effect only Lewis Hamilton was quicker on a similar strategy, and only by 0.026s.

“I’m pleased because I had disastrous qualifying and disastrous first lap,” said Rosberg after the flag. “I was just unlucky, because I had a big mess in front of me the whole time. And then from then on I picked up the positions and could push well. I was pretty quick I think at times. The tyres finally worked a little bit better on our car, because they were really struggling all weekend. So, sixth place is a good result for me.”

Nico admitted that managing the tyres to the flag over a 43-lap stint was a huge challenge.

“It’s really, really difficult. First of all you have a lot of settings in your cockpit, so you can put down the front wing, change the differential settings and all this to help. Then you have to take it very easy. For 30 laps towards the end for the whole 30 laps I never had one wheelspin, never one oversteer, I just drove so smoothly, and that just helps.

“But even then, even though I was driving smoothly I kept looking in my mirrors, and each lap the tyres started breaking a little bit more and a little bit more, and if it breaks completely I know that I am in trouble, especially when trying to race Kubica. But it held on, so it was good.”

Rosberg denies that Mercedes has experienced a drop-off in form recently, and says the team’s problems in Canada related solely to struggles with tyres in qualifying.

“It’s not the case. For the first few races we benefited from doing a better job than we actually deserved, because of weather conditions and things like that.

“Our car is on a similar level still now, and this weekend one really can’t look at, because out tyres weren’t working and other people could get their tyres to work, so you couldn’t even see the performance of our car. So you can’t take it very seriously, this weekend. You need to wait to see where we are in Valencia.”